A quaint hotsprings resort village only a short MRT trip from Taipei
Beitou hot spring is more of a small neighborhood along the MRT than a single hot spring resort, per say. Andt he neighborhood (town?) of Beitou is actually made up a number of hot spring resort hotels that can be booked for about 100$ a night, at the cheapest. The Beitou hot spring experience is certainly more expensive than your average Japanese onsen.
Nonetheless, the town of Beitou does in fact have one public hot spring which is cheap and easy to use. Though, the reviews are a bit mixed from foreigners who've come to the place, with many of them in particular complaining about the strict dress code. For some reason, men are required to only wear a type of Speedo - which, coincidentally, they happen to sell at the hotspring. Complaints also include dissapointment in the overall cleanliness of the institution, and the quality of the public hotspring.
Even still, it is well worth making the trip to Beitou in order to enjoy the sights there. If you are really dissuaded by the negative reviews, you can always go to the nearby foot bath hot spring instead! This one has only rave reviews and requires no speedos or strange swimwear whatsoever.
There is also a Japanese Onsen museum in Beitou, conveniently located at the end of a small but quite beautiful park in the northern part of the town, close to where the MRT drops off. Within the heart of this park is also Beitou's most popular and well-reveiwed sight - the Beitou library. The entire structure is not only encompassed by a forest and a river, but is itself a massive fully-wooden building. The final effect makes one feel like they are on a large ship sailing through the forest. A truly beautiful atmosphere and experience.
One of the other things to note about Beitou hot spring is that the entire town has a Japanese-theme to it. This means many Japanese restaurants and themed shops.
To get to Beitou, take the red line from Taipei main station north until you hit the Beitou MRT stop. From there, exit and transfer to the local line (same station, its the only other train available) that takes you right to the park and all the attractions.
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