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Jiuwushan Hike Advice?
the main trail is fine, it's the side paths that get sketchy. stick to the ridge route and you'll see painted marks and tape on trees every few hundred meters. i'd still download a gpx before you go cus fog rolls in fast up there and the markers vanish in the white stuff.
for food after, skip the obvious places right at the trailhead and walk down to the little stalls near Zhinan Temple. the youtiao and hot soy milk there hit different when you're cold and tired. there's also a tea house around there that does dongfang meiren if you want to sit and defrost a bit.
honestly the trails are marked but not in a way that feels reassuring if you're nervous. it's mostly ribbons and faded spray paint, so if you're not confident just do it on a weekday morning when there's other people around. weekends get crowded which is actually good for a solo nervous hiker, you'll never really be alone up there.
for tea after, most people go to Maokong but that's a whole cable car thing. closer option is the little teahouse on Zhinan Rd Sec 3, does tieguanyin and a decent lu rou fan for like NT$120. not fancy but it's warm and the owners don't rush you.
one thing nobody mentions, the bus back down from Lingtou gets packed after 4pm. if you finish late you might wait 30 min for a spot on the S18.
get there before 7am if you want the ridge to yourself. after 9 it turns into a conga line of tour groups and you spend more time waiting to pass people on the narrow bits than actually hiking. the morning light hitting the sacred tree around 7:30 is worth the early alarm alone.
for post-hike food, most replies point you toward Zhinan Rd but imo the better move is walking down to the Zhinan community and grabbing a bowl of ma you mian from the stall that opens around 10. tiny place, plastic stools, old lady running it solo. way less crowded than the tourist spots and the sesame oil smell alone is worth it.
one thing, the S18 bus from Lingtou back to Taipei Main only runs every 40 min on weekdays. check the schedule at the trailhead board or you'll be standing around for ages.
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Seeking recommendations for facial or massage treatments targeting jaw tension and TMJ issues
For muscle-based jaw tightness, the traditional 推拿 places often do better than the fancy facial spas, and they're cheaper. There's a small 國術館 near Shuanglian I go to for neck and jaw stuff, the guy works the masseter from outside and does traction on the cervical spine, which is where a lot of referred jaw tension actually starts. Around NT$800 for 40 minutes, no booking app, you just walk in. It won't fix a real joint problem but if your issue is muscular clenching it's worth a try.
if its actual tmj stuff and not just cosmetic face massage, go see a dentist who does 咬合板 (occlusal splint) first, the massage places treat the symptom not the joint. dr chen at a clinic off fuxing south road near daan park sorted my clicking in like 3 visits, mostly by adjusting my bite & giving me a night guard. the relief from that lasted way longer than any spa facial i tried
my physio at a small clinic near Liuzhangli MRT did intraoral work on my masseter and pterygoid muscles, basically gloved finger inside the cheek releasing trigger points. weird at first but it fixed the morning headaches within maybe 4 sessions. its not a spa thing at all, its rehab, so book it as a medical visit. 針灸 also helped me, the needles go in the jaw and temple, but the physio did more for the actual tightness.