The topic of promoting tourism seems to come up pretty frequently in the papers. Due to the fact that it’s an island, and that there are much less expensive options nearby, I don’t really think it’s that likely that Taiwan will ever be a top tourist destination for westerners. It already is a [...]

Reading the Taipei Times today, I came across an article that highlights yet another aspect in which Japan is returning to its nationalistic roots– education. The education minister, Ibuki Bunmei (伊吹文明), is a reactionary. In various speeches, he has stated that most young Japanese are incapable of writing or speaking well and that [...]

MSG must be one of the most maligned and misunderstood food components of the modern world. Superstition and fears about it are ubiquitous in the west, and yet, as Jeffery Steingarten, the great American food critic once put it,
“If MSG is bad for you, then why doesn’t everyone in China have a headache?”
[...]

It’s often said that history is written by the victors. Most of the time, when people say this, they are referring to victors in war, not politics.

One thing I love about Taiwan is the near lack of xenophobia. Pictures like these make me thankful to be living in a comparatively open and accepting Asian country.

One peculiarity about Chinese ESL learners is that they usually want “English” names. Back when I was learning French, I didn’t take to calling myself Jean-marc; when I was learning Japanese, I didn’t call myself Taka. I just used my English name phoneticized into Katakana. I saw no need to change my [...]

It’s no secret that the Japanese suck at English. Even though it’s compulsory for them to study it from elementary school on, and even though many study it in cram schools starting as soon as kindergarten, they suck. I don’t just mean a little, either. Even compared to Korean, Chinese, and Arabic [...]

An iguanna terrorizes the singers from Morning Musume.
みんなパニック　(Minna Panikku!)　(Everybody Panic!)
Need I say more?