I lived in the Lake Biwa neighborhood, situated in Shiga-ken of Japan. I moved to Taichung 4 and half years ago. Our office is near Taichung Sea Port, but I live in the downtown of Taichung City. What is my impression of Taichung City? Though the population of Taichung is over 1 million, it’s not as big as a metropolitan. It looks like a small town in the past decades of Taiwan. It rarely rains and the climate is very comfortable.
My hobbies are golf and karaoke, and I drink with friends sometimes. Most of the time during holidays, I played golf. The climate is so warm and it hardly rains except when a typhoon is approaching. This has made me happy because I can stay on the golf course more often than in Japan. Though I have many Japanese friends here, I have even more Taiwanese friends. I love to hang out with them, playing golf, going to restaurants, drinking and visiting places which Japanese seldom visit. I am always glad to embrace the culture of Taiwan and I love my life in Taichung.
Before I moved to Taichung, I had been living in Malaysia for 3 years and travelled a lot in foreign countries, especially Asia. I think that Taichung City is the most suitable city for Japanese to live in. At least, I can read Chinese characters. I used to type with a computer instead of hand writing. I almost forgot how to write them. In Taiwan, I can take the chance to practice writing Chinese Characters. Most Taiwanese are friendly to Japanese. I am very comfortable living here. But, it’s really difficult for me to learn to speak Taiwanese and Chinese. Though I have been living here for 4 years, I can only speak and understand very few Taiwanese and Chinese words. I should practice more.
However, there will be many opportunities for me to explore and I have to prepare for the challenges of the future.