The Way Back Home.

As a kid growing up glued to the TV, I used to dream of flying to Japan just to cheer for Vivian Hsu’s group “Black Biscuits.” Japanese entertainment had an indescribable magic for me—everything on screen felt so beautiful, so funny, so captivating. Not like Taipei, which always seemed kind of gray. In my early twenties, I decided to leave Taipei and chase my dreams in Japan. In the blink of an eye, 14 years passed in Tokyo—and I grew up. I finally realized that what I once saw on television perhaps only ever existed on television. Living in Japan is a whole other story—more often than not, it’s been about gritting my teeth and “eating bitterness” until I was full. Just last week, I happened to hear Ambassador Frank Hsieh on the radio here. He chose to introduce Taiwan with two songs: You Must Fight to Win and Twilight Hometown. Hearing those songs on Japanese radio, I felt unexpectedly emotional. “The hometown of twilight keeps calling me, calling me...” People say that traveling is a way to find the road home— I think now, I finally understand what that means.