Part of the reason for the book’s quirkiness, Aoki says, is that when she started writing it she didn’t have the budget to travel and do new research. “So I wrote about my favorite things to do in Taiwan, places where I was familiar with the good and bad points, where I knew what the owner’s personality was like,” she says.
Aoki caught the travel bug when she was just out of high school and has since traveled to 44 countries. She backpacked her way through the US and Australia and traveled to France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, as well as through Southeast Asia.
“I like to take risks,” she says. “When you arrive in a place where you don’t speak the language, it’s like you have to rely on your sixth sense. I wanted to see things I’d never seen before.”
On Aoki’s first trip to Taiwan in 2002, she was so taken with a foot massage she had that she became determined to come back to Taiwan and study with the massage therapist.
“My friend took me to a massage parlor. It was the first time I’d ever gone. The masseur was so talented. I was out of shape, but as soon as he started working on my feet, I felt great and filled with energy,” says Aoki. “I thought, if I could learn the techniques and massage my own feet, then I’d feel great every day!”
By the end of that year she was back in Taiwan, intending to stay for six months. Her trip was cut short, however, by the SARS epidemic. “My mother wanted me home in Japan, so I went back, but I couldn’t forget how happy I’d been in Taiwan,” says Aoki.
Within a few months, she returned to the country on a student visa to study Mandarin at National Taiwan Normal University. She’s lived here ever since.
When she sightsees, Aoki mainly gets around on foot. “I walk and walk and walk. I won’t take the MRT, buses or taxis for a day. I’ll just walk and get lost,” she says. “You definitely have to get lost. You should explore little alleyways and side streets. Sometimes you’ll get yelled at: ‘This is private property!’”
She also advises using your stomach as much as your camera to capture memories. “You should eat what the locals eat, things that you can’t find home. Get some stomach medication and then eat as much as possible. Keep eating.”
And connecting with locals is essential. “Even if you can’t speak the language, a smile will do.”
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