Under the brilliant contrast of endless poinsettias, the Taipei of winter seems ablaze. e radiant red captures the warmth and passion of this city under its blanket of chill. In 2015, Akira Higashiyama’s novel Ryu (“Flow”) won Japan’s prestigious Naoki Prize. Taipei is the stage for this novel’s story, immersing the reader in scenes of yesteryear that inspire waves of nostalgia. Under Akira’s pen, the old China Plaza’s wondrous homestyle aromas from dierent regions of China dri by once more, and many readers are transported back to the days when they came here to get school uniforms made. Akira lived for a time on Guangzhou Street, and the Longshan Temple and Ximending area have thus le vivid impressions on his life. First love blossomed for him in the Taipei Botanical Garden, and the bewitching old-time charms of the Dadaocheng neighborhood also fascinated him.