And I realized again that real life is different from reel life.

I am the luckiest novelist in the world. I was a first-time novelist who wasn't awash in rejection slips, whose manuscript didn't disappear in slush piles. I have had a wonderful time.

Tokyo may have more money and Kyoto more culture; Nara may have more history and Kobe more style. But Osaka has the biggest heart.

I wonder what it feels like to have no desires left because you have satisfied them all, smothered them with money even before they are born. Is an existence without desire very desirable? And is the poverty of desire better than rank poverty itself?

The brain is not an organ we are authorized to use. We are supposed to use only our hands and legs.

The slums are not a place of despair. Its inhabitants are all working towards a better life.

I became completely addicted to 'Angry Birds' for a while.