Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2011

Send us your comments via: letters@metropolis.co.jp

I know you guys are probably busy, this mag doesn’t run itself; but why not post video game articles in your arts and entertainment section?
—anonoymous

Just a suggestion: Design Festa should go on tour worldwide. Why the biggest German professional fairs are opening new shows anywhere and the amazing Design Festa wouldn’t be meant to be attractive in Europe or America?
—injoyingjapan

UNSOLICITED & CONFUSING EMAIL OF THE WEEK

Hello! My name is Marushchenko Vlad my children the biggest fans of your television channel, they by the satellite aerial or internet, to them likes all in you – the novelty which is well visible music, the programme, news, it like your group and works harmoniously, they see only and you, and constantly tell the friends – who have your canal wonderful, and I to you the inquiry – you could not send me your advertising materials which would have pleased very much my children. With the hearty greetings. My address: Russia, Moskow, 27015, Butyrskaya, 79-143, Marushchenko Vlad—qwert qwert

Phil Couzens

HAVING A STAB

Regarding “Missing the Point” (Feature, May 6): “Acupuncture in China and Japan was rocked by the 19th-century importation of Western medicine.” Of course it was. “Western medicine” is actual medicine
—SiouxChef*

If you really think acupuncture works, such as to kill pain, then forgo Novocain and ask for acupuncture the next time your dentist drills into your tooth. Then you’ll find out how effective the traditional Asian approach to medicine really is. Traditional medicines, with a small number of lucky exceptions, are nothing but primitive placebos. When people relied exclusively on traditional medicine, the average life expectancy was around 40. In societies that rely on Western medicine, it’s around 80 or higher. If your child is in a serious car accident and bleeding to death, where would take him/her? To a herbalist or alternative practitioner? Or to a Western-style emergency ward at a modern hospital? I know what choice I would make.
—JeffLee*

Actually, they do use acupuncture for surgery in China and I can tell you from experience that both kampo and acupuncture do work. I was as skeptical as you but I once had back pain that was so excruciating that I couldn’t even sit up straight. At the hospital they just gave me painkillers and muscle relaxants and told me to lie down for a couple days for it to get better. On the other hand, immediately after acupuncture I could stand up and walk. It was pretty amazing.
—fds*

Please feel free to post any articles like this about alternative healing modalities, bodywork, yoga, healthy eating, etc. on the HelloYoga.com Facebook page. English: www.facebook.com/helloyoga1
—Dylan Robertson

*via Japan Today

METRO COMMUNITY GROUP OF THE WEEK

Tokyo Hobos, Public Group
No job? Living through hard times? Let’s share survival tips and experiences about living in Tokyo! Cheap guesthouses, cheap eateries, stuff for free, part time jobs and so on. http://meturl.com/tokyohobos

Join the Metropolis Community at http://metropolis.co.jp/community