DC Palter
DC Palter is the author of the mystery novel, To Kill a Unicorn, about a Japanese hacker investigating a sinister Silicon Valley startup. He’s also the author of Colloquial Kansai Japanese, Tuttle’s guidebook to the Osaka dialect of Japanese, and editor of Japonica, the journal of Japanese culture. After starting his career as a research engineer in Japan, DC returned to Los Angeles as a startup founder and venture investor. He lives in Mar Vista with his wife, Satsuki, an ikebana artist and tea ceremony teacher.
Updated May 2023
Stories from This Author
The Last Days of The Dandy Lion
May 28, 2023 • DC Palter
On the second floor above a rowdy sushi bar and a brightly lit omiyage shop, The Dandy Lion was easy to miss. The only marker for the stairwell was a carved wooden sign swaying over the entrance, the yellow dandelions that had once bracketed the name long ago flaked away. Stepping in from the rain, I shook my umbrella before climbing the rickety stairs. “Irasshaimase,” Kyoko-chan greeted me as soon as I rolled the door open on its metal rail. …
