Parts 1 and 2
Similarities:
1. Both countries have shitty summer weather. Japan: humid to the point where cold showers are wholly justified. Taiwan: humid + rainy + typhoons. I used to think living in L.A. during summertime was uncomfortable, with its 90 degree and above weather. I don't anymore, California's got it pretty good weather-wise, ignoring the fact that it no longer rains.
2. Both countries really enjoy hating on China; it's like a nation-wide hobby. True, a typical Japanese person would be fairly reluctant to use the word "hate" or express any form of negativity whatsoever, but yeah, they hate China. They just frame it as: "We're afraid of China" instead. (But who isn't, really?) I've had conversations about this topic ranging from "They hated us first!" to "They think they own the world" to "Nanking never happened." The hate may be on a differentiating spectrum, but it's certainly there.
I understand Taiwan's animosity towards China, considering the whole lack of national status thing that kind of exploded, among young people at least, this past year. But sometimes the vitriol still surprises me. A lot of Taiwanese assume that all Chinese people are like the tourists that flood popular spots in Taiwan every year -- and honestly, it seems that a lot of people in the world currently think this way. But it got to the point where I didn't even want to mention that my ancestors came from China, because of how awkward it would get in a conversation with older people I didn't know very well. If you say you're from Hong Kong, the responses you get are much friendlier. Taiwan and Hong Kong have a very good relationship, because Hong Kong also shares the "We hate China" mentality.
A lot of my Taiwanese friends complained that the Chinese characters they see abroad are written in simplified characters rather than traditional. It was literally one of the saddest things in the world for them. Again, I get it - seeing your country's influence in the world weaken would be hard for anyone to stomach - but for better or worse, Mainland Chinese (from China) is more universal, and I view this as something more practical - less strokes! more people know them! easier for foreigners to learn - than personal. Do I like traditional better? Sure, that's why I chose to learn it, but it's kind of illogical to hate on a country just because its writing system is more pervasive. I guess you can kind of argue that all hate is illogical in a way, much like emotions of the opposite sort.
3. Both countries are really into picture-taking, especially of themselves. The difference is that selfies seem more popular in Taiwan, whereas in Japan it's still purikura pics that rule all. I've seen Taiwanese girls take a selfie in almost every kind of situation - waiting in line for their milk tea, on a bus to school, even once in a bathroom. And both countries like to emphasize big eyes, pale skin, and kawaii poses involving the peace sign. I kind of really want to find an Asian country where feminine beauty isn't defined by trying to look like a human stuffed animal.
Differences:
1. Japan is a lot cleaner. I would be pretty shocked to find a country cleaner than Japan. I don't know how they do it, especially since they don't have trash cans on public streets so everyone just carries their own trash with them (and deposits it at home, I guess?). Even in Tokyo, where there are millions of people walking about every second of every day, many of whom who are drunk off their minds, I never once saw trash on the street. It sounds crazy, but the worst I ever saw were a bunch of cigarette butts lying on the ground. Japan's bathrooms, no matter where you seem to go, are spotless.
Taiwan, unfortunately, was not as clean. The weird thing about Taiwanese buildings is that 90% of the time, the insides are significantly better-looking, and bigger-looking, than the outsides. The outside of Taiwanese buildings often look like they haven't been remodeled for years (they probably haven't) and like nobody lives inside (they do). Only in really ritzy-looking areas, and Taiwan doesn't have that many, do you see new, polished-looking buildings. But the insides are spacious (way more spacious than most Japanese apartments) and usually nicely decorated. Japanese buildings might look old in some areas, but they still have this elegance to them that's hard to replicate.
I saw rats, cockroaches, lizards, and spiders all over Taiwan, but very rarely in Japan. In fact the only nasty bug I ever saw in Japan was a cicada and they don't usually get inside your house.
2. Japan has a lot more crazy cafes and weirder pop culture in general. They're not ashamed of otaku culture with the big-boobed anime characters, animals dressed up like humans, rock stars that wear pigtails and checkered skirts, and whatever other weird fusion you can think of. Only in Japan can people worship robots and maids without feeling ashamed. They have every sort of fantastically-out-there cafe imaginable. I once visited a cafe whose theme was a ghost cartoon named Boo. And that wasn't even one of the weirder ones (ahem, cuddle cafe).
Taiwan has a ton of cafes, but most of them are pretty normal. The nice thing about them is they'll often have a decent food menu rather than just drinks. The best quesadilla I ever had in Taiwan was in a cafe. Typical Japanese cafes (excluding the widespread weird ones) are chains rather than hole-in-the-wall places and their food isn't super great (nor inexpensive).
3. Japanese girls spend a lot more time on their appearance than Taiwanese girls. I thought I was biased because Tokyo girls are supposedly more conscientious of their appearances than girls from other regions (except Osaka apparently?), but no, Japanese girls in all areas get very decked out when they go out, even if it's just to the grocery store. They got the fake eyelashes, super high heels, short skirts, and more make-up on than the Kardashians. I think I can count the number of bare-faced Japanese girls I've seen in public over two years on one hand. In Taiwan, however, you see a lot more girls wearing T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. That's why it's so easy to spot Japanese girls in Taiwan, even when they're not speaking Japanese - they stand out so much. Japanese girls will even wear high-heels to go hiking.
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