The forest is being cleared to make way for Indonesia's planned new capital of Nusantara on the island of Borneo.
Tea Leaves

Indonesia's lessons in capital relocation

Nusantara risks becoming a pint-sized version of Jakarta

13 September 2023
A view of Tai O village at night: Governments have come and gone over the centuries, but the quiet Hong Kong village has stuck to its fishing roots throughout it all. 
Tea Leaves

Hong Kong's Tai O village offers political lessons

Over the centuries, locals have dealt with government changes

6 September 2023
People line up outside Rengatei, a popular restaurant in Tokyo's Ginza district, on March 16. Japan's food service industry has come roaring back after a punishing few years. 
Tea Leaves

No reservations in Japan's restaurant scene

Booking seats has become a daunting challenge in top dining destinations

30 August 2023
Doomed to demolition: The Chao Mae Thap Thim Chinese shrine in Bangkok’s gentrified Sam Yan neighborhood. (Photo by Max Crosbie-Jones)
Tea Leaves

How a Bangkok shrine became a gentrification battlefront

Students make a principled stand against university's property arm

23 August 2023
Newborns are dressed in Valentine's Day costumes at a Bangkok hospital. Cesarean sections are popular in Thailand partly because they make it easier for parents to control the timing of a birth, such as on an auspicious date.
Tea Leaves

Thai women are losing faith in labor

Superstition, fear and convenience converge in C-section boom

9 August 2023
A dizzying -- and inedible -- display of grilled sweet fish, fruit and champagne on ice at a store in Tokyo's Kappabashi district. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

Japan gives us faux food for real thought

Tokyo's Kappabashi district elevates plastic models to level of artwork

2 August 2023
The Yamagata Benio, left, is Yamagata prefecture's largest cherry variety yet. It is seen here compared with its predecessor, the Beni Shuho variety, at an orchard in June. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
Tea Leaves

How a $30 cherry helps boost rural Japan

Yamagata's luxury fruit market reflects economics and social dynamics of aging countryside

26 July 2023
Punters show off their Japanese-style tattoos at this year's Thailand Tattoo Expo. (Photo by Tom Vater)
Tea Leaves

My second skin, made in Thailand

Tattoo convention celebrates living, breathing 'skin art'

19 July 2023
A scene from "A Tourist's Guide to Love": Vietnamese media and tour operators are already offering guided tours to the film's main shooting locations. (Courtesy of Netflix) 
Tea Leaves

Dark side of 'A Tourist's Guide to Love'

Hit movie gives Vietnam fresh image, but risks unsustainable visitor boom

12 July 2023
The author leaves Bangkok by train, beginning his 1,800-kilometer journey to Singapore. (All photos by Andrew Benfield)
Tea Leaves

Can Europe's 'flight shaming' movement work in Asia?

It may be (much) slower but train travel gives a lot more back

5 July 2023
The Matsuya department store in Tokyo's Asakusa district: Erected in 1931, it had a mini-amusement park on its roof for decades.
Tea Leaves

For Japan's department stores, the game is nearly over

Iconic retail sector reflected Japan's postwar moment in the sun

28 June 2023
The author's paternal great-grandmother, center, is pictured here with in 1940. To her right sits the author's grandmother, holding the author's father. (Courtesy of the author)
Tea Leaves

Family history mirrors attitudes among China's diaspora

Why pride in the 'old country' still sustains Sino-Indonesians

21 June 2023
Many English expressions from the British colonial era live on in India, not always for the better.
Tea Leaves

Why India should euthanize English euphemisms

Polite terms are too often used to hide cruel reality or outdated values

14 June 2023
Thingyan revelers celebrate in Yangon: Government atrocities and oppression didn't stop people from letting loose during the New Year water festival. (Photo by Monica Mang)
Tea Leaves

To laugh or not to laugh on Yangon's mean streets

In post-takeover Myanmar, life goes on despite the background horror

7 June 2023
Each dawn, a man sells produce from his truck on the same street corner, where rich and poor neighbors intermingle. (All photos by Lien Hoang)
Tea Leaves

Saving Vietnam's street life from prosperity

Some cities are designed for loneliness. Ho Chi Minh City is made for community

31 May 2023
Blackpink performs at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, U.S., in August 2022. Half of the songs on the South Korean group's latest album have entirely English-language lyrics, while the others are a mix of Korean and English.
Tea Leaves

Has K-pop's global march lost rhythm?

Musical arm of the cool Korean wave is only marking time

24 May 2023
A woman walks past vending machines selling canned coffee and other drinks in Tokyo. 
Tea Leaves

Japan's vending machine culture is ahead of the curve

In an insecure world, automatic dispensers may be our last hope

16 May 2023
Thailand's prime ministerial election has provided fodder for both policy wonks and fashion watchers. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Ken Kobayashi; Bhumjaithai party, Move Forward party via Line)
Tea Leaves

In Thai elections, flaunting wealth is a winner

Candidates sport luxury watches and designer shoes to push populist policies on campaign trail

10 May 2023
Young people dressed in traditional Japanese attire distribute leaflets advertising a Japanese restaurant in Taipei's Ximending area. Japan's colonial legacy is still very visible in this part of the city. 
Tea Leaves

Reflections on Taiwan's 'Japan legacy'

Formers colonizers left behind a very Chinese place that still respects quietude

3 May 2023
A passenger takes in the evening view from the deck of a yakatabune pleasure boat sailing on Tokyo's Sumida River.
Tea Leaves

Touring Tokyo by water, from past to future

A boat trip provides fresh views and thoughts on the changing Japanese metropolis

26 April 2023
Quintessentially Thai: Pad kaprao, left, a stir-fry with a distinct aroma and a flavor of Thai holy basil, and the spicy, sour gaeng som, widely considered the hottest soup on the Thai menu. (All photos by Ken Kobayashi)
Tea Leaves

Thais hone taste for gastro-nationalism

In multilayered culinary culture, dishes are more than just meals

19 April 2023
Rugby fans gather for the Hong Kong Sevens tournament on April 1. The city's citizens have increasingly few reasons to cheer these days.
Tea Leaves

Hong Kong's 'new normal' is anything but

City retains its business buzz as political freedoms wither

12 April 2023
Boating in Ban Rak Thai: Located near the Myanmar border, the remote Thai village was not on the author's travel itinerary, but it proved to be a delightful discovery. (Shutterstock)
Tea Leaves

No-reservations travel sets you free

Ditching travel planning turns out to be a liberating experience in Thailand

5 April 2023
A satisfying nasi campur meal -- a platter of brown rice served with seven different vegetable dishes -- on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. (All photos by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Tea Leaves

How vegans are stirring Southeast Asia's food scene

Search for sustainability and the pandemic are making diners think again

29 March 2023
A selection of vintage clothes on sale at Grapefruit Moon in Tokyo's Koenji neighborhood. (All photos by Abi Buller)
Tea Leaves

How Japan rekindled my love affair with clothes

People who struggle to think beyond Uniqlo should try adding something unique

22 March 2023