Tea Leaves

Marologa Bhavan, a South Asian restaurant located in suburban Tokyo's Nakano ward, is part of Tokyo's rich culinary mosaic. (All photos by Melinda Joe)
Tea Leaves

Small is beautiful but perilously fragile in Tokyo's dining scene

Tiny food outlets struggle to survive but form the backbone of a celebrated food culture

15 March 2023
Vietnamese pop singer Hoang Thuy Linh's song "See Tinh" has gone viral on TikTok, with people around the world from Ecuador to the Philippines uploading videos of themselves dancing to the infectious tune. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by TikTok Vietnam and the LEADER Entertainment Vietnam)
Tea Leaves

Mysterious algorithms help Vietnam TikTok hit go global

'See Tinh' is fun but endless internet scroll teaches us it's bad to be bored

8 March 2023
Kimono-clad children walk along a road lined with cherry blossoms in the central Japanese city of Ichinomiya after their elementary school graduation ceremony in March 2021. Global warming appears to be causing cherry trees to flower earlier than usual. 
Tea Leaves

Is climate change killing the haiku?

Loss of distinct seasons threatens traditional Japanese culture

1 March 2023
Australia's recent passport update was a chance to showcase the nation's design prowess. What the public got instead was the same sober navy-blue cover. (Courtesy of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
Tea Leaves

Passports can say a lot about a country

Australia's new design is a missed opportunity in soft power projection

22 February 2023
A dog walker in Tokyo in October 2020: Gone are the days when Japanese mainly kept canines for guarding their homes and for hunting.
Tea Leaves

Japan puts new meaning into 'dog's life'

Once banished outdoors, canine pets benefit from social and economic changes

15 February 2023
The 1968 yakuza movie "Big Time Gambling Boss" was recently rereleased on Blu-ray Disc by U.K. company Radiance Films in a limited edition of 2,000 copies. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Radiance Films)
Tea Leaves

A yakuza movie makes the case for videodiscs

How a fading medium can revitalize a message

8 February 2023
Khin Reth, 35, carries his 3-year-old son in rural Cambodia in 2003. The former soldier lost his leg to a land mine. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

How ghost of Khmer Rouge haunts a Cambodian holiday

Beyond Siem Reap's ancient temples, sobering reminders of land mines and past traumas

1 February 2023
Mickey Rooney's portrayal of the Japanese character Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" leaned into ugly stereotypes, prompting one reviewer to write, "The role is a caricature and may be offensive to some." (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Hollywood's skewed view of Japan

Caricatures and lurid plot lines have shaped Western attitudes

25 January 2023
Left: Bilums from the author's collection made of traditional bark and sisal fibers, with the odd daub or strip of modern color in two cases. Right: A bilum trader at Port Moresby's Four Mile handicraft market makes a bilum out of modern materials while waiting for customers. (All photos by Hamish McDonald)
Tea Leaves

Papua New Guinea's 'bilums' weave together function, fashion

Traditional string bags find buyers in Sydney and New York

18 January 2023
The tea ceremony encourages us to slow down and appreciate the beauty in everyday life. (Nikkei montage/Photos by Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Japan's life lessons in a cup of tea

Traditional tea ceremony remains relevant to contemporary life

11 January 2023
Traffic jams in Canggu have become relentless since tourists returned to Bali earlier this year. (All photos by Dave Smith)
Tea Leaves

Trashing paradise: The perils of post-pandemic tourism

After enforced lull, travel returns to Indonesia's Bali with a vengeance

27 December 2022
Crime and nourishment: A jail-themed restaurant in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. 
Tea Leaves

Escaping from it all -- in prison

Tourists pay for the 'immersive experience' of incarceration

21 December 2022
People collect holy water from a huge bucket outside a temple in Nakhon Pathom province, central Thailand. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Thai superstitions keep modernity in its place

Economic insecurity has widened interest in the supernatural among the young

14 December 2022
Waterfall jumping in Myanmar's Shan state: Even for responsible tourists, there is a grave issue of principle at stake. (Photo by Sai James)
Tea Leaves

Myanmar tourism -- to go or not to go?

Once-thriving adventure travel sector struggles under military regime

7 December 2022
A man poses on a warrior horse at War Land, a sprawling theme park commemorating one of Japan's most decisive battles, fought in Gifu prefecture in the autumn of 1600. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

Keeping it unreal in Japan

Do the country's many theme parks imitate life, or vice versa?

30 November 2022
A garden with a green wall tucked into forested hills some 80 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. (Photo by Dominic Faulder)
Tea Leaves

In Thailand, there is life beyond the capital

In an over-centralized country, not all roads should lead to Bangkok

23 November 2022
An outdoor office on the Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan. The unprecedented dearth of tourism caused by pandemic shutdowns has prompted many governments in Southeast Asia to reevaluate digital nomads as a source of long-term income, rather than a nuisance. (Getty Images) 
Tea Leaves

Digital nomads push Southeast Asia's boundaries

New visa rules help remote workers, but need careful consideration

16 November 2022
An “Asiatic Arcadia”: The city of Kaminoyama, in Yamagata prefecture, as seen from a nearby mountainside in July 2020. (Photo by Alice French)
Tea Leaves

Yamagata's lesson in post-pandemic tourism

Neglected Japanese prefecture rebrands to reach out to the world

9 November 2022
A vendor sells food for iftar -- the meal that breaks the fast in the evening -- on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a traditional food market in Jakarta. 
Tea Leaves

Why expatriates should stop moaning

Reflections on the not-so-subtle art of living in a foreign country

2 November 2022
A man is dressed for the occasion at a marijuana legalization expo in Buriram, Thailand, on June 10. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

In Thailand, hold the drinks and pass the cannabis

Thais embrace new 'ganja' craze but adhere to draconian alcohol restrictions

26 October 2022
The resurgence of vinyl records over the past decade has been well-documented. Now the compact cassette, for all its imperfections, has been placed in the revivalist ranks. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Cassette tape revival turns old trash into new treasure

Musicians and fans like its affordability and physical qualities in a digital world

19 October 2022
People walk past a Hong Kong Jockey Club off-course branch promoting soccer betting. In 2021, 11 of the 20 soccer teams in the English Premier League had Chinese betting companies as shirt sponsors.
Tea Leaves

Growth in Asian sports corruption causes a flutter

Gambling industry remains a good bet, despite legal handicaps

12 October 2022
Tattoos may not have yet entered the mainstream in Japan, but the stigma surrounding them is fading. (Screenshot from Red Bunny Tattoo's Instagram page)
Tea Leaves

Japan's 'cool' tattoo culture reflects changing values

Indelible body art is no longer confined to ranks of the underworld

5 October 2022
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Westminster Hall in London on Sept. 14. The pomp that accompanied the queen's funeral was steeped in the kind of elaborate symbolism and arcane rituals seen in parts of Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia.
Tea Leaves

Why Britain's royal succession resonates in Asia

Queen Elizabeth's funeral highlights similar focus on reinforcing national identity

28 September 2022
Don't knock it till you've tried it: Vietnamese egg coffee from Hanoi. (Photo by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Tea Leaves

'Camouflage cooking' makes a comeback

Pandemic times in Asia inspire return to kitchen traditions

21 September 2022