Life

Felix Kusmanto and his wife, Debby Amalia King, run a company that processes mineral-rich Indonesian kenari nuts, which are gaining fans overseas among health-conscious millennials. (Photo by Jun Suzuki) 
Food & Beverage

Mineral-rich Indonesian nuts win over millennials

Exports up 80% in five years as nut-lovers drawn to nutrition-packed snack

29 March 2020
 Americans Ben Emrich, left, and Adam Baran operate Nomcraft Brewing in Wakayama Prefecture.
Food & Beverage

Foreign brewmasters pour into Japan's craft beer scene

Local communities toast unique tastes and techniques from overseas talent

28 March 2020
Lionel Barber, then-editor of the Financial Times, seen speaking at a forum in Turin, Italy in June 2017. 
Life

What UK should learn from Asia on fighting coronavirus

Financial Times' former editor on lessons in pandemic prevention

25 March 2020
In addition to growing coffee, the women of Kambihalli Estate also run Halli Berri cottages, a luxe homestay. (Christabel Lobo)
Life

India's coffee-growing tradition thrives with new gourmet producers

Family tragedy prompted Kambihalli Estate's revival in Karnataka

25 March 2020
"Bone healer" Mangku Sudarsana treats a patient at his clinic on the slopes of Bali's Mount Agung. (Photo by Ian Lloyd Neubauer)
Tea Leaves

Asian faith healer has lessons for modern medicine

Success of Bali 'bone-healer' highlights popular belief in traditional cures

25 March 2020
Yukio Toyoura practices the Navasana, or Boat Pose, at a beach in Bali, Indonesia. He quit his job as a systems engineer three years ago to become a full-time yoga teacher. (Courtesy of Yukio Toyoura)
Life

Independents feel chill in Japan's 'hot' yoga market

Many traditional studios have faltered but the fittest survive

20 March 2020
Tokyo commuters are in the habit of protecting their fellow passengers by wearing masks, but some rowdy riders are now scaring off others with false claims of being virus carriers.
Society

Fake coronavirus claims in Japan halt trains and concerts

Malice also at work as one patient deliberately spread virus before dying

19 March 2020
An icebreaker carrying tourists sails through drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk off Abashiri, on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, in January 2017. The decks are a lot emptier this year due to coronavirus fears.
Life

Coronavirus punches a hole in Japan's drift-ice tourism

Hokkaido attraction hit hard by COVID-19 outbreak as visitor numbers fall

18 March 2020
People queue to buy face masks in Bangkok. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Tea Leaves

Unexpected upsides to coronavirus

From greenhouse gases to saving endangered wildlife, improbable winners emerge

18 March 2020
The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are still on, but many qualifying events have been canceled, raising questions among athletes about how to qualify for the games.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Tokyo Olympics: Sports federations press IOC for clarity

As qualifying events are canceled, some anxious athletes look past Japan to 2024

17 March 2020
East Japan Railway transformed this inn from a samurai-era storehouse. (Photo by Jun Hayakawa)
Travel & Leisure

Historic 'samurai inns' give guests glimpse of a distant past

Classic storehouses transformed into lodgings decorated with katana swords

17 March 2020
Twitter user @4danlopez on Saturday morning tweeted a photo of long lines outside a New York bar despite confirmed coronavirus cases piling up in the state. 
Coronavirus

Bars and restaurants close as New Yorkers can't stop partying

Nightlife crowds remain large even as US coronavirus cases climb

17 March 2020
Bangkok opened its first urban railway in 1999, a relatively early mover in Southeast Asia, but frequent political upheavals and economic fluctuations delayed expansion. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Transportation

Bangkok hopes extended railway will ease traffic chaos

Subway system set to double with $9.5bn investment by 2023

15 March 2020
Players of Toho high school and Narashino high school play in the final of the national high school baseball invitational championship at Koshien Stadium on April 3, 2019.
Life

Spring Koshien cancellation crushes baseball players' dreams

First time since Second World War that high school tournament has been scrapped

13 March 2020
A Songkran water fight in Bangkok last year. But the spread of coronavirus this year has dampened plans. 
Coronavirus

Coronavirus threatens Thailand's Songkran festival

Authority plans to postpone Thai New Year festival to mitigate fall in tourism receipts

13 March 2020
Lesser flamingos gather on Mumbai's Thane Creek, Asia's largest creek. (Photo by Matjaz Tancic)
Life

Big pink influx: Why flamingo-spotting is Mumbai's latest craze

120,000 birds drawn to Thane Creek as slum waste fuels their food

13 March 2020
The Secretariat Building at dusk: The Yangon landmark was farmed out to the private sector for renovation and commercial use to help cover the estimated $4 billion construction bill for the new capital, Naypyitaw. (Peter Janssen)
Life

Marketing Myanmar's heritage is a tough sell

Debate intensifies over new uses for iconic colonial buildings as tourism numbers wobble

11 March 2020
The Japanese Olympic team enters the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games on Oct. 10, 1964. 
Tea Leaves

Japan's Olympic challenge holds echoes of 1964

Tokyo overcame huge problems first time around and could do it again, coronavirus permitting

11 March 2020
The latest version of the Jimny features a streamlined design.
Life

The Suzuki Jimny: a tiny SUV with a big cult following

Cute to some, cool to others, the Japanese micromachine is still selling out

10 March 2020
 A limited-edition tea sold by Royal Blue Tea Japan that is priced at 300,000 yen a bottle sold out in three days. (Photo by Jun Takai)
Business trends

Japan taps the $3bn potential of 'sobernomics'

Nondrinkers fuel demand for alcohol-free wines and spirits

8 March 2020
Echigo Tokimeki Resort Setsugekka's large windows afford sweeping views of the scenery. (Photo by Hideyuki Miura) 
Travel & Leisure

Ride the rails in style aboard Japan's 10 best tourist trains

Local delicacies and rich interiors are a window on a bygone era of luxury

7 March 2020
Hankyu Railway's women-only carriage at Osaka-Umeda station, pictured in June 2013: It is a tool to compartmentalize women. (Photo by Atsushi Ooka)
Opinion

Every day is International Men's Day in Japan

Country must fight misogyny and sexual harassment from the ground up

6 March 2020
Lai Pin-yu, in full cosplay mode, campaigns with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in December just two weeks before becoming the island's youngest-ever legislator at 27. (Courtesy of the Office of Lai Pin-yu)   
Life

Taiwan narrowing gender gap, but patriarchy lives on

More women are winning political office, despite obstacles

6 March 2020
Pattaya has been popular with foreign expats and tourists since American servicemen flocked there during the Vietnam War.  (Photo by George Styllis)
Economy

Thailand's foreign retirees see their good life slip away

Surging baht and new rules dull the country's allure for budget-minded expats

5 March 2020
Komodo dragons are the world’s largest lizards, growing to a length of 3 meters and topping 100 kg. Only rediscovered in the early 20th century, they have roamed the earth for millions of years but survive only on a few remote Indonesian islands. (Ron Gluckman)
Life

Indonesia's Komodo dragons spark a devil of a row

Plans to control tourist numbers set locals against the provincial government

4 March 2020