The author on his latest adventure, a 3,000-kilometer ride through Sumatra, the largest island fully inside Indonesian territory. This photo was taken at sunset at a viewpoint overlooking Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra province. (All photos courtesy of Ian Lloyd Neubauer)
Life

From Tibet to PNG, touring Asia-Pacific on two wheels

Adventure biking yields a unique view of a diverse region

25 August 2024
Former baseball player Shogo Shibata, third from right, hopes to increase fans of the sport in Southeast Asia through the Asia Koshien 2024 baseball tournament. (Photo by Junichiro Sato)
Sports

Indonesia's 'field of dreams': Youth tournament to pitch baseball to nation

Former Japan pro player spearheads project to spread sport in Southeast Asia

24 August 2024
With his book, historian Frederik Cryns wanted to write an accurate, faithful biography of William Adams, the English sailor who inspired the "Shogun" story. (Source photos Reaktion Books, Getty Images)
Books

Books: William Adams, 'blue-eyed samurai' who never was

Japan-based historian and author pieces together puzzle of the would-be English shogun

24 August 2024
Pakistani Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem throws the javelin at the Stade de France on Aug. 8.
Sports

Pakistan Olympic winner trades homemade javelins for superstardom

First gold medallist in decades turns cricket-mad nation on its head

21 August 2024
The friendship bridge spanning the Tiau River serves as an important commercial lifeline between the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram and western Myanmar's Chin state. 
Tea Leaves

Thai border town offers geopolitical lesson for India

Bangkok's discreet yet pragmatic stance on Myanmar refugees works better than India's hostility

21 August 2024
Monks collect alms from a fighter in the anti-regime People's Defense Force in Tagu, a town in southern Myanmar's Tanintharyi Region. (All photos by Valeria Mongelli)
Life

Life in Myanmar's resistance-held areas

Snapshot of Tanintharyi shows how the fragile parallel administration is taking control in strongholds

18 August 2024
Stream article image
Life

A guide to Tokyo's vegan revolution

Some of the best plant-based eateries sprouting up across Japan's capital

17 August 2024
In “The Shortest History of Japan,” Lesley Downer presents a fresh perspective on Japan’s 2,000-year national story. (Source photos Lesley Downer, Getty Images)
Books

Books: Japan's millennia-spanning history, told in a nutshell

Author explores how ancient dilemmas are echoed in the modern world

11 August 2024
The Indonesian island of Maratua boasts a number of virtually empty beaches with superb reef snorkeling just off the shore. (All photos by Oliver Raw)
Life

Maratua beckons tourists seeking low-key alternative to Bali

Indonesian island expects rise in visitors after relocation of national capital

10 August 2024
"Bahar," a remake of a South Korean drama, has enjoyed huge popularity in Turkey. (MF Yapim)
Media & Entertainment

Asian dramas spread across the world through Turkish remakes

South Korean and Japanese content is turning up in over 100 countries

10 August 2024
Electronicos Fantasticos founder Ei Wada rocks out on a converted fan. The collective's members range from primary school kids to engineers at appliance companies. 
Tea Leaves

Japan's reverence for past gives new musical meaning to old appliances

Improbable avant-garde artists' collective Electronicos Fantasticos celebrates a retro-future

7 August 2024
Not A Hotel's Irori, a glass-walled villa in a forest near Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture, opened on July 16. (Not A Hotel)
Travel & Leisure

Japan's latest pitch to wealthy tourists: Timeshare designer palaces

A Bathing Ape's Nigo curates Not A Hotel's new villa on Tokyo Bay

7 August 2024
Coach Roshan Xaxa, right, explains the finer points of tackling and laying off the ball to rugby players in Saraswatipur, India. (All photos by Manob Ghosh)
Life

India's women rugby players scrummage for a better future

Children of tea workers in one Indian village dominate the national team

6 August 2024
The Pyongyang Restaurant in Vientiane no longer has clear signage identifying it by that name. (Photo by Junnoruke Kobara)
International relations

North Korean restaurants in Laos fly under radar

No signs, but plenty of clues to connection with Pyongyang

5 August 2024
Artist and filmmaker Angus McDonald has been a finalist in Australia's most prestigious portrait competition, the Archibald Prize, seven times. "The Archibald transcends the art world," McDonald says. "It has so much power to engage people," (Photo by Nolan Verheij)
Arts

Acclaimed Australian painter spotlights art of human rights

From economics to campaigns for asylum seekers, Angus McDonald makes a mark in diverse worlds

4 August 2024
The front entrance of the new Toyota City Museum, which opened in late April and was designed by the Japanese contemporary architect Shigeru Ban. (Courtesy of Toyota City Museum)
Arts

Toyota city's new museum tells multifaceted story

From nature and history to fine art, architectural showcase celebrates much more than the local carmaker

3 August 2024
Shanghai's fashionable West Bund district is luring art lovers from China and beyond. (All photos by John Krich)
Arts

Shanghai repositions as cutting-edge art hub

West Bund development includes four big museums plus private galleries and cafes

2 August 2024
People take photos of characters from the Japanese manga series “Chiikawa” at a pop-up store in Hong Kong. (Photo by Echo Wong)
Tea Leaves

China's stressed young people find solace in Japanese manga

Struggles facing ‘Chiikawa’ characters resonate with youth amid economic slowdown

31 July 2024
Mumbai-based comedian Azeem Banatwalla said he used to laugh at the death threats he received. Now, he admitted, he is sometimes rattled, although he continues to make jokes against the government. (Courtesy of Azeem Banatwalla)
Life

In India, comedy is no longer a funny business

Stand-up is booming, but performers face political pressure to self-censor

28 July 2024
This 19th-century gold-plated buckle is one of the many extraordinary items featured in Michael Backman's new book, "Malay Silver and Gold: Courtly Splendour from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand." (All photos courtesy of River Books (London))
Books

Books: Gold and silver artworks highlight Malay royal splendor

Lavishly illustrated volume breaks fresh ground in study of courtly regalia and fine craftsmanship

27 July 2024
Stream article image
Environment

NIKKEI Film: Wooden skyscrapers in the city of the future

Designers dream of 'green' high-rise buildings surpassing 350 meters

27 July 2024
In "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman," the magic of animation enables director Pierre Foldes to convey the surreal qualities of Haruki Murakami's fiction: A character known as Frog suddenly flattens his body into a paper-thin sheet to slide through a train carriage window, while other passengers are rendered transparent. (Pierre Foldes Defacto/Miyu)
Arts

Movie animates Murakami's portraits of empty lives

'Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman' elevates celebrated author's genre fantasies

25 July 2024
A boat plies the river in the Sundarbans National Park -- the world's largest mangrove forest. Located in the delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, the forest is described by UNESCO as "one of the most biologically productive of all natural ecosystems." (Photo by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Tea Leaves

Tiger spotting among the mangroves

A conservation lesson in South Asia's forested Sundarbans region

24 July 2024
French architects Melanie Heresbach and Sebastien Renauld made this old farmhouse in Kyoto their home. (Photo by Akira Takemura)
Life

Searching Japan's abandoned houses for the ultimate fixer-upper

Foreigners are preserving old architecture -- and even taking it home

21 July 2024