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The Kotoba Interactive journal.

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Bouteilles de Moutai présentées avant une vente aux enchères à Hong Kong.
Featured
Food5 min

Moutai: The Chinese Spirit That Trades Like a Blue Chip

Moutai (茅台), the baijiu of Guizhou: its twelve-month production cycle, its diplomatic role, its Shanghai listing, and why a bottle resells far above its official price.

Japan
Alvéoles superposées d'un hôtel capsule d'Osaka, vues depuis le couloir.
Hôtel capsuleカプセルホテル5 min

Capsule Hotels: Born in Osaka in 1979, Designed by Kurokawa

The Japanese capsule hotel: the first one opened in Osaka in 1979 by architect Kisho Kurokawa, the regulated dimensions, Metabolism and the Nakagin Tower, and today's design version.

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Japan
Façades et enseignes lumineuses du quartier de Kabukichō, à Shinjuku.
Host clubホストクラブ6 min

Kabukichō Host Clubs: The Job, the Rankings, the Tab

Japanese host clubs: how a Kabukichō club works, the shimei system, the champagne call, the sales rankings, and the 2025 law that banned running a tab.

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China
Vue d'ensemble de la ville marchande internationale de Yiwu, dans la province du Zhejiang.
Taobao village淘宝村5 min

Taobao Villages: Whole Towns Living Off an Online Shop

Taobao villages (淘宝村): how Chinese villages specialised in online selling, the official definition, the case of Dongfeng, and the limits of the model.

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The map

Browse Asia with a fingertip

Japan’s 47 prefectures, the provinces of China and Korea. Click a territory: what to see there, what people eat, what is made there.

Open the map

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