Travel Guides
Jonathan DeHart is a Tokyo-based writer and editor focused on culture and society in Asia. He is the author of two first-edition Japan guidebooks for Moon Travel Guides and a journalist with more than 500 published articles. His work has been selected for various "best of" lists by The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Foreign Policy and Real Clear World. He has also worked as an editor for webzines, including The Diplomat, newswires and a monthly print magazine. Beyond his work as a writer and editor, he interprets trends in Asia for leading behavioral insights and cultural consulting agencies.
Travel Guides
From the world's busiest intersection to the most serene hot springs, modernity and tradition mingle in Japan. Experience the natural wonder and rich culture of a country unlike any other.
From serene Buddhist temples to the world's busiest intersection, experience the cosmopolitan culture, deeply embedded history, and legendary cuisine of Japan.
Japan
From trendy Tomigaya to local-favorite Kichijoji, here are some of Tokyo's best-kept secrets.
Weary of the concrete jungle, residents across Japan flock to the subtropical Okinawa Prefecture, where the laid-back locals and distinct culture weave a spell of their own.
Despite an illustrious past and revered status overseas, Japanese tattoos have long struggled for acceptance at home.
The rise and fall of the previously legal "loophole herb" offers an interesting tale of Japan's effort to tighten its control of intoxicants.
The explosive success of "affair dating" website Ashley Madison in Japan has revealed just how widespread adultery is in the country.
Donald Richie, American writer on Japan, mentor and humanist, has died at 88.
East Asia (China, the Koreas, Mongolia)
Within Shanghai's sleek city walls lies a cluster of enclaves that seem frozen in time, where traditional architecture – and a more traditional way of life – has survived the wave of modernization. This report comes from behind the ornate gates of the city's shikumen lane communities.
The emergence of a newly moneyed class means more Pyongyang residents have cash to burn. But appearances can deceive.
Mongolia shed its one-party system in 1990. Now both its economy and its traditional culture are booming.
Self-immolations by Tibetan monks have spiked with China’s leadership change. Beijing continues to ignore their message.
Dennis Rodman may be winning the hearts of North Korean fans, but this trip isn’t statecraft.
South and Southeast Asia
Thailand’s capital is home to a vibrant community of writers exploring the city’s vast underbelly.
An interview with thangka master painter and teacher, Ambar Lama, on the state of this iconic Tibet-an art.
A TIME Magazine cover story has riled Thein Sein along with much of the nation.
In a race against time, archaeologists are working to save a Buddhist site of immense significance in Afghanistan, slated for imminent destruction by a Chinese mining firm.
Vietnam has a unique coffee culture with an alluring story. The challenge is finding the right way to tell it.
Have mass media and consumerism hijacked India’s holiest event?
Cultural Commentary (Asia-wide)
Asia has a long way to go in addressing its past and present political baggage. A more progressive spirit in the region’s popular culture could help change the conversation.
To what extent could a shared cultural sphere overcome bitter disputes and heal wounds from East Asia’s past?
Although the mermaid mythos is normally thought to be Western, it runs deep in Asia too.
Asia’s taste for shark fin soup endangers a number of species. But attitudes are changing.
While the Buddha’s message is alive in the East, in the West some say it has been scrambled.
Although punk rock may have lost its edge in the West, it is alive and kicking in much of Asia.