Bar Kotak, in South Jakarta, is one of several venues in and around the Indonesian capital drawing on Japanese bar culture to create intimate spaces for conversation and connection. (Courtesy of Bar Kotak)
Three distinctive venues prize human connection over high volume
JAKARTA — On a weekend evening in South Jakarta, the first thing a visitor notices at Bar Kotak is not the cocktails or the music, but the hum of conversation. Guests talk to one another instead of constantly checking their smartphones. A portrait of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, overlooks the room as old-school jazz drifts through speakers tuned to complement, rather than dominate, the space.
