How a Hong Kong-style milk tea shop in Tokyo has customers queuing out the door

Sep 21, 2026

With its dark-wood-furnished interior that is part-boutique, part-workshop and part-cafe, there is a lot to notice about Urushi to Hibi in Tokyo. The daily line of customers outside the door, however, is mostly here for one thing: its Hong Kong-style milk tea. Behind the counter, the three co-founders – Lei Shengyu, Zhang Qingyue and Ji Qiuzi – work tirelessly, alternating between taking and prepping orders. On this day, Ji is making the milk tea, face full of concentration as he strains it...

Frontal Report

Frontal Report is an emerging leader in all forms of media. We aim to be the leading news brand for readers around the world.