We head to Shinjuku to encounter these Square Enix video game mascots turned tasty treats.
Casey Baseel
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Casey Baseel spent his formative years staring in frustration at un-subtitled Japanese TV programming shown on Southern California’s international channel. Taking matters into his own hands, he moved to Tokyo to study the language, then found work in Yokohama a decade ago teaching, translating, and marketing hotels he can’t afford to stay in. When not participating in the eternal cycle of exercising to burn the calories form his love of Japanese food, Casey scours used comic and game shops for forgotten classics, drags his wife around the country in a quest to visit all its castles, sings karaoke not nearly as well as he thinks he does, and counts the days until the summertime bars open on Enoshima Beach.
Posted by Casey Baseel (Page 11)
Students studying Japanese as a second language in-country hits historic high, majority of teachers are unpaid volunteers.
Bathhouse just north of Tokyo provides rubber Psyduckies, Ditto sauna stones, and other sights and scents to soothe tired Trainers.
I had no idea you could win crane game prizes in Japan the way my friend won this Dragon Quest Slime
This black Slime plushie had become his white whale until something I’d never experienced before happened.
We taste-test Starbuck’s latest Japanese S’mores Frappuccino, plus their first-ever hot apple cider.
Eva’s special friends take the stage for a special event at series 30th anniversary celebration.
Matcha Fair is now underway at Ikea Japan with brand-new green tea sweets for the winter holiday season.
Foodies today might be the dishes in a very different light than they did a generation ago as sushi now sits in the number-three rank.
With a diplomatic spat prompting a warning from the Chinese government, we go to see if it’s had any effect on Tokyo’s most popular historical neighborhood.
You’ll need skills at a different kind of game to get your hands on these video game plushies.
Proponents say they want to use extra money to improve quality of life for foreign residents, strengthen programs to find and deport illegal residents.
Spirited Away’s No Face also gets into the Japanese New Year’s spirit with a special kadomatsu.
You know, you really have been working hard, so why not treat yourself to a dip in a bath full of negi?
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