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 2)
![Is a snow day the perfect day to beat the crowds at a popular ramen restaurant? [Experiment]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/sr-2-1.jpg?w=640 "Is a snow day the perfect day to beat the crowds at a popular ramen restaurant? [Experiment]")
Restaurant known for numbingly spicy ramen and intimidatingly long lines lures us out in the Tokyo snow.
![Five amazing snow-view open-air Japanese hot springs in Hokkaido [Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/yr-2.jpg?w=640 "Five amazing snow-view open-air Japanese hot springs in Hokkaido [Photos]")
![Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/ss-1-1.jpg?w=640 "Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]")
New bullet train goes into service next month with route connecting Tokyo and Tohoku region.
![Blowfish-shaped fugu bento appears to celebrate Japan’s Blowfish Day [Taste test]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/fb-4.jpg?w=640 "Blowfish-shaped fugu bento appears to celebrate Japan’s Blowfish Day [Taste test]")
Tokyo man arrested for stealing smartphone, turning it in to police to claim reward money.
Mr. Sato leads an office roundtable discussion on weird things Japanese schools have said “Nope, you can’t do that” about.
Mister Donut is Japan’s most broadly loved donut chain, but this kind of behavior is more divisive.
Cherry blossom donuts scheduled to arrive well before the cherry blossoms themselves, but we’re not complaining.
The Minato Mirai neighborhood is looking extra futuristic with Eva light-up and fireworks.
![McDonald’s Japan partners with anime English teacher, but did they commit a cultural error?[Video]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/me-0.jpg?w=640 "McDonald’s Japan partners with anime English teacher, but did they commit a cultural error?[Video]")
Ellen-sensei is the latest otaku spokesperson for McDonald’s, but there’s one organization she’d never endorse.
In-home trespassing, public urination, and other bad manners bring an end to a local tradition.
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Monthly
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