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 288)
Cynics won’t be surprised, but unintended inside look at hostess bar shorthand still stings.
The often-overlooked Suidobashi neighborhood makes a great base for exploring Tokyo, and this high-class capsule hotel makes it even better.
The event is dedicated to Japan’s Internet video makers, but these in-person cosplayers were who really caught our attention.
Surprisingly large number also say they relax at home in the nude.
Drunken attempt at assistance is a prime example of the solution being far worse than the problem.
Getting turned down for a job hurts, but one company wants to do what it can to help job-hunters bounce back from a rejection.
Chichibugahama Beach looks like a Makoto Shinkai anime come to life, and is well worth a detour off the beaten travel path.
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Troubling statistic is coupled with an additional one-in-four saying they’ve heard the word, but don’t know what it means.
Anime becomes reality with help from the creator of the original Gundam, and it even has a strange, hard-to-pronounce anime mecha-style name!
In our latest attempt to get rich and eat fast food, we test the limits of the Uniqlo/McDonald’s discount campaign.
Beautiful mother/son work of art meets a bittersweet end at the hands of the one enemy it can’t defeat.
Makers of the sailor bikini are back to prove one-piece swimwear can still be daringly sexy.
New father makes mental note of the economic upside of breastfeeding, passes those savings on to his beloved wife.
Some say the Pokémon GO craze is over, but the bond between true lovers is eternal (and in this case kind of weird).
Hardcore cosplayers make their own costumes, and for Reika Saiki, that includes building her body to get Chun-Li’s thighs.
After a dozen years waiting, fans have a chance to see the Kingdom Hearts/Evangelion singer live, plus a way to boost their odds of getting tickets.
Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke monsters, and a building marked “Cat Bus” have fans more excited than ever about Ghibli Park.
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Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
History’s largest force of Samurai Colonel Sanders deploying to KFC Japan branches
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
Weekly
- Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day- Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
Beautiful Red and Blue Star luxury trains set to be Japan’s new Hokkaido travel stars
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches- McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Monthly
- McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
- Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things- Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
- All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
Yearly
- McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint- Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
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Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
History’s largest force of Samurai Colonel Sanders deploying to KFC Japan branches
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
Mister Donut’s new Kyoto roasted green tea donut is a mess…in the best possible way
Cappuccino Ramen becomes super popular in Japan, but is it worth the hype?
The Straw Hat Students are back with a new One Piece Japanese high school anime short【Video】
We visit the Paris branch of Muji in search for some minimalist products only found in France
We tried Korea’s way-too-big King Tonkatsu Burger at Lotteria 【Taste Test】
Haku is…Chihiro’s dead brother? Studio Ghibli fans blown away by Spirited Away theory
What happens when a guy goes to a Japanese women’s swimsuit store and asks for their best bikini?
This beautiful Starbucks just outside Tokyo has an aural connection to Japan’s samurai past【Pics】
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