![Is Sapporio’s Snow Festival awesome enough to be worth visiting even if you hate the snow? [Pics]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/sy-3.jpg?w=640 "Is Sapporio’s Snow Festival awesome enough to be worth visiting even if you hate the snow? [Pics]")
Can Hokkaido’s annual outdoor art event charm a Tohoku girl who’s always been lukewarm on winter travel?
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 32)
![Cute coffins now available at Tokyo’s coffin relaxation salon[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/cm-2.jpg?w=640 "Cute coffins now available at Tokyo’s coffin relaxation salon[Photos]")
Unique Takadanobaba meditation space gets a splash of cuteness to brighten up the deathly décor.
Gametech wants you to be able to keep one hand free for doing other things while you play.
![Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/nc-1.jpg?w=640 "Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]")
Prefectural government will pay for tickets to encourage international travelers to visit their corner of Japan.
![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.
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