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 390)
Help keep Japan’s convenience stores convenient by learning and following these six Japanese etiquette points.
Family Mart relaxes customer service rules in recognition of clerks who aren’t native Japanese speakers, also allows dyed hair.
Recreation of magical pendant from Hayao Miyazaki classic couples with elegantly detailed music box.
Pretty Cure encourages boys who feel like it to wear dresses and be princesses, hotel apologizes for not being progressive enough.
Following accusations of “betrayal” from angry fans, couple starts a new, happy chapter in their lives.
Regular mystery meat not mysterious enough for you? Don’t worry, because Nissin is kicking things up a notch.
Japanese government votes to amend laws, bringing down age of legal adulthood but raising marrying age for women and gender reassignment surgery.
And that flash of light isn’t even the scariest part of the snapshot.
Six patterns skirt Tokyo Disneyland’s no-cosplay rule, feature characters as famous as Mickey and as forgotten as Clarice.
Song about pride in Japan and its flag has been called a military propaganda song by critics.
Young man in Southern California has a degree, and also a very clear opinion on who Love Live!’s best girl is.
With mosquito season here, Japanese Twitter learns a quick and easy way to deal with the pests.
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Beautiful Studio Ghibli coin/card cases recreate scenes and props from anime classics [Photos]
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Converse Japan and one of Japan’s greatest painters combine for fine fowl shoes [Photos]
Japan restarts at-home collection agent visits for public TV fees
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Weekly
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OC Japan Fair returns to California packed with all kinds of Japanese culture
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Tokyo’s Square Burger claims it’s a viral hit with foreign tourists who’ve given it near-perfect Google reviews
Monthly
Japan’s final Penguin Suica train cards have already shipped, and when they’re gone, they’re gone- Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Studio Ghibli unveils new anime calendars and diary planners for 2027
Japan approves foreign resident visa renewal fee increases of up to 967 percent, starts soon
Japan tripled its departure tax to fund tourism but is using the money on cherry blossoms and bears
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Kyoto temple bans visitors from wearing kimono
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Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
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Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
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Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
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Studio Ghibli unveils new anime stationery collection, with a Spirited Away River God memo stand
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Pikachu plushie actually goes into space as part of Pokémon/European Space Agency collaboration
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Three amazing Japanese convenience store sweet potato desserts to eat right now (and 11 for later)
Final Fantasy VII’s Buster Sword gets real-world practicality as a giant towel [Photos]
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My night trapped in Nagoya’s flood: what do you do when Japan’s trains shut down?
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Car-floating sheets selling well to cope with increasing flood risk in Japan
Denny’s Mapputatsu? Parfait is hiding a big secret in plain sight that splits us down the middle
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