Cherry blossom parties are the archetypal spring social event in Japan, but many see an upside to solo sakura.
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 4)
Chuo Shinkansen will take you from Tokyo to Nagoya in just 40 minutes…but no one is sure when.
Nara’s deer are believed to be messengers of the gods, but they might be losing part of their protected status.
MUFG downplays part of its partnership with the baseball star following his interpreter’s gambling scandal.
MOST POPULAR
Now
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
Bear attacks car in Japan, breaks windshield with its paw【Video】
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
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
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
RECOMMENDED STORIES
FUK COFFEE?!? Japanese cafe has a perfectly innocent reason for its startling-looking name
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Mikado Coffee is a 76-year-old coffee chain with a major celebrity connection
Who wins in a battle of McDonald’s and Komeda Coffee’s chicken tatsuta burgers?【Taste test】
Living Wallet: The high-tech/creepy solution to your money spending problems
We investigate Sendagaya Tunnel and get a message from beyond【Haunted Tokyo】
Live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service film’s new images feature Tonbo, Osono
Beautiful short anime about elderly couple’s love, meals looks like Ghibli film, is really miso ad
It’s like the samurai era never ended at this beautiful Japanese mountain town
Tokyo’s newest hot spring bathhouse and foodie spot opening next to Japan’s biggest fish market
-
