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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.

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Posted by Casey Baseel (Page 465)

Just like the cherry blossoms, KFC potato chips return to Japan this spring!

Last year, something beautiful came to Japan. It was only here for a short while, but in that time, it left a deep impression on many people, including us here at RocketNews24. And while we were sad to see it go, it’s time to dry our tears, because this spring, it’s coming back again!

So, all excited for cherry blossom season? That’s great, but what we’re actually talking about right here are Kentucky Fried Chicken-flavor potato chips.

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From kicked to the curb to stylish kicks, here come Mega Man sneakers!

While some video game characters have settled into more or less permanent relationships with their publishers, like Nintendo’s Mario or Bandai Namco’s Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima, not every digital hero gets to enjoy a never-ending string of sequel appearances. For example, it’s been five years since the release of Mega Man 10, which so far serves as the final installment in the action platforming series.

But the Blue Bomber’s memory lives on in the hearts and minds of the many fans he acquired during his salad days following his 1987 debut. So even if publisher Capcom has kicked Mega Man to the curb, you can still show your love for the character with these retro-cool Mega Man kicks.

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Akihabara Internet cafe looks like a beautiful Japanese inn, still has tons of free manga to read

Being the very heart of the anime and consumer electronics scene in Japan, it’s no surprise that Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood has Internet cafes where you can also read comics from a massive in-house manga library. But as nice as it can be to immerse yourself in all of the extremely important information available online, or to gorge yourself on a year’s worth of manga at a fraction of the price you’d pay to buy it, you might find yourself wanting to do so in relaxing, even traditional surroundings.

If so, a visit to the Nagomi-Style Cafe Akiba is in order, as it’s the only manga and Internet cafe in Akihabara designed with the look and atmosphere of a Japanese ryokan inn.

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Japan has eggs that smell and taste like yuzu citrus fruit, and they’re amazing!

In a lot of ways, eggs are a pretty wonderful food. Cheap and versatile, they’re just about the quickest and easiest route to a hot, filling meal that’s high in protein and low in calories.

But while eggs may taste great, they don’t quite measure up to the standards set by other breakfast staples in the aroma department, such as sizzling bacon or freshly sliced grapefruit. Unless, of course, you’ve got your hands on some of these special eggs from Kochi Prefecture that smell, and taste, like yuzu, one of Japan’s most delicious citrus fruits. And yes, the scent is all natural.

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So breasts seem to be popular these days. As a matter of fact, walk into any Japanese bookshop or convenience store and you’ll find magazine racks full of photo collections of gurabia, the country’s term for sexy but not-quite-naked models. Almost always busty, the sight of gurabia posing suggestively, often while relaxing in a pool or frolicking in the surf of an island paradise, has helped generations of men in Japan through a lonely winter’s night.

But while the men who run their eyes (or whatever other body parts) over their photos are obviously enjoying an escapist fantasy, one gurabia recently revealed some things fans might rather not have known about the industry. Her claim about the prevalence of surgically enhanced breasts gels with many people’s preexisting assumptions, but what’s shocking is what she claims is the true reason for some of those sweetly seductive smiles.

In case it wasn’t clear, we’ll be talking about/showing pictures of gurabia up ahead, so unless you’re employed as a swimwear designer, this probably isn’t safe for work.

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Craft brewer releases beer made with cherry blossoms, just in time for sakura season

Japan’s cherry blossoms are beautiful enough to enjoy without any alcoholic accompaniments, but it’s a fact of life that for many people the drinks are the real draw of a sakura-viewing party. Yet while there’s definitely a certain charm to knocking back a few cold ones in the park with a group of good friends, it does seem like a waste to take the focus off the flowers, since they bloom for such a short time.

That doesn’t mean you need to slow down your drinking to maximize your appreciation of the cherry blossoms, though. It just means you’ll need to pick up a few bottles of this special beer that’s made with sakura petals.

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Toyota, being the largest, most internationalized of Japan’s automakers, tends to do a pretty decent job steering clear of picking car names that sound weird or shocking to non-Japanese consumers. Sure, its product lineup briefly included the Emina, but that only sounds gross if you’re too impatient to carefully read the letters in order.

Until now Toyota hasn’t had anything as unintentionally startling as the Mazda Bongo Friendee, Daihatsu Naked, or Nissan Fairlady. But if you’ve taken a look at Toyota’s Japanese website recently, you may have found yourself doing a double-take as you noticed one of its current offerings seems to share its name with a well-known jihadist rebel group.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the Toyota Isis.

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Still no hoverboards, but 2015 has now given us this cool Back to the Future Delorean iPhone case

Now that 2015 is upon us, futurists and move fans alike are up in arms about all the cool things Back to the Future II promised we’d have by now, but still don’t. Where are our self-lacing shoes, they ask? When can we except to be devoured by holographic advertisements, huh? And what in God’s name is the holdup with the hoverboards?

What all these complaints fail to recognize, though, is all of the other amazing stuff that’s become part of our daily lives. For example, not only do we have the Internet and all the wondrous knowledge it provides, but we can access it from our mobile phones! That’s something even Back to the Future II couldn’t imagine, which is why it’s taken until the real 2015 for someone to make these sweet iPhone cases modeled after the film’s iconic Delorean time machine.

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After 23 years, Sailor Moon figures are more amazing than ever at Wonder Festival 【Photos】

We recently made the trip out to Chiba Prefecture for the winter 2015 iteration of Wonder Festival, where we could have spent all day admiring the awesome anime, video game, and movie cosplay going on. But as eye-catching as the outfits were, Wonder Festival is actually an event for showcasing new figures and models, and taking a look around the booths taught us something about the anime industry.

Trends may come and go, but Sailor Moon is here to stay. More than two decades after the phenomenally successful magical girl series made its anime debut, modelers are still making new figures based on its characters, and they’ve only gotten better in the twenty-plus years they’ve had to practice.

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Wasabi and sashimi bagels on sale now in Japan! We buy some and invent the Japanese dip sandwich

I’ve never been much of a bagel fan. It’s got nothing to do with a dislike of carbs, as I’ll happily chow down on sandwiches, rice bowls, and noodles. Bagels, though, have always struck me as sort of bland.

Sure, I realize there are ways to make bagels more flavorful, but a lot of the most common additions, like berries or cream cheese, don’t really do much for me. But when I found out that one of Japan’s most popular bagel chains was adding a kick to their offerings with a wasabi bagel, my interest was piqued. Then, when I learned that they also offered a bagel sandwich with tuna sashimi, my next meal was planned.

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Artist makes cool Gundam, tanks, and rifles out of Amazon boxes to show they’re all secretly cute

You can use the phrase “paper tiger” to describe someone or something that’s not as tough as it appears to be, but you could conjure up the same image just as easily with a different pair of words. For example, “cardboard tank” seems like it could serve the same linguistic purpose. So could “cardboard Gundam” or “cardboard M16,” for that matter.

But while those might not be as powerful as their original, non-cardboard forms, they are all incredibly awesome when made out of corrugated cardboard, as proven by the creations of artist Monami Ono, who makes all those and more out of cardboard boxes from Amazon.

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Awesome wooden Dragon Ball mugs let you knock back a soda like Goku (or a beer like Master Roshi)

Training to be the mightiest martial artist in the galaxy is thirsty work. But when you’re feeling parched after a hard day of kicking through solid rock and firing kamehameha energy blasts from your hands, doesn’t it seem just a bit below your station in life to drink from the same sort of glass as people who haven’t forged their bodies into a weapon on par with the finest blades of tempered steel?

The solution to that dilemma is one of these awesome wooden Dragon Ball mugs.

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The Wonderful Cosplayers of Winter Wonder Festival 2015 【Photos】

Last weekend it was time for Wonder Festival, the garage kit and model extravaganza held in Chiba Prefecture’s Makuhari Messe. But while the plastic and resin replicas of anime and video game icons may be the ostensible reason for the event, there’s also plenty of flesh and blood (and cloth) passion for the industries’ hottest franchises as cosplayers converge on the convention to show off their costumes and pose for the cameras.

One of those cameras happened to be ours.

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In the mood for love and pizza? Domino’s will deliver your pie with romantic kabe-don wall pound

Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, which makes it a perfect opportunity for an elegant dinner out with your special someone. Of course, if you’re single, you may want to bypass a meal in a restaurant surrounded by couples making kissy faces at each other and just call Domino’s for a pizza instead.

But even if you’re not headed out, Domino’s understands that maybe you’re in the mood for both pizza and love. That’s why this Valentine’s Day the popular pizza providers are offering a deal that includes a cute heart-shaped pizza, and, if you’d like, a romantic kabe-don wall pound as part of the delivery service.

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Even in a country that adores its pets, none have captured the hearts of Japanese animal-lovers like Hachiko. The Akita dog touched the hearts of people across the nation by devotedly waiting every day for more than nine years in front of Tokyo’s Shibuya Station for his master to return from work, not knowing that he had died from a cerebral hemorrhage and wouldn’t be coming back.

Today, a statue of Hachiko stands in Shibuya, showing the dog patiently waiting. But while the bittersweet quality of the story made Hachiko famous, it overlooks the fact that before his master’s passing, the two would happily reunite every evening and walk home together. Now, it’s that moment’s turn to be immortalized, with a new statue showing Hachiko as he’s rarely been depicted before, bursting with joy upon seeing his owner.

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Frozen marshmallow cream: Just two ingredients, at least as good as ice cream 【RocketKitchen】

Every now and again, we stumble across a dessert recipe that’s so simple and tasty, it almost feels like we’ve discovered some sort of hidden secret that man wasn’t meant to know. Last year, we found out that instead of making pancakes one at a time, we could just make one huge one in a rice cooker, sprinkle in some green tea powder, and have a dessert that looks and tastes great with no fuss at all.

But what if you prefer chilled desserts to hotcakes? No problem. We recently tried a recipe for a frozen marshmallow dessert that may or may not technically be ice cream, but amazingly creates something that tastes even better from just two ingredients, and takes almost as few steps to make.

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Nike’s wild new shoes for China may bless you with prosperity, will definitely get you attention

Shoemaker Nike owes its success as much to the marketing that backs its footwear as the science behind it. But as one of the biggest athletic apparel companies on the planet, the Nike swoosh is hardly a rare sight these days, so if the Oregon-based company really wants to catch people’s eyes, it has to get a little more flamboyant with its designs.

That’s as true in emerging markets as it is in established ones, which is why Nike’s new pair of kicks made especially for China might be the wildest the company has ever made, and come packed with all sorts of imagery meant to make sure fortune smiles on theirs wearers while everyone is looking at their feet.

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Krispy Kreme Japan’s adorable Easter chick donut is back with sakura and strawberry friends

With just one month of winter left, it’s time to start looking ahead for all the great things spring promises. And while we’re all happy about getting some extra daylight and the prospect of being able to wear fewer than three layers of clothes whenever we step out our front door, we’re even more excited that Krispy Kreme Japan is once again whipping up a special group of Easter donuts, which promise to be just as adorable as they were last year and possibly even more delicious.

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Are you man enough for these Hello Kitty clothes made just for dudes?

With her many collaborations with a multitude of designers and brands, it seems like Hello Kitty has merchandise for just about everyone. But while the range from cheap Kitty-chan trinkets to premium luxury items means Japan’s most famous 2-D cat has covered the demographics of both young and old as well as rich and poor, things are a little bit less balanced when it comes to the catalogue of Hello Kitty tie-ins for men versus those for women.

The ever-industrious Kitty is looking to make things a little more even, though, and last year corporate parent Sanrio announced the Hello Kitty Men Project. As part of the initiative, this month fashionable dudes in one fashionable Tokyo neighborhood can get their hands on three new Hello Kitty items made just for men.

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Happy Twintail Day! Now ask out that girl you’ve got a crush on, say Japanese fans of the hairdo

Now that we’re into February, shy men across Japan are out of excuses not to ask out the girl they’ve got a crush on. This month includes a special day with its own framework that allows guys to express their feelings with an established method that leaves no doubt about their affections.

Of course, we’re not talking about Valentine’s Day, because in Japan, women give gifts to men on February 14. No, we’re talking about Twintail Day, observed on February 2, which not only celebrates the dual-tail hairstyle, but also seeks to strengthen the bonds between young lovers and established couples alike.

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