Need a stress-soothing break? This figurine’s return means you can wait with Totoro while he waits for the Cat Bus.
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 7)
Before Hitachi Seaside Park turns red for autumn, it’s got a beautiful summer color to show you too.
After years of this video game horror trying to eat us, it’s finally going to help us with our hunger instead.
Even if they’ve been professionally cleaned, used school swimsuits are too dirty for this marketplace.
![Final Fantasy plushie shoulder bags are fuzzy and functional [Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/08/1_8a5d2c.jpg?w=640 "Final Fantasy plushie shoulder bags are fuzzy and functional [Photos]")
Chocobo, Moogle, and two more Final Fantasy mascot creatures want to go with you on your outside-the-house adventures.
![Yoshinoya gets into fancy fish, but is the cheap beef king reaching too far? [Taste test]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/12_30cf37.jpg?w=640 "Yoshinoya gets into fancy fish, but is the cheap beef king reaching too far? [Taste test]")
Fans will need to be residents of Japan in order to buy these items from the Pokémon Center Online.
![Coco’s Japan is very confident in their chilled ramen, but should they be? [Taste test]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/20_bcb735.jpg?w=640 "Coco’s Japan is very confident in their chilled ramen, but should they be? [Taste test]")
Mr. Sato thinks it might be, and when was the last time he had an idea that didn’t pan out?
You can’t celebrate 30 years of Pokémon without 30 years of starters, plus a few more Pocket Monster all-stars.
Maker of Garigari-kun explores whether one of Japan’s favorite frozen treats can work as a pre-cooling agent.
Is this a cheap way to beat away stress, or a case of cheaping out that’ll have us feeling even more frustrated?
![Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/pm-1.jpg?w=640 "Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]")
Kabuki adaptation of Studio Ghibli anime masterpiece will be shown online, but you’ll need to mark the date on your calendar.
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Only two Yoshinoya branches in all of Japan are on a train platform, and this is one of them
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JAL first class cakes can be bought for a bargain, but are they as bougie as they seem?
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