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 79)
Many are assuming this is a backlash against trendy kirakira names, but is that really the case?
While you’re seeing how your footprints measure up to Pikachu’s and Snorlax’s, these mats are measuring something else.
Governor doesn’t specify whether his desired bear-fighting drones would drop anvils or some other, less cartoony payload.
No need to worry about breaking these lovely pieces of Ghibli art apart or gluing them so they can’t be puzzles again.
We had to wait a third of the year for this New Year’s fukubukuro, and now it’s time to find out if our patience was rewarded.
Three sections of the Ghibli theme park get extra Christmas cheer as the park also gets extra Christmas sweets to munch on.
If you’re a Ghibli fan, you’ve definitely seen this scene before, just not during the classic anime film.
Beyond embarrassingly cheap and infuriatingly cheap, is it possible to be abusively cheap?
Thailand’s superstar pygmy hippo receives the highest honor that Mister Donut can bestow upon it, but not in Japan.
Painting the World of Studio Ghibli contains background paintings from each and every feature-length Ghibli anime.
Famichiki to be part of public school meals on special day in Family Mart’s original hometown.
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Studio Ghibli unveils new anime stationery collection, with a Spirited Away River God memo stand
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Japanese convenience store is very focused with its new bento…maybe TOO focused
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Three amazing Japanese convenience store sweet potato desserts to eat right now (and 11 for later)
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Weekly
New Gundam Base superstores coming soon in the U.S., with one opening this month
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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
Everything old is new, and cool, again at this hotel in Japan’s hot spring town comeback king
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
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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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Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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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
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Three amazing Japanese convenience store sweet potato desserts to eat right now (and 11 for later)
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
My night trapped in Nagoya’s flood: what do you do when Japan’s trains shut down?
Emperor of Japan poses for photo with Studio Ghibli’s No Face [Video]
Denny’s Mapputatsu? Parfait is hiding a big secret in plain sight that splits us down the middle
Japanese sweet potato ice cream season! Häagen-Dazs and Muji take different paths to our hearts
Three Daiso ideas for a super-cheap but still cool (or cute) Halloween look
Car-floating sheets selling well to cope with increasing flood risk in Japan
Here’s why you’ll never want to hit a hole-in-one in Japan
Only two Yoshinoya branches in all of Japan are on a train platform, and this is one of them
New Gundam Base superstores coming soon in the U.S., with one opening this month
Ghibli/Kyoto crossover artwork decorates goshuin papers for Zen and Ghibli art exhibition [Pics]
Pokémon Adidas crossover sneaker line releases in Japan, gives your feet Pikachu hugs [Pics]
Tokyo cafe challenges customers to play with their food? Challenge accepted!
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