Both sides of the Pacific are getting new themed cafes with attached merch shops from the video game developer of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
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 8)
![Hello Kitty is now a transforming truck robot[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/hk-1-1.jpg?w=640 "Hello Kitty is now a transforming truck robot[Photos]")
![Japanese convenience store brings rice balls back to 100 yen – Is this deal worth it?[Taste test]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/hl-9.jpg?w=640 "Japanese convenience store brings rice balls back to 100 yen – Is this deal worth it?[Taste test]")
As onigiri prices continue to rise everywhere else, Lawson Store 100 stays true to its name.
We pit the convenience store challenger against Tokyo’s favorite maker of Japan’s beloved octopus dumplings.
![Tokyo’s city hall changes dress code, workers now allowed to wear shorts[Videos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/ts-1.jpg?w=640 "Tokyo’s city hall changes dress code, workers now allowed to wear shorts[Videos]")
Final Fantasy XIV VR experience will give you the chance to prove you’re the kweh-kist Chocobo jockey around.
Anime will premier this summer and is the first made specifically for the Nagoya-area theme park.
Who’d have guessed there was a centuries-old snack shop too just a quick stroll away from one of downtown’s busiest rail hubs?
![Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/hn-2.jpg?w=640 "Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]")
![New Totoro carabiner pouches are ready to clip/tag along with you on all your adventures[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/tp-0.jpg?w=640 "New Totoro carabiner pouches are ready to clip/tag along with you on all your adventures[Photos]")
Two Totoros, and one other Studio Ghibli character, are cute, fuzzy, and useful in new accessory lineup.
![Studio Ghibli croquettes not to eat, but to keep your stuff in, going on sale in Japan[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/cp-0.jpg?w=640 "Studio Ghibli croquettes not to eat, but to keep your stuff in, going on sale in Japan[Photos]")
This part of Japan gets so much snow you have to wait until spring to see it, but the wait is over!
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Studio Ghibli adds new My Neighbour Totoro music box to its anime merchandise store in Japan
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