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 9)
Taking a break in the shade? Here’s some Japanese vocabulary and cultural knowledge that could be yours by the time you step back into the sun.
New machines at two of Tokyo’s busiest metro stations will require you to pay with a credit card or one-day-pass QR code.
One country’s travelers spend more than double the total average for tourists in Japan, and it’s one the Japanese tourism industry hasn’t paid much attention to.
![Hatsune Miku, VTuber Suisei Hoshimachi perform opening pitch at pro baseball game in Japan [Video]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/2_a44dc7.jpg?w=640 "Hatsune Miku, VTuber Suisei Hoshimachi perform opening pitch at pro baseball game in Japan [Video]")
![If you love Pokémon and cats, you’ll love Japan’s cat Pokémon cat toys and feeding dishes[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/20_9fb756.jpg?w=640 "If you love Pokémon and cats, you’ll love Japan’s cat Pokémon cat toys and feeding dishes[Photos]")
![Taco sandwiches appear in Japan with new Lunch Pack sandwich pocket flavor[Taste test]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/5_b24272.jpg?w=640 "Taco sandwiches appear in Japan with new Lunch Pack sandwich pocket flavor[Taste test]")
![Studio Ghibli’s new moving keychains are the angry, adorable bugs from Nausicaa [Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/20_92fb68.jpg?w=640 "Studio Ghibli’s new moving keychains are the angry, adorable bugs from Nausicaa [Photos]")
![Giant Snorlax, other snoozing Pokémon appear in Yokohama for Pokémon Sleeping Faces Research [Pics]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/0_d19506.jpg?w=640 "Giant Snorlax, other snoozing Pokémon appear in Yokohama for Pokémon Sleeping Faces Research [Pics]")
![Japan’s “edible fireworks” wagashi sweets return, but only for a limited time [Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/3_9affc3.jpg?w=640 "Japan’s “edible fireworks” wagashi sweets return, but only for a limited time [Photos]")
In business for over 70 years, this traditional confectioner figured out how to turn the suspension of a Japanese tradition into a new one of their own.
Japan’s favorite quasi-local curry launches convenience store version – Does it match the real deal?
Shift in government policy allows Japan’s smallest cars to address a big problem for the taxi industy.
Iwate town sets traps to try to catch the bear with a sweet tooth, with some even being installed inside people’s houses.
![Gundam’s Char Aznable normal suit becomes roomwear for doing normal stuff in the real world [Pics]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/0_2c36e9.jpg?w=640 "Gundam’s Char Aznable normal suit becomes roomwear for doing normal stuff in the real world [Pics]")
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Monthly
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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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Fox spotted in Tokyo’s 23 wards, Japanese Internet wonders if it’s a shapeshifting spirit [Video]
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