Casey Baseel
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Editor for SoraNews24, where I also write about Japan, language, anime, video games, and food. Follow me...to victory (and probably beer)!
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Articles by Casey Baseel
One simple unexpected recipe swap will make your Japanese-style omelets extra fluffy and juicy
And one more cooking hack will make your dashimaki tamago fluffier still. In terms of ingredients, dashimaki tamago is an incredibly simple dish. A type of Japanese omelet, you can make it with just three ingredients: eggs, water, and dashi (a stock made from fish and kelp that’s found in all sorts of Japanese dishes).
This curry restaurant might have the worst location in Tokyo…or maybe the best
Alk Road finds a way to turn a negative into a positive. There are a lot of curry restaurants to choose from in Tokyo, but Spice Curry Alk Road stands out from many of its rice-and-roux rivals by virtue of its outstanding customer reviews. Diners are so satisfied that they’ve made Alk Road one of the top 100 curry restaurants in Tokyo based on average review scores on Tabelog, Japan’s most popular user-submitted restaurant site.
Chainsaw robots helping keep trains running safely in east Japan
Japan’s rail network is famous for its sterling safety and reliability records, and neither of those would be achievable without a whole lot of preventive maintenance. East Japan Railway Company (JR East), one of the nation’s largest rail operators, is constantly monitoring the condition of its tracks and carriages in order to spot potential problems before they occur, and when it spots an issue that needs to be addressed, it dispatches a crew to take care of it.
Is this crazy-looking home sauna just what our busy daddy reporter needs in his life?
Ahiruneko’s single-guy sauna days are done, but this gadget promises to bring the steam right into his home. Back in his bachelor days, our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko used to go to a sauna once or twice a week. Now, though, he’s got a wife and kid, plus an apartment out in the suburbs that’s closer to the mountains than the office, and thus a long commute, leaving him with only enough time for one or two sauna days in an entire year.
This Tokyo snack shop can send your taste buds on a trip around Japan for just 1,000 yen
There’s a new sweets curator in downtown Tokyo. In an ideal world, we’d spend every single day on a meandering journey through Japan, stopping see the sights and sample the delicacies whenever and wherever the mood struck us.
Chainsaw robots helping keep trains running safely in east Japan [Video]
Chainsaw-wielding robots prove they can contribute to human mobility in ways other than people running away from them in terror. Japan’s rail network is famous for its sterling safety and reliability records, and neither of those would be achievable without a whole lot of preventive maintenance.
93-year-old Japanese grannie helps set trap for scam artist half her age
This woman was the target of a criminal scheme, but she definitely wasn’t going the be the victim of it. Over the past few weeks, Japan has seen a sharp spike in the number of data leaks and cyberattacks, with many organizations warning citizens that their personal information may have been compromised.
Tokyo restaurant adds special seat for live-streaming and social media posting [Video]
Yakiniku Like wants to help diners get some likes of their own. Japan has a lot of yakiniku restaurants, where you grill your own meat, but Yakiniku Like is different from the rest. Whereas typical yakinuku places have their grills set into table for a group of dining companions to gather around, all of Yakiniku Like’s seats are at counters, with an individual-size grill for every customer.
Pikachu Shortcake Sandwich set to be Tokyo’s newest photogenic treat for Pokémon Trainers
Pikachu Sweets bakes up new treats to celebrate Pokémon’s 30th birthday. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Pokémon, which is another way of saying it’s the franchise’s 30th birthday…and everyone knows you can’t celebrate a birthday without cake, right? And if you’re looking for a cake to celebrate this particular birthday, there’s no more appropriate choice than a Pikachu cake. That’s exactly what’s coming to Tokyo’s Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe next month.
Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi named Composer-in-Residence of Los Angeles Philharmonic
Multiyear relationship will include new works specially created for L.A. audiences. At the age of 75 and with a career that’s already spanned more than 50 years, it wouldn’t be unnatural for Joe Hisaishi to be easing into retirement.
One of Tokyo’s most beautiful soft serve ice creams is also one of its trickiest to find [Photos]
Mr. Sato’s determination pays off in treat for the eyes and taste buds. Recently, our ace reporter Mr. Sato told us that he needed to go to Toranomon Hills, a shopping and entertainment complex in downtown Tokyo’s Toranomon neighborhood. Why? To eat ice cream. As Mr. Sato explained, recently he’s been seeing photo after photo of the soft serve ice cream from Dolce Tacubo, a dessert cafe located in Toranomon Hills, that’s been going viral.
Japan’s newest tempura is…potato salad tempura?!? [Taste test]
Annual idea contest takes Tenya to a bold new tempura frontier. Tempura is one of the most versatile styles of Japanese cuisine, especially when it comes to vegetables. Onion, carrots, eggplant, and kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), to name just a few, all lend themselves to Japan’s traditional method of deep-frying, and they’re all things the staff at tempura restaurant chain Tenya are happy to cook up on a daily basis.
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
It’s impossible to overstate how much of a pop cultural institution Pokémon is in Japan. Between the anime, video games, cards, and mountains of plushies, Pokémon has been sparking the imaginations and warming the hearts of multiple generations of fans, and if any of them are looking for some cool new merch, they can pop into any of the roughly two dozen Pokémon specialty stores Japan has, stretching from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south.
Japanese scientists developing cute, autonomously swarming robo dogs for anti-bear patrols [Video]
Hacchan is a mecha version of an Akita Inu hunting dog. Along with a bit of chilly autumn crispiness, there’s also some apprehension in the air in Japan.
America is getting its first-ever One Piece store, and the opening date has been revealed!
The Straw Hat Pirates sail into the City of Angels with cool California-exclusive merch. The hearts of otaku were dealt a painful blow this week when visa problems lead to the sudden cancellation of two Umamusume concerts in Los Angeles, which were supposed to be the franchise’s first musical performances on American soil.
Umamusume anime concerts unable to obtain visas from U.S. government, cancels LA shows
October 22 and 23 were supposed to be big days for the Umamusume franchise. Coming roughly a year and a half since the launch of the "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" mobile game, concerts featuring the franchise’s vocal cast were planned for back-to-back days at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, marking the first-ever Umamusume concerts in America.
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
After decades of delighting fans in Asia, Pokémon store heads to a new continent. It’s impossible to overstate how much of a pop cultural institution Pokémon is in Japan.
Police in Japan likely to gain authority to hack phones to check messaging apps
Regulations would be similar to those for phone taps. The Japanese cabinet has approved a bill that would grant expanded remote analysis powers to investigators.
Japan’s Pokémon donuts are back at Mister Donut, with Slowpoke making dount debut! [Pics]
Slowpoke will naturally, though, be arriving a little later than Pikachu and Diglett. It’s become a yearly tradition for Mister Donut, Japan’s favorite donut chain, to bake up batches of Pokémon donuts as we get into the back half of autumn. Every year sees the return of the Pikachu donut, because you can’t have a Poké-party and not invite the face of the franchise.
Umamusume anime concerts unable to obtain visas from U.S. government, cancels L.A. shows
Horse girls get stuck in the starting gate ahead of what would have been the franchise’s first-ever concerts in America. October 22 and 23 were supposed to be big days for the Umamusume franchise. Coming roughly a year and a half since the launch of the Umamusume: Pretty Derby mobile game, concerts featuring the franchise’s vocal cast were planned for back-to-back days at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, marking the first-ever Umamusume concerts in America.
Tiny no-screen digital camera gives us near-instant nostalgia by making us wait to see our pics
Kenko Tokina makes us think about our shots and feel extra emotion when we finally see how they turned out. Recently, our Japanese-language reporter Go Hatori has gotten really into taking pictures, so much so that instead of using his phone for them, he wanted a dedicated device. After looking over his camera options, he decided to treat himself to the Pieni II from Kenko Tokina, a Japanese manufacturer primarily known as a lens maker.
There are goats spending every day in downtown Tokyo, but why? [Photos]
We’re used to seeing salarymen in this part of Tokyo, and now there are salary goats too. Along with travel and desserts, cute animals are something we’ve got a lot of love for here at SoraNew24. So when we spotted an adorable-looking goat the other day, we quickly got our camera out and started snapping some pics. But unlike many of our other wildlife encounters, this one didn’t take place on a walk through a forest or a visit to a farm.
Umamusume anime concerts in U.S. may have to be cancelled over visa problems
After six months of trying, organizers say they still don’t have the necessary OK from the U.S. government to bring the horse girl concert to the City of Angels.
Tokyo bakery has a crazy expensive 10,000-yen bread loaf set, and we’ve tried it [Taste test]
Japan’s luxury bread loaf boom was supposed to have died down, but apparently no one told this Ginza bakery. A couple of years ago, premium-priced loaves of bread were all the rage among foodies in Japan. Luxury bakeries sprang up one after another, with long lines of customers waiting to get in and drop 1,000 yen (US$6;30) or so on a single loaf, several times more than what you’d pay for the same quantity at a supermarket.
Tokyo bakery has a crazy expensive 10,000-yen bread loaf set, and we’ve tried it [Taste test]
Japan’s luxury bread loaf boom was supposed to have died down, but apparently no one told this Ginza bakery. A couple of years ago, premium-priced loaves of bread were all the rage among foodies in Japan. Luxury bakeries sprang up one after another, with long lines of customers waiting to get in and drop 1,000 yen (US$6;30) or so on a single loaf, several times more than what you’d pay for the same quantity at a supermarket.
New Studio Ghibli stamps - Too cute to wait until New Year’s to use, so they’re available right now
Totoro and the Catbus are ready to help you get started on wishing for good luck and happiness even before we get to nengajo season. Japan doesn’t really do Christmas cards, but the country does have a custom of New Year’s cards, or nengajo, as they’re called in Japanese. The end of the year tends to be an especially busy time, though, especially since the end of December/start of January is a vacation period in Japan, meaning people are often scrambling to wrap up work or school projects.
New Studio Ghibli stamps - Too cute to wait until New Year’s to use, so they’re available right now
Totoro and the Catbus are ready to help you get started on wishing for good luck and happiness even before we get to nengajo season. Japan doesn’t really do Christmas cards, but the country does have a custom of New Year’s cards, or nengajo, as they’re called in Japanese. The end of the year tends to be an especially busy time, though, especially since the end of December/start of January is a vacation period in Japan, meaning people are often scrambling to wrap up work or school projects.
KFC Japan releases its first thigh-meat fried chicken burger in 43 years, but was it worth the wait?
A lot of time has passed between now and 1983. To illustrate just how much, 1983 was the year Nintendo’s Famicom (which would become known as the NES overseas) went on sale. In the years since, Nintendo has had time to release a whole slew of other video game consoles, culminating with the launch of the Switch 2 last year.
Burger King Japan now selling hamburgers minus everything but the meat
On the Beef is back, but in a sense it never really left. Burger King Japan has made a linguistically confusing addition to its menu, and it’s one that’s culinarily puzzling too. Yes, even more so than the Pickleball Burgers we looked at earlier this month. The just-added item is called On the Beef.
Burger King Japan now selling hamburgers minus everything but the meat
On the Beef is back, but in a sense it never really left. Burger King Japan has made a linguistically confusing addition to its menu, and it’s one that’s culinarily puzzling too. Yes, even more so than the Pickleball Burgers we looked at earlier this month. The just-added item is called On the Beef.
Taxi drivers to be granted right to kick rude passengers out of their cabs before destination
Earlier this year we took a look at a change in the rules regarding taxis in Japan when the government gave the OK for ultracompact kei cars to start being used as cabs. Now comes another revision to regulations aimed at keeping the taxi experience civil by giving drivers the right to kick passengers out of their cabs if they can’t behave themselves.
Man says monkey threw his cat into pond before attacking him in Yamaguchi
After several months of bears dominating reports of startling wildlife encounters in Japan, it seems as though the nation’s monkeys have decided to take that notoriety as a challenge. We’ve recently been talking about the dreaded Troop T1, a group of monkeys that’s been running amuck in the town of Yugawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, where they recently surrounded and attacked a man who was out for a morning stroll on the city streets.
Man says monkey threw his cat into pond before attacking him in Yamagata
After several months of bears dominating reports of startling wildlife encounters in Japan, it seems as though the nation’s monkeys have decided to take that notoriety as a challenge. We’ve recently been talking about the dreaded Troop T1, a group of monkeys that’s been running amuck in the town of Yugawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, where they recently surrounded and attacked a man who was out for a morning stroll on the city streets.
Japanese taxi drivers granted right to kick rude passengers out of their cabs before destination
If passengers can’t be polite, then they can be walking. Earlier this year we took a look at a change in the rules regarding taxis in Japan when the government gave the OK for ultracompact kei cars to start being used as cabs. Now comes another revision to regulations aimed at keeping the taxi experience civil by giving drivers the right to kick passengers out of their cabs if they can’t behave themselves.
Japanese taxi drivers granted right to kick rude passengers out of their cabs before destination
If passengers can’t be polite, then they can be walking. Earlier this year we took a look at a change in the rules regarding taxis in Japan when the government gave the OK for ultracompact kei cars to start being used as cabs. Now comes another revision to regulations aimed at keeping the taxi experience civil by giving drivers the right to kick passengers out of their cabs if they can’t behave themselves.
New craft beer made from Japanese udon noodles celebrates centuries of Mizusawa food culture
Like with all Japanese noodles, you don’t cut udon when eating it. You simply pick up a mouthful of noodles with your chopsticks, take a bite, and slurp up the rest. However, udon does get cut during the production process, so that the noodles in each batch will have a uniform length. This means that noodle makers, whether individual restaurants or supplier factories, end up udon noodle scraps.
This Japanese sandwich mascot is filled with fiery rage, and he’s got a point [Video]
Pocket sandwich innovator is sick and tired of being called an imitation, and furious too. Npa might not be Japan’s most famous mascot character, perhaps because of his difficult-to-pronounce name, but you can’t really fault his design. Not only is the spokescharacter for Fuji Baking cute, he’s also an anthropomorphized version of the company’s pocket sandwiches, which it calls Snack Sandwiches.
This Japanese sandwich mascot is filled with fiery rage, and he’s got a point [Video]
Pocket sandwich innovator is sick and tired of being called an imitation, and furious too. Npa might not be Japan’s most famous mascot character, perhaps because of his difficult-to-pronounce name, but you can’t really fault his design. Not only is the spokescharacter for Fuji Baking cute, he’s also an anthropomorphized version of the company’s pocket sandwiches, which it calls Snack Sandwiches.
Studio Ghibli creates illustrated Kyoto sightseeing map, available at any 7-Eleven Japan store
Zen and Ghibli map also makes for a beautiful mini poster. Unlike most other major cities in Japan, Kyoto doesn’t have a dense network of train and subway lines crisscrossing it.
Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest Christmas celebration coming to Yokohama next month
A Christmas Slime appears, with a Chocobo buddy too! With the winter holiday season on the way, it won’t be long until Christmas decorations start appearing in Japan.
What’s it like to stay in a Japanese container hotel?
There’s a new class of travel accommodation that’s been rising in popularity in Japan recently: the container hotel. Not to be confused with capsule hotels, in which you rent a slot in a wall of sleeping compartments for the night, container hotels give you an actual private room…but that room in enclosed within what’s essentially a converted shipping container.
Tokyo Monorail, other JR East rail networks announce discontinuation of magnetic paper tickets
Back at the start of the summer, East Japan Railway Company/JR East announced that it will be discontinuing the use of magnetic-strip tickets on its rail network, which is the largest and most-ridden in east Japan. Six other rail operators have now announced that they’ll be abolishing magnetic-strip tickets as well.
KFC Japan releases its first thigh-meat fried chicken burger in 43 years, but was it worth the wait?
It’s been a looooong time since you could get a thigh-meat sandwich at KFC Japan, and now you can get six. A lot of time has passed between now and 1983. To illustrate just how much, 1983 was the year Nintendo’s Famicom (which would become known as the NES overseas) went on sale. In the years since, Nintendo has had time to release a whole slew of other video game consoles, culminating with the launch of the Switch 2 last year.
Vietnamese-language driver’s license tests suspended in Japan following alleged cheating
Driver’s license testing centers are pretty touchy about people taking photographs inside of them. Honestly, that seems like it should be common sense, but since common sense isn’t necessarily universal, the staff at the driver’s license testing center in Chiba City’s Mihama Ward inform all examinees to turn off their phones, and thus their embedded cameras, while in the testing area.
Man in Japan says monkey threw his cat into a pond before attacking him
Yamaguchi primate decides to pick fights with two other species. After several months of bears dominating reports of startling wildlife encounters in Japan, it seems as though the nation’s monkeys have decided to take that notoriety as a challenge. We’ve recently been talking about the dreaded Troop T1, a group of monkeys that’s been running amuck in the town of Yugawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, where they recently surrounded and attacked a man who was out for a morning stroll on the city streets.
Man in Japan says monkey threw his cat into a pond before attacking him
Yamaguchi primate decides to pick fights with two other species. After several months of bears dominating reports of startling wildlife encounters in Japan, it seems as though the nation’s monkeys have decided to take that notoriety as a challenge. We’ve recently been talking about the dreaded Troop T1, a group of monkeys that’s been running amuck in the town of Yugawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, where they recently surrounded and attacked a man who was out for a morning stroll on the city streets.
Foreign travelers sitting on sidewalks of Tokyo’s Ginza are Japan’s latest tourism culture clash
With Halloween celebrations coming up, Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward is running a public awareness campaign with multilingual reminders that public drinking and littering are prohibited. Shibuya isn’t the only part of Tokyo that’s been experiencing cultural friction between foreign tourists and the Japanese resident population, though, and there’s another issue that’s attracting attention in the Ginza neighborhood.
Pizza Hut in Japan now serves spicy glass noodle pizza
Pizza Hut Japan has always been an example of culinary cross-culturalism, but it’s become even more enthusiastically eclectic with some of its recent offerings, such as the chrysanthemum tsukimi and drinkable curry pizzas we saw earlier in the year. Now the chain has yet another innovation in their ovens with the launch of the Malatang Pizza. The inspiration comes from the spicy Chinese noodle hot pot style called malatang, which originated in the Sichuan region.
Tokyo Monorail, other east Japan rail networks announce discontinuation of magnetic paper tickets
Changeover includes old-school solution for stations yet to upgrade to new technology. Back at the start of the summer, East Japan Railway Company/JR East announced that it will be discontinuing the use of magnetic-strip tickets on its rail network, which is the largest and most-ridden in east Japan. Six other rail operators have now announced that they’ll be abolishing magnetic-strip tickets as well.
Tokyo Monorail, other east Japan rail networks announce discontinuation of magnetic paper tickets
Changeover includes old-school solution for stations yet to upgrade to new technology. Back at the start of the summer, East Japan Railway Company/JR East announced that it will be discontinuing the use of magnetic-strip tickets on its rail network, which is the largest and most-ridden in east Japan. Six other rail operators have now announced that they’ll be abolishing magnetic-strip tickets as well.
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