Sunday, December 6, 2009

Hello Kitty and Co at Sanrio Village


Dear Daniel reading a book -- with a quill in
his other paw! -- on the verandah of a coffee shop

...serenely above the tumult below as fans of
Helly Kitty and Co check out the rest of Sanrio Village

Sanrio Village -- as seen in a publicity photo
(courtesy of MTR Malls)

Back in August, Hong Kong was home for two and a half weeks to Hello Kitty's Kitty Lab. While I had fun at the exhibition, I do regret that it was considered a "no-no" to to take photos of the super Hello Kitty-fied realm within. So it was with no small amount of joy that I found out about the Legendary 50th Sanrio Village (to give it its formal name) which has been set up for 50 days at Maritime Square mall over in Tsing Yi to celebrate the coming year's going to be Sanrio's 50th anniversary year -- and that the area will be one in which visitors can take photographs galore.

Admittedly, upon visiting it yesterday afternoon, I was a bit disappointed to find that the village is about 1/20th the size of Kitty Lab and no where as Hello Kitty-fied in its details. But since it's there for a good cause (in that entrance is by donation to the Community Chest Hong Kong charity), I went ahead and immersed myself in the full Sanrio Village experience. And, in the process, got reminded once again that there's something wonderfully positive about being among fellow fans of the cute cat, her friends and family for a time.

For one thing, their enthusiasm is seriously infectious -- and here we're talking about the enthusiasm of people who are willing to patiently queue up for about to two hours to spend about 15 minutes photographing Kitty Chan and other members of the Sanrio family in the environs of Sanrio Village. For another, there's something enchanting -- I find -- about people taking Hello Kitty so seriously as to do such as bring along some seriously professional quality cameras and related equipment to photograph her or bring along their favorite kawaii plushies to be photographed at that locale!

In addition, there is something about the cute cat that is able to bring out not only the wide-eyed child in people but also a sense of innocent fun. And yes, I really am stating this in an ironic, uncynical way -- two other things about Hello Kitty and what she evokes in many of her fans -- particularly in territories like Hong Kong and Japan -- that I really do very much appreciate. :)

8 comments:

sarah bailey knight said...

Hi ytsl,

Sugoi!! Holy kawaiiness! What a fun place to spend an afternoon. Are the shops facades or can one go in and look around? A delightful place to forget ones daily woes.

hcpen said...

You like Hello Kitty? Cos i've noticed a couple of post about Hello Kitty already on ur blog:-)

Omiae said...

*screams in awesomeness* I loove hello kitty. I went to some Hello Kitty palace in Japan and was just consumed by the cuteness! :D :D

YTSL said...

Hi sbk --

The shops are NOT facades. Having said this, one could only go right into one of them (the rest you could only peer into). And my complaint is that unlike with Kitty Lab, a lot of the decor just wasn't Hello Kittyfied enough... Still, yes, it was a delightfully escapist place all right! :)

Hi hcpen --

Uh, yeah, I like Hello Kitty. And to be exact, 27 entries in my blog have thus far been devoted to/reference the cute cat! ;b

Hi Omiae --

Nice to meet yet another Hello Kitty fan! :)

alejna said...

So cute! It does sound like it was fun. (Too bad about it being rather on the small side compared the Kitty Lab.)

You know, I often think of you when I come across Hello Kitty things. You may be happy to know that Phoebe has quite a few Hello Kitty items.

YTSL said...

Hi Alejna --

I *am* happy to know that Phoebe has her share of Hello Kitty items. And will Theo get some Dear Daniel and/or Badtz Maru items, do you reckon? ;b

Hello Kitty Checks said...

This looks like this was a great outing. I would have loved to see all the hello kitty products offered.

YTSL said...

Hi Hello Kitty Checks --

Sounds like you're a fan of Hello Kitty as well as someone who makes money from selling Hello Kitty products! :)