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. :)