The Insanity of Hello Kitty ...

Hello Kitty is outrageous. She's everywhere for starters & her followers are addicted. I know we have Hello Kitty back in the States, but I swear to you that every Japanese person has at least one Hello Kitty related item in their possession. Many of them have a serious collection and I would go as far to say some have small Hello Kitty shrines. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but maybe not.

Everywhere you go in Japan you can find Hello Kitty. EVERYWHERE. I was at the most country, hick town in the middle of nowhere Japan & found her at the only store for 50km. There are stores dedicated to her, movies and tv shows featuring her, amusement parks influenced by her, and young children (and some adults) obsessed with her. It's no secret that the Japanese culture is all about anime and it is a serious question when people ask you what character you like. At first I couldn't take this question seriously & the standard response was, "I don't have one", but this got nothing short of wide eyes and dropped jaws. I learned to find one I liked. Amanda fits right in. She loves Hello Kitty. I, on the other hand, am partial to Rilakkuma but I'll write about that later. I don't want to take the attention away from the craze of Hello Kitty.

The logo is plastered all over standard accessories like cell phones, key chains, straps, bags, jewelry and of course clothing, but you can also find her in what I first thought to be ridiculous places. Now I don't really look twice at Hello Kitty shoes, cars, or fingernails. Here are some of the crazy Hello Kitty things I've seen, although I won't take credit for most of the pictures. I swiped some of them off the internet. Whoops. :)

Hardcore rockers jam out with a Hello Kitty guitar, I can only imagine.

Not only did she tap into the music market, she is known in the food world as well.

In the form of poptarts:

And of course you'll need something to toast your poptart in:

And since we're in Japan, you have to eat sushi.

What's more Japanese than Hello Kitty sushi?

And she processed herself into some strange edible somethings that you can find in pasta.

And to prove Hello Kitty is marketed towards an adult audience as well, you can find a bottle of Hello Kitty wine.

And then you have the Hello Kitty vehicles. They're definitely not the standard and I don't see them on the daily, but the fact that they exist is crazy enough for me. Seriously, who drives these things?

Who doesn't want to travel in Hello Kitty style?

Or maybe you just want to accessorize your vehicle:

And of course she finds her way onto tour buses. I must say I'm slightly disappointed. Of all the bus tours Amanda & I have been on, we never toured around in a Hello Kitty bus.
And then to top it off, as if the cars, trailers, & buses weren't enough, you can catch a flight on the Hello Kitty Jet. EVA Air was crazy enough to paint her and the family right on the side of their airplane for all of your traveling enjoyment. And have no fear, the inside is apparently as nuts as the outside.

"EVA repeated the livery theme inside the cabin by creating a Hello Kitty fantasy with sweet Hello Kitty paintings on the walls, and by outfitting flight attendants with Hello Kitty ribbons for their hair and Hello Kitty aprons. Passengers booked on EVA’s Hello Kitty Jet will get pink Hello Kitty boarding passes and luggage tags. Onboard, they will enjoy a series of in flight Hello Kitty service accessories, Hello Kitty meals, and have access to exclusive EVA Air Hello Kitty duty-free shopping. "

And if that isn't enough to make you sick, why not get married in a Hello Kitty themed wedding?

All you need to do is get yourself a Hello Kitty wedding dress:

And matching wedding bands (yes, they are engraved with the logo):

And then book yourself the wedding of your Hello Kitty dreams at the following website:

Hankyu Princesskitty Wedding and you're set. Seriously, who does this?

Watch this clip too: Who does this?

And, just for Matt, in case you have an extra $5,000 laying around and nothing to do with it, you can buy yourself a set of solid gold Hello Kitty playing cards. You think I'm joking right? I'm so not ... According to the website, "On September 27, Sanrio announced plans to begin selling solid gold Hello Kitty playing cards, which the company will make available through its online shop beginning October 3. Each of the 54 cards (2 jokers included) measures 58 x 89 mm and is made from 0.73 gram of 99.99% pure gold. Pressed to a thickness of 7 microns with precision rolling technology developed by the Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, the cards are sealed in a protective laminate printed with colorful designs that depict Hello Kitty in royal dress."

much love
-tara-
xx