Surprise!
Good morning.
Have some hot coffee, and welcome.
How about a bagel to start, with cream cheese mixed with roasted vegetables.
All are welcome to join the fun, the silliness, the conversations. If you don’t know...just ask! Some things really do require a bit of explanation.
There will be a few surprises along the way, all good ones, we hope.
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Pie fights will be met with outrageous ridicule and insults. Trolls will be incinerated and served at the next group BBQ. As briquettes
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Yes, travelling with a cat, on plane, train, and bus. How about eating with cat in restaurant and living in a cat house? I feel that the last two are too much for me…
However, the travel part sounds interesting.
I did not encounter Hello Kitty until the year 2000. I was on a business trip to Chicago and found myself on that famous Magnificent Mile on the day before I and my two colleagues were to return home. We took the afternoon off to see what we could of the city. I remember that the sun was out and everything gleamed while we walked down the mile gazing at the shops. I went into one store and found all these items by Hello Kitty. I bought a pen, a child’s purse for a friends thirteen year old daughter. And I bought a journal and a sparkly pen for another friend’s daughter. In retrospect I wish I had hung on to the second pen. It really was sparkly and spectacular.
Hello Kitty is a pink and white anthropomorphic cat cartoon character, created in 1974 by Yuko Shimizu for Sanrio, when she worked for them. She left Sanrio a few years later and made no further income from her creation. Sanrio banked on the popularity of Hello Kitty and not only expanded into making artifacts, but also into themed restaurants, popular with families.
The homemade ice cream is reported to be delicious.
Of late, Sanrio has also ventured into themed travel — train, plane, bus.
Train:
This year in June, Japan debuted a Hello Kitty themed bullet train:
The special shinkansen had its inaugural round trip Saturday between Osaka and Fukuoka, connecting Japan's west and south. It will run through September.
The stylish, eight-car train is painted pink and white, showcasing Hello Kitty images and trademark ribbons from flooring to seat covers and windows. In one car, a life-size Hello Kitty doll donning a train crew uniform and a hat -- decorated with a pink bow, of course -- greets passengers, offering a chance for selfies. LINK
A bespoke train. With Hello Kitty images outside, and theme related comfort inside.
[...] the company is outfitting windows, walls, floors, head, and armrests in Hello Kitty garb, while riders who reserve a ticket will be able to take pictures in a themed photo booth with a giant Hello Kitty doll. In the seatless Hello! Plaza car, riders will be able to browse a marketplace of Japanese goods, making the train the ultimate tourist attraction. LINK.
Here’s what the plaza looks like —
PLANE:
Earlier this year, I had read of EVA Airlines’ collaboration with Sanrio (the company that owns Hello Kitty) to start a Hello Kitty themed flight from LA to Southeast and East Asia. They also have a similar themed flight from Chicago.
As you can see, this Boeing is painted with the animation themes of Hello Kitty.
Here’s their self check in room.
These themed travel modes are cute. I’m not opposed to getting on both modes at least once, just to experience it.
The in-flight meal tray has great presentation.
This image of an in-flight meal tray is from a newer flight from LAX. And it does look interesting.
I suspect that there are many souvenirs one can get while in flight.
BUS:
There are all kinds of Hello Kitty buses out there. Here ‘s what the one of them looks like on the inside:
And last but not least, there’s even a Hello Kitty themed house in China.
Would you get on a Hello Kitty transport?
There are other themed vacation and travel destinations, such as Star Wars and LOTR.
I have never traveled thematically. Have you?