Hello Kitty Hard Rock Cafe
I do believe we are in the clutches of a secret evil empire secretly infiltrating Hello Kitty into every known and possible human activity. This is still tame compare to the Hello Kitty… erm, ladies toys (if you get my drift), I found at Donkie a few years ago, but still, a Hello Kitty Hard Rock Cafe! Poster found in a Roppongi subway station.
Tokyobling's Blog 
Did you end up going to the hard rock cafe itself? 😉
LikeLike
Having visited at least 21 countries so far, I still haven’t been able to visit a single Hard Rock Cafe. Perhaps someday I will go. If someone invites me. There is a certain bar in Shibuya that tends to steal the very little bar going time I have left over at the end of each month.
LikeLike
pls don say yes…i hate the cat…i can’t imagine why girls or even guys can go crazy over it…it’s a form of torture, i tell you…
LikeLike
I understand if young girls love the kitty cat, but I never found Hello Kitty appealing. Haha, this is totally crazy. Trying a bit too much, Hello Kitty! This takes out Hard Rock cafe to a whole lot different context. Though from a marketing strategy, you can kinda see the point. Talking about bringing women (Japanese women still do get crazy with Hello Kitty) into Hard Rock. This reminds me a lot of the first ever Barbie store that opens in Shanghai a few months ago that includes a cafe, a bar, a salon, etc; 4 storeys building full of Barbie.
LikeLike
I think the cat has three things going for her: she’s cute, she’s everywhere and she is very customizable. All three things are important for girls who want to show they belong to a group (i.e. adopt the cat on their clothes, bags and cell phones) other than that of family and school (which they haven’t chosen) while still not sticking out too much. I also think (from my own experience working with Japanese children) that the Hello Kitty phenomena has largely crested here in Japan. Disney and even some odd cartoons like Square Pants Bob feature larger in kids in school age today. Their older sisters and mothers are more likely to be fans of the cat though. As for Barbie I personally feel much more scared by her than by the cat, and I can’t imagine that the Barbie building you mention is anything less than very close to Haunted Mansion, Valley Of The Dolls kind of experience. The cat just isn’t all that sinister.
Also, I read somewhere that Bill Gates (of Microsoft) is a huge fan. Don’t know if that is true though.
LikeLike
Now I see your point. I’d probably choose Hello Kitty over Spongebob in a million times. Haha. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the actual Barbie shop, it opened after I left early in the year (not that I am a fan either, I grew up playing astronauts than having Barbie; I always think Ken as a fake-man-doll). But I’d love to go to the Barbie store just to experience and observe it. I will let you know if I ever get a chance to stop over in Shanghai anytime soon, if not next year.
If you want to check it out, here’s an article on it
http://www.archdaily.com/21065/barbie-shanghai-store-slade-architecture/
I just remember, Taiwan does have a maternity hospital with Hello Kitty theme. I wonder if Taiwanese is a bigger fan, or this is just too much. I can’t decide. Haha
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1092834/First-Hello-Kitty-themed-maternity-hospital-opens-Taiwan-aims-reduce-stress-childbirth.html
LikeLike
I have only ever seen the sponge boy once but I thought he was ok, especially compared to the big D. And then I read a great article on him in the NYT and soft of became a fan. I still need to see a few more episodes. I visited Nickleodeon offices here in Tokyo last year and they seem to have a cool thing going. A skeleton staff (8 or so…) dishing out one of the most popular foreign anime in Japan.
That Barbie house wouldn’t look out of place in Tokyo. I haven’t been to China since 1996 so I don’t know what it’s like now but they seem to have gone a long way in just a few years. As for the Kitty maternity ward, I can absolutely see the sense in that. If it makes mother relaxed, I’m all for it. I also suspect that pink rather than white is easier on new born eyes (red being the wavelength they are most used to before being expelled). I’m an adult and my eyes hurt when I enter an all white room! Also, I think that the soothing effect of a Hello Kitty maternity ward speaks volumes about the state of other maternity wards in Taiwan. Private clinics! Who would’ve thought it would ever catch on?
LikeLike
[…] Só no Japão… […]
LikeLike