Happy Anniversary

This year (Nov 1 to be precise) is apparently the 30th anniversary of Hello Kitty. Since she’s the unofficial mascot of Japan, they are doing it up big here. The Tokyo subways are lined with posters commemorating the round white fuzz-ball with ears. There are postcards with the well-known profile photo-shopped into all the famous scenes. Any gift shop worth its salt carries a familiar pink and white section. There are several Hello Kitty exhibitions around the country. And I’ve even seen a book commemorating the art commemorating the anniversary. I would say that this could only happen in Japan, but there was apparently a 30th birthday party for the cat at Rockefeller Center earlier this year.

Did you know that the slogan on her website is “30 years of cute”? I think I’m going to be ill now. I know! They ought to have a celebrity death match between the cat and Snoopy!