Extreme Japanese Custom Vans

 

Just one of many outrageously fabulous custom vans, courtesy of Pink Tentacle
(and sent to me by Mr. Broke Hoedown.

Sanrio Puroland English Web Site Updated

Regular readers of my blog know that Sanrio Puroland is my absolute favorite non-Disney theme park.

I’ve just noticed that the Sanrio Puroland English web site has been upgraded substantially sometime in the recent past. If I’d had access to such an excellent web site when I was planning my 2002 trip to Puroland, I might not have wandered around so hopelessly in search of food, nor stumbled around so terribly confused, trying to figure out what attractions existed, and what they might be like! I might even have been able to figure out how to get there without imposing so heavily on a Japanese friend, or the kind stranger on the train who reassured me as I tried to figure out if I’d missed my stop. (Of course, in retrospect, these were some of the most wonderful things about the experience of visiting Sanrio Puroland as a hopeless, clueless, but terribly enthusiastic gaijin.)

If you visit, I highly recommend the Food Machine restaurant, which has an excellent selection of easy-to-decipher foods. I scored a super-cool Shinkansen custard dish there! And you absolutely do not want to miss the parade. The costumes are spectacular, the atmosphere tremendous. Don’t worry about the fact that you won’t understand a word, it doesn’t matter.

And of course, the Sanrio Character Boat Ride is a must-see. A separate charge applies, but what’s another 900 yen once you’ve traveled all the way to Tama City, Japan, in the first place?

 

My Fairy Tale Wedding

Okay, it’s not Disney . . . but it’s cute cute cute! Sanrio is now offering Hello Kitty wedding packages.

I wonder why they’re partnering with Hankyu Dai-ichi Hotel Group, rather than simply offering them at Sanrio Puroland or Harmonyland. But hey, maybe they have the idea that a romantic wedding doesn’t include the Sanrio Character Boat Ride? Or hundreds of enthusiastic children?

All I know is, it would be easier to talk Mr Broke Hoedown into renewing our vows together in Japan than Orlando.