Hello Kitty Go Around

Happy Year of the Rooster! In case you missed the news, Jan. 28, 2017 was the first day of the Year of the Rooster! People have been on vacation, which means everywhere is crowded @_@ However Feb. 2 was the first day of work and luckily, one of my Lolita friends had that extra day off, so we could go to the Hello Kitty Go Around exhibit together!

I went with a very casual outfit because I haven't worn Lolita in a while. Maybe I will begin posting the other looks I wear here sometimes ^0^ There are so many fun fashions to try! Since Lolita is much more of a daily look for me, I don't even always take a photo of my outfit. Most posted photos of Lolitas online seem to be especially dressed up, but I really like seeing daily, practical Lolita outfits *u*  So I supposed this is also my contribution to the pool of "realistic daily outfits" ??

Outfit Rundown:
Blouse: Little Dipper (taobao)
JSK, underskirt, corset: Handmade by me
Bag: Swimmer Japan
Everything else: offbrand

 Though the space was only average size, the setup was REALLY awesome! It felt like a much larger space and there were so many "scenes" to take photos at! In other words, this post will be very photo-heavy ^_~

Just inside the entrance was this faux carousel. There were full-length mirror walls on either side so it appeared as though this small section of carousel extended much further.

In addition to cute exhibits, there were six games that you can play. Each one costs a ticket (one ticket included with the VERY EXPENSIVE cover price of NT$300, and additional tickets cost NT$35 each) and the games were so difficult! I ended up playing this Baby Race but did not win:

 Because most people had to work and we arrived close to the opening time, there were not too many crowds inside. We were able to get mostly-clear photos of each exhibit!

The details are amazing!

 The exhibit contained almost exclusively first-edition characters. Though some newer fans of Sanrio may not be as familiar (obviously this type of exhibition will be popular for small children), it was really nice to see these characters from our childhood!

Keropi was my favorite as a child

 In addition to just the characters, there were over-sized props of old-school goods like pencil cases and stamp sets!

My old alarm clock had this picture of Hello Kitty in a plane on it!

Faux post office

 My first backpack was a Hello Kitty backpack, but in the briefcase style which is more common here than in the USA (our backpacks came from Taiwan)
Funny/terrible memory: One time in kindergarten I put both arms through the same strap on my backpack and got stuck that way. The teacher had to come help release me from my bonds and I felt humiliated because it was at the end of the day and everybody was watching as she tried to untangle the mess I'd made of myself without tearing my arms off -_-

 P.S. my tights are Hello Kitty ^_~  But they've got runs in them so I had to toss them afterward T^T

It was very fun to see these over-sized replicas of school supplies! For some reason, over-sized items makes me feel like I'm a child again. Maybe because the same objects seem larger when you are small?

One of these stamps appears different from the rest...

Hello Kitty is pretty old.... Since 1974!!

Not a real toy shop

The shop staff is very helpful

Another old-school favorite is Bad Badtz Maru!  Always such a trouble-maker!

There was one setup where you can create your own tote bag using their special stamps! However, we chose not to do that as it is a bit expensive and totes are not as handy as structured bags to me. Items get lost too easily in a soft tote!

Thank you for offering anyway, Dear Daniel

 Hands down, my favorite exhibit was the temple!

Devotion to our feline diety

 For a price, you can buy your own apple to write a wish and hang on the wall

Everything is detailed and beautiful!

The bell did not actually ring, but we pretended anyway

Hello Kitty, please bless me with good fortune!

出家了

  Another really fun exhibit was this catcher!!!

Role reversal! The plush toy is catching the human!

 The hole to get in was very difficult to get in without getting dirty, though! Luckily I was wearing a fully cotton JSK I can toss in the wash. Neco was wearing Rose Museum by Angelic Pretty, and had to be really careful!

Hailing a taxi

 On our second round of going through all the exhibits to decide which game we wanted to play, we realized that there is actually an "underground" exhibit under the roller coaster one!  Really, they did not waste any space!

Warning! Warning! Very danger!

 It was low and we had to stoop to get in, but the little construction site was just so cute! I'm glad we discovered it before leaving!

Please send help

 On the way out to the gift shop, there was a hallway where the design sketches for this exhibit were on display. It was interesting to see the different versions of this carnival theme get rehashed, as well and which designs made the cut and which were not used.

What is up with this strawberry superhero-esque Hello Kitty though?

 Back outside, we took a few more snaps before heading out of the area

Pretending to ride the carousel

It was a really fun day! Afterward we went to a historic garden/old buildings location, but I just took photos of Neco there so there are only a few photos of me used to test the framing and lighting.  Maybe some hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing) lolita is in the future for me?

Then we went to a Kumamon Cafe which ended up being and all-you-can-eat made-to-order buffet! I'll have to go try the afternoon tea buffet there sometime... when I'm not tightlacing T^T  After gaining weight over the Chinese New Year holiday, I wore a steel-boned corset on this day to help hold it all together!

Who is your favorite Sanrio character? Old or new, I want to know!

My childhood favorite characters are Pochacco, Keroppi, and Pompompurin! I guess they are both more masculine characters, but they were my favorites! For newer characters, I really like Charmmy Kitty, Sugar Bunnies, and Cinnamoroll (and family). Recently I've taken a liking to Gudetama, but only after seeing the animations as his original design I found unappealing. But really, he's so relate-able for us lazy people!