1981 was the first time that I set foot in the beautiful country of Japan – the land of the Rising Sun. It was the very first time too that I saw the character of Hello Kitty which made me feel so amazed because I found it to be very very cute. Little did  I know that for the next 30 years I would be occasionally adoring Hello Kitty.  I am saying occasionally because in the process of time I had this liking and forgetful fits with the Character.

My late Mother and my nieces were always looking forward for my homecoming not only because of me but the stuff toys I brought home and Hello Kitty! To date I still see the characters carefully preserved inside glass cabinets back home in Bacolod City where I am reminded which time of the years that passed I brought the characters home.

Lets move to 2012 and to be exact that is January 28, 2012. I never thought and I never realized that there is this thing called Sanrio Puroland in Japan!

The Main Entrance of the Theme Park

The Main Entrance Signage

It was a great chance and it was work related why I was able to get to Sanrio Puroland. It has nothing to do with my profession but in a way has something to do with my being a resident of Japan why I was able to visit this interesting place. Very important personalities are coming in to Japan on a vacation next month and we are tasked to “guide” them. Since this is a very private trip I will not divulge the names here for respect of privacy for these people.

Sanrio Puroland is one of the destinations. I look at it as a way of refreshing the “child in us” because that is how I exactly felt the moment I entered the premises. Suddenly everything went Magical!

This is what you see when you get in the place and this is where the guests gathers to prepare to enter the realm of the Puroland.

Taking the escalator in a descending manner One will first get a glimpse of the Power stones that are lit to create the Fantasyland.

Brings you in by saying Welcome!

Yes Hello Kitty characters says WELCOME to all!

As one descend the Escalator it brings you to a Fantasy land where every character of the Hello Kitty concept is brought to life in front of your face. The Musical Revue of Hello Kitty in the Magical Land of Oz is a great and beholding show at the Marchen Theatre. It goes around the whole circular area with all the lights play and interesting character costumes all glittering in golds silvers and whites plus many sparkles coming from all colors. Truly Fantastic!

There are rides as well that will tickle your interest but photos were not allowed inside so I am not able to post anything about the rides but certainly the Sanrio Character Boat Ride is a beautiful Experience.

The Fairyland is a Theatre that speaks about the Mystical Flower Sprit and the Winter Spirit with eternal life. Upon a chance encounter, the two fell in love but must part after 3 days of being together in this romantic musical with very very interesting costumes and stage sets!

The Fairyland Theatre

FOOD! It is the most important thing when you get inside the Sanrio Puraland. With all the amazing things that you get to see at a certain time you will look for food glorious food. There is the Gourmet Bazaar where you see food stuff, trays, bowls, paper cups, everything designed with the theme – Hello Kitty.

I ordered American Brewed Coffee and one chocolate covered balls which i discovered was glutinous rice with red bean paste rolled in Sesame seeds and dipped in Chocolate! For that particular moment I deliberately forgot that I was Diabetic…..Who can resist this after all???

The hot brewed Coffee with Chocolate dipped Sesame Balls.

Upstairs there are Restaurants that serve food. I was able to take photos of the Menu stands displayed at the Entrance of the Restaurant Hall that looked like this.

Menu Stand

Menu Stand 2

Menu Stand 3

On the second level at the Entrance you will be able to find interesting kiosks that sells just everything about the concept of the character of Hello Kitty. Truly a haven for the kids, the parents and it includes me who also satisfied the child in me and truly it loosened me up and kind of decreased my stress level.

How would you like to see this?

Sanrio Stuffs

Cutie Pie!

Arent they Cute?

The Information counter is very important because we all know that it is the place where we can find answers and solutions to what we want to do, discover and like during the stay in Sanrio Puroland.

Information Counter

There are more to see. There are more things to experience. This may only be 2/3 of the whole story but all I can say is the whole exercise is too friendly for everyone. One may be tired of moving around but the best part is being in dreamland for almost a day and for every Entrance there will always be an exit but threading this way means memories of a great experience just happened and you may want to visit the place once more more and more.

Leaving Sanrio Puroland with happiness in ones Heart.

The Journey is resumed from now and in the days to come. Keep on reading and help me be a good one for all of you. Thanks!

We all know that Christmas is the time of the year when every thing falls into place – loving, forgiving, giving, receiving, parties, reunions everything that makes people happy not to miss the real Christian essence of bringing importance to the birth of Jesus Christ – Savior of Mankind.

In the midst of the revelries and the spirit that is Christmas the Philippines was unusually “visited” by a storm – a typhoon. Internationally called Washi and locally called Sendong, it made its landfall around three in the afternoon on Friday, December 16th – suppose to be marking as the first day of Christmas.

from the Accuweather.com 

Tropical Storm Washi has already begun to unleash heavy rainfall on the southern Philippines, and more is on the way.

Several inches of rain has fallen near Butuan, Davao and Hinatuan, on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. This is very close to where Washi made landfall on Friday.

Washi is expected to track west to northwest across the southern islands of the Philippines over the next 24-36 hours before emerging into the South China Sea.

Washi will unleash locally heavy rainfall and the threat for deadly flooding to the southern Philippines through Saturday.

Moving over the open waters of the South China Sea, Washi will have a chance to better organize and strengthen late this weekend and early next week.

The storm is not expected to reach typhoon status; however, it could become a strong tropical storm during this time.

The Washington Post

Wunderground’s Jeff Masters explains:

…since the rains fell on regions where the natural forest had been illegally logged or converted to pineapple plantations, the heavy rains were able to run off quickly on the relatively barren soils and create devastating flash floods. Since the storm hit in the middle of the night, and affected an unprepared population that had no flood warning system in place, the death toll was tragically high.

and the NASA reports on Tropical Cyclones:

Washi made landfall on the east coast of Mindanao on the afternoon of Dec. 16 as a moderate tropical storm with sustained winds reported at 55 knots (~63 mph). Despite its modest intensity, Washi had a huge impact on the island. As Washi made its way across Mindanao, it dumped heavy rains over parts of the island, which in turn triggered flash floods and mudslides. These turned out to be catastrophic as over 900 people were killed with hundreds more reported missing when entire villages where swept away

In the southern Philippines places like Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City suffered the most devastating mudslides. In addition to deforestation and weak construction, poor warnings are being blamed for the deadliest cyclone disaster to hit the Philippines in three years. The residents of the southern Philippines see far fewer cyclones per year than in the north, and most of the heavy rain was reported to have fallen over the mountains before flowing down in raging rivers.

These  heartbreaking photos ended up in Facebook and it made a mark… its the clear picture of  Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities that will forever be etched in the minds of the people. Sad…painful…Christmas will never be the same in these Cities from now on.

It is not suppose to be the time for putting blames but the Illegal loggers has something to do with this. They may be sitting on gold now but in the end what comes around goes around and the rule of nature will just work on them.

No more blaming. We must all act up and do something for our fellowmen. If we can spare money to have a drink and get merry it would also be best to skip one of two and instead channel expenses for donations to help the devastated survivors of CDO and Iligan City. Let us not wait for the Philippine government to do it because for now they are only busy with their mudslinging and other “activities.”

Let us follow the culture of Japan where I am now while in the midst of a calamity or a disaster they all help each other and strongly stands to get up and prove the world that they can STAND and Recover and that comes from the thought that they want to step on the ashes of any disaster. This we Filipinos should follow.

Let us also follow the resiliency that the Japanese people posses. It is the most effective thing to do and with this I hope that the readers will have a mark in their minds and will eventually make them help the NORMIN people in its process of regaining the self esteem that they posses.

In the future, these places will prosper into  great cities with a history marked by Sendong.  It will forever be marked in their minds what happened on that particular moment when the disaster was etched in history.  Let us find ways to encourage our Fellow Filipino friends to participate in making the move to serve  and support.

Next step is for us Filipinos to tightly hold hands together and help Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities rise up to the muds of the Rivers that overflowed and claimed many lives. Rising may be slow and tedious but no matter what happens we must Rise.

Purple Journey means 2 things to me. Purple being my favorite color and Journey because I will journal here everything that I get to experience, see, feel, touch, taste and smell.

Welcome! I will be threading through this blog and lets see what is going to happen in the process.