Thursday, January 22, 2009

Hello Kitty Hospital

I devote a section about Hello Kitty in my Taiwan travel book Taipei In A Day: Includes Taiwan From A To Z, First Edition, as there's a plethora (to put it mildly) of merchandise on Taiwan related to the famous Japanese cat with no mouth. To demonstrate how popular the famed feline is in East Asia, from Taiwan you could even fly on a plane devoted entirely to the cat and her friends to a popular Hello Kitty theme park in Japan.

Expecting moms on Taiwan who are Hello Kitty fans have a big reason to celebrate: Yunlin (雲林), Central Taiwan, known for its agriculture and fishing industries, as well as for livestock farming, now has a hospital devoted entirely to the iconic cat! Everything from the elevator doors to posters, blankets--and birth certificates--is adorned with cuddly images of the famous feline. People are even greeted at the lobby door by a giant "Hello Kitty doctor." A new father said he and his wife chose the hospital for the birth of their son because of the "warm and fuzzy" atmosphere. One has to wonder, however, how boys born there are going to feel looking back at their baby pictures... The story was reported here and here.

Taipei In A Day: Includes Taiwan From A To Z, First Edition is available here, Amazon.com and at Barnes andNoble.com. In Taipei the book is available at Cherry Valley Bookstore, Tienmu East Road, Lane 8, #99,Tienmu, Taipei (behind TAS)(台北市士林區天母東路8巷99號) (02) 2876-9293.

Thank you again for making Taipei In A Day the highest-rated Taiwan travel book on amazon.com! --Scott