Exploring the Home of Hello Kitty
25 Oct 2010 2 Comments
in Windy/ウィンデイー
Today was our first full day exploring Yamanashi. As I said before, Yamanashi is famous for their wines. Seeing vineyards along the road and on the mountain side makes me feel at home. We were lucky enough to visit Chateau Brillant’s tasting room followed by a tour of the property led by the winery owner, who is also a Rotarian.
Today was also the first day that I was able to visit a business of my own vocation. We toured YBS, the largest and oldest newspaper in Yamanashi prefecture. They have expanded to own a successful radio station, television network, print house, advertising agency, travel company and more. I had many questions and because our guide was fluent in English, all of my questions were answered!
'The View' GSE styleWe were able to listen in on a popular live morning show. I snapped this pic before learning that the hosts were rather famous and we shouldnt take any pictures. They talked about us on air while we watched. They said we were very "stylish" 
I also learned that Yamanashi is the home of Hello Kitty. The Rotarian who told me this was surprised to hear that we were familiar with Hello Kitty, he assumed it was only popular in Japan. He informed me that ‘Sanrio’, the company that makes Hello Kitty, translates to “King of Yamanashi”. This explains the stone sculpture at Yamanashi’s temple.
Then we had presentations and dinner with the Kai and Kofu Rotary Clubs. The after dinner entertainment was a bartending show. Not what I ever would have expected, but it was fun and of course the GSE team were the first to volunteer to assist the stunts.
Whew! Another long and amazing day! Ready to check in with my host family and get some sleep!
Tom Boylan
Oct 25, 2010 @ 17:25:19
I can’t wait to see some of those bartender tricks performed at the Broiler Steak House. Too much fun to be in the audience for the Japanese version of the View. How do you say Whoopi in Japanese? Sleep well, it sounds like you have been running ever since you hit ground.
windyswindt
Oct 26, 2010 @ 06:03:10
It’s been quite a ride. I still can’t believe I am here! I gathered some interesting info at the Newspaper company and picked up a couple things for you! It was so excited to see another version of what we do at BPA!
Hows everything going there?