In Japan the 1st of September is national disaster prevention day, it started in 1960 on the anniversary of The Great Kanto earthquake (which caused massive devastation in Tokyo and the surrounding areas) as a way to encourage people to make disaster preparations. With Japan having so many earthquakes which can lead to other natural disasters like tsunami and fires, it's no surprise that many Japanese households have preparations and Japanese snacks stored away just in case. For many other countries having disaster rations stashed away seems like a survivalist notion, but it's a reality for many families.
With that being said, when you think of the adorable Japanese character Hello Kitty things like Hello Kitty Cafes and Hello Kitty collaborating with famous Japanese restaurants come to mind. But disaster prevention goods? Now that's unusual! However, just a quick online search for "Hello Kitty disaster prevention goods" in Japanese brings up hundreds of results ranging from first aid kits to even fire extinguishers all with Kitty-chan's face on! Sanrio online shop is even retailing some for disaster prevention day, so let's have a look at what they have to offer.
First up is probably the most practical item of the lot, a solar powered lamp, you can use this item everyday but it would prove particularly useful should your electricity become cut off.
Next up is Hello Kitty Fuji Mineral Water and a huge 24 pack at that! Water doesn't exactly have an expiry date so it's a good one to stash away as in Japan whenever there's a natural disaster scare shops will even sell out of bottled water!
Following are these Hello Kitty shaped biscuits, the description describes these as being crunchy, sweet and delicious but considering the few long shelf life biscuits we've tried in our time, we're not so sure that these would be as tasty as your usual Japanese snack!
Last but not least are these canned danish style cakes, they even come in 3 flavours! Original, Maple Syrup and Chocolate! Not sure if you could classify these as Japanese candy, but should disaster hit we sure wouldn't mind eating these!
Should the zombie apocalypse ever hit here at TokyoTreat HQ we'd be super prepared with all the delicious Japanese snacks and candy we have lying about! We'll try not to eat your Japanese snack subscription boxes though!!
What do you think of these cute disaster prevention goods? Would you like some of your own? What other characters would you like to see? Let us know in the comments!
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