Cherry Blossom Festival 2011

One of the best events that San Francisco has to offer, is the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown.

This year's overall theme was to support, fundraise, and donate to Japan. I have participated in previous years in the festival itself, but every year I can always count on the Sanrio booth as well as other great Japanese Hello Kitty finds.

The arc of awesomeness! It was hard to get a decent picture of this entrance since the live band was next to the Sanrio booth. There was a gazillion people walking by so I tried my best.

As soon as I walked in, I bought a shirt. The previous two years, I was too busy with the festival to pick up a shirt. By the time I'd get to the booth, they would already sell out. You could probably imagine how happy I was to finally get one. A bit expensive, but the majority of the proceeds were going to Japan.

$10 would buy you a page of tickets that you could redeem for tickets. The fishing pool was so much fun because as soon as you use the paper pan to swift up a charm, the paper would break the second it hit the water.



I played this one 2-3 times and twice I got the grand prize of 3 prize tickets to redeem.

Chocopanda Ball Throw was a hit with the younger ones.

Close-up of the backboard because it was so darn cute!

Japanese on the bag which I thought was pretty nifty because they could have used any cheap plastic baggy.

Of course I'd get Hello Kitty! My second love is Badtz-Maru. I actually caught a total of 3 charms, but they fell from the paper pan so the lady working the booth just picked up 2 for me.

With all the prize tickets from the various game booths, I used it to redeem a Hello Kitty thermos. There were plenty of prizes to choose from, but I had the majority of them.

With the booth tickets, you could use a flyer to redeem a paper fan inside the store location in the mall.

Not the best Mystery Bag from Sanrio, but decent. The ring/sticker I will give away, but the notebook I'll keep. Also, there was a small shopping bag charm which will go straight to my charm collection.

One of my Must-Go-To Stores in Japantown is Ichiban Kan. They have numerous Japan-Only Hello Kitty items at a bargain. There's not a constant turnout of Hello Kitty items, but I'll make it there whenever there's a new Hello Kitty line of products.

These are great for using as a gift bag, shopping, or traveling since they don't absorb water.

These are the ones I picked up.

Hello Kitty paper gift bags.

Hello Kitty plastic bags. As it is, I hate plastic bags so I didn't bother buying these.

These Hello Kitty wafers were on clearance because of their expiration date. I really don't care because Hello Kitty on any food item is always a must have!

Picked these up about 2 years ago already, these bunch are super magnets with a strong hold.



Bought the sleeper blindfold because it was absolutely adorable. Also, you can never have enough plastic containers.

As always, I can count on Japantown to bring home some wonderful hard to get Hello Kitty items. I can't wait for next year's festival!