Hello Kitty's new hobby: camping

According to her profile on her official fans site, Hello Kitty's hobbies are "baking cookies and making pancakes; origami; foreign cultures; playing the piano; tennis; collecting little stars, ribbons, and other cute little things." However, if her recent activities are any indication, that list should be updated to include camping.

A month ago, she released a video of her (in her Vtuber avatar mode) chilling out for an hour over a campfire with comedian-turned camping enthusiast Hiroshi:

Fans of the popular camping-themed anime Laid-Back Camp who could read Japanese may have noticed in the video's description that the location was Minobunosato Natural Park, which happens to be in Minobu-cho, Yamanashi Prefecture, the town which served as the model for the one where Nadeshiko, Rin and the other members of the Nokuru (Outdoor Exploration Club) live.

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Hello Kitty x Laid-Back Camp collaboration

Now, as fans eagerly look forward to the second season of the anime, Hello Kitty's connection to Laid-Back Camp has become official with a new collaboration and video series in which she plays the role of tour guide (this time in her more familiar kigurumi style) introducing the charms of Yamanashi Prefecture and the settings which inspired the anime.

Here's the first one, in which Hello Kitty introduces the Fuefukigawa Fruit Park (called Fuefuki Park in the anime) appearing in Episodes 4 and 5, in which the members of Nokuru embark on their first camping trip, as well as some of the delicious desserts made with Yamanashi Prefecture produce which you can enjoy in the "fruit plaza".

You can read all about the settings of the anime in these episodes in English at this special website provided by Yamanashi Prefecture's office of tourism.

Schedule

Here is the schedule for the episodes, which will be available for viewing over a period of one week each:

• Episode 1: November 1st to 8th
• Episode 2: November 16th to 23rd
• Episode 3: November 30th to December 7th

Laid-Back Camp Season 2

Laid-Back Camp is known for doing rigorous location scouting, and Season 2 won't disappoint either. Apparently, the staff made a total of 10 trips to research the locations visited by the members of Nokuru, who, in addition to Yamanashi Prefecture, will enjoy camping and adventures in Shizuoka Prefecture, notably the coastal town of Hamamatsu.

Set to begin airing in January, Season 2 will get a special pre-screening of its first episode on November 29th at Tokyo's Marunouchi Piccadilly (Shochiku Multiplex Theatres), attended by the main voice cast, which will also be live-streamed in 36 theaters across Japan.

Trailer