Ex-policeman breaks records with Hello Kitty collection

"I love Kitty," he added, calling her "adorable, especially her facial expressions".

What facial expressions???

That's a happy man - look at that smile! To have found something to do that makes you happy is most people's goal in life. Good for him :)

Odd and slightly creepy, but to each his own.

I wanna comment, but I have a hello kitty bag...so I will just keep quiet.

That's some serious hoarding issue.

Masao Gunji, who spent his working life on the trail of hardened criminals, now spends his retirement tracking down pink and white soft toys to keep in a Hello Kitty-themed house, which he built specially and has become a magnet for tourists.

I'm speechless.

Gunji's wife Yoshiko says she fully supports her husband's passion. "I don’t care how much he spends on Hello Kitty," she said.

Lucky him, my wife has been trying to get rid of 90% of my stuff.

having spent around 30 million yen on thousands of items, including the house.

Wait, he can include the amount he spent on the house in the total? That can't be right, other than being painted pink it doesn't look like that house is a Hello Kitty item.

Get the auditors in there, someone needs to call out these accounting shenanigans! If we can't trust the accuracy of Hello Kitty related collecting records, what can we trust?

I'm tempted to donate my lunchbox.

Better than yesterday's article: https://japantoday.com/category/national/silicone-sally-japan-men-find-true-love-with-sex-dolls

That's a happy man - look at that smile! To have found something to do that makes you happy is most people's goal in life. Good for him :)

Hell of a lot better than a certain doll collector and you are quite right

His wife(?) in the background does not seem to share his enthusiasm.

Stressful career, policeman.

"30 million yen"

Wow! That's what we do when we get old, we collect, or really get into our hobbies, or both. Usually we do things to take us back to our youth, the older you get the faster time goes by and you can see the end is coming, so you just try and make the best of your remaining time and have some fun while doing it. My weakness is model freight trains, usually my family buys them for me on my birthday, if I buy one for myself, it is always used, I have spent maybe 100,000 yen over the last 30 years or so, if I had gone anywhere near 3 million yen my family would have had me put in therapy! But at least his wife supports her husband's passion.

I wonder if his wife is thinking, " now that this is has gone global via the internet, God knows what going to turn up next in the post?"

Stressful career, policeman. just thinking that, but hey if it stops cop committing crimes in Japan, then whatever does it for you guys

So policemen make enough money to blow 30 million yen on dolls? Who knew.

We don' t know his family/investment, saving, etc backgrounds.

Or do we?