JAPAN RAILROADS WELCOMED FAMOUS HELLO KITTY WITH A DEDICATES BULLET TRAIN
The appeal of Hello Kitty reaches the entire world. With millions of admirers, this adorable character has even encouraged many to travel to Japan, the birthplace of kawaii. Hello Kitty's unstoppable charm makes her an engaging mascot in addition to being a cute character. One of Japan's major rail companies, JR West, has welcomed Hello Kitty into their world with a special bullet train called the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, one of her most sought-after partnerships.
Because the entire exterior is covered in Hello Kitty designs and a pink ribbon motif that honours the train stops along its route, the experience starts even before you board the train. For instance, the Hello Kitty from Tottori is carrying an apple, the one from Hyogo is holding a loaf of bread, and the Hello Kitty from Fukuoka is holding a strawberry. JR West hopes to represent "the wish to join hands and connect with different regions" in conjunction with the ribbon design.
For any fan of Hello Kitty, the first two train cars are like something out of a dream. The first car, Hello Plaza!, has photo booths, entertaining gachapon machines with adorable trinkets, and a souvenir shop where Hello Kitty is dressed as a train driver or in local attire while also celebrating local specialities.
The Kawaii! Room, the second car in the train, is a passenger car. In addition to a themed luggage storage area, a large figure of Hello Kitty wearing a Shinkansen conductor's uniform greets passengers there. The car is covered in adorable details, such as window shades, signs wishing you a pleasant journey, and seat covers that feature this well-known cat—who is actually supposed to be a young girl from London. The Hello Kitty theme song, which announces arrival at each station in place of the usual Shinkansen chime, completes the experience.
In June 2018, the Hello Kitty Shinkansen began service between the busy Shin-Osaka station and Hakata Station, offering a 4.5-hour ride between Osaka and Fukuoka. In addition to the onboard experience, a café at Okayama station serves ekiben, a themed take-out box shaped like a shinkansen, and a cafe at Hataka station sells souvenirs and candies with Hello Kitty themes. Given that Hello Kitty recently celebrated her 50th anniversary and that her adorableness continues to attract millions of tourists to Japan, we can only hope that this Kawaii bullet train will continue to operate for an even longer period. JR West has added the Hello Kitty Shinkansen schedule through June 2025.