Hello Kitty theme park opens in Tokyo


If you’re a lover of all things Hello Kitty, there’s good news today. Hello Kitty Kawaii Paradise has opened in the Odaiba district of Tokyo.

The 10,000-square foot attraction is being called an indoor theme park, but it’s a pretty small space to accommodate any kind of ride or show. Kawaii Paradise does have a theater with Hello Kitty cartoons projected onto a domed ceiling, a restaurant that serves Hello Kitty pancakes, and that bastion of all theme park values, the gift shop.

There are two other theme parks — Sanrio Puroland and Harmonyland — dedicated to Hello Kitty and other characters in the Sanrio universe. But this is the first park where Hello Kitty does not share the marquee with her friends.

Kawaii (which means “cute” in Japanese) Paradise is in the growing Venus Fort shopping complex. The park’s operator, PleasureCast, says it expects to top 700,000 visitors in the first year of operation.

[Image credit: Flickr user Stephen Hucker]