Sanrio Expo 2014 Includes All of Sanrio’s Kawaiiness!

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Feb. 14, 2014 04:00 PST

Sanrio Expo 2014 Includes All of Sanrio&rsquor;s Kawaiiness!

The company that gave birth to many popular characters such as Hello Kitty and My Melody, Sanrio, is organizing Sanrio Expo 2014 featuring new characters, new projects, and licensed goods for the 40th anniversary year of Hello Kitty. The expo was on view in Tokyo until Feb. 7, and it is scheduled to be displayed in Osaka on Feb. 20 and 21. A magnificent sneak preview was shown to the press also featuring shows with the characters and character greetings. In this article, we are going to deliver a report about the display and the event rich in programs.

The first thing popping into the eye upon entering the hall were boards made for Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary, saying “Arigato Hug You ♡ Tell that person. Thank you. Hug~ ♡” and featuring Hello Kitty hugging various Sanrio characters. Kitty and Mimmy welcome the incoming visitors (the cute picture on top). The hall was cramped with monuments promoting the event “Hello Kitty in Shibuya” and displayed anniversary goods.

Aside from an imitation of the tourist favorite “Scramble Crossing,” there are also enormous advertisements and visions of business institutions, such as Shibuya 109.

They are selling lots of items from the KT40th series, such as the Kitty-hugging Sanrio all-stars plush toys that are sold as monthly items. All of these items will tickle a collector’s heart.

The zone introducing new merchandise also featured a booth for the new character in focus, Kirimi-chan, beside My Melody, Little Twin Stars, and BonBon Ribbon.

Kirimi-chan made her debut when she radiantly won first place in the popularity vote for “Food Kyara General Election,” a poll for food-motif characters. She is the character adaptation of *kirimi*, the fish slices so often seen on Japanese dining tables, and she is gaining huge popularity bit by bit. Sixteen kinds of different merchandise were released on Feb. 13, giving her a promising debut.

In the zone introducing the sales department, small, separately wrapped kawaii goods called “puchi gifts” were taking the spotlight, mostly adored by female guests. These are cookies or candies that are individually wrapped in paper with character faces on them, and they are recommended as a present to friends or people you’d like to express your gratitude to.

Other than sweets, earjack mascots for mobile devices, accessories imitating sweets, and even stationery can be used for puchi gifts. Their lineup makes them suitable for exchange with friends, but you might also want to reserve them for your own collection.

One of the spotlights of this event was the collaboration with Mikimoto, a high-end Japanese jewelry brand with over 120 years of accomplishments behind its back, titled “Mikimoto × Hello Kitty.” Besides the 20 items including necklaces, earrings, and bangles, a brilliant tiara that symbolizes the collection and a high-price pearl necklace were put on special display.

The long, 12-row necklace made out of over 2,200 Akoya pearls strung together. It makes a set with the Kitty-face earrings. Kitty’s ribbon is made from rubies, her eyes are onyx, and the stars are expressed with diamonds.

The three-dimensional, two-folded tiara, created in the image of a strawberry forest. There is a 3-carat diamond in the shape of Kitty’s face glittering in the middle. The strawberry parts are made out of rubies, and they can be opened just like lockets with Kitty’s boyfriend, Daniel, hiding inside. Her ribbon is made from pink gold. It is a unique piece of jewelry containing 24 carats of gems in total with an assumed worth of ¥100 million.

Furthermore, there were various character goods displayed in the zone introducing licensed goods, such as the popular English characters Sanrio has just acquired the licence of: Mr. Men and Little Miss.

Licensed goods to spread out to Europe and America; Yoshikitty, a collaboration with Yoshiki, drummer of the Japanese rock band X Japan; and Evangelion collaborations. This lineup is sure to make choosing difficult.

There is also a sales promotion aimed at tourists. We recommend overseas people who intend to visit Japan to check it out.

This promotion includes a novelty project in collaboration with Shiseido, a cosmetics maker advertised in plane pamphlets, and an IC card for JR (Japan Railways) only foreign tourists can purchase. Please check it out if you visit Japan.

HELLO KITTY 40thOFFICIAL WEB SITE

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.