Once you travel to the Eastern parts of Asia, you feel how big Hello Kitty and her friends are especially in that region. Not too surprisingly, there are several amusement parks themed after the character created by the company Sanrio. When my wife and I visited Tokyo in October 2023, we thus just had to have a visit to Sanrio Puroland on the outskirts of the city.

 

Sanrio Puroland – Location & Admission

Sanrio Puroland is located in the heart of the city of Tama in the Tokyo Prefecture. The easiest way to get there is by train. Travel distance from Central Tokyo is at least one hour. Several train lines stop at Keio-Tama-Center Station, which is about a ten minute walk away from the indoor amusement park. Namely, they are the Sagamihara Line, the Keio Line and the Tama Line. The latter are included in the Greater Tokyo Pass. The Tama Monorail connects Tama to the North as well. Close to the park, there is also the Tokyo Metropolitan Archaeological Center, which we unfortunately did not manage to visit.

The Hello Kitty park is opening from Friday to Tuesday. Friday and Tuesday times are 9:30 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday are 8:30 to 18:00. Monday opening times are 9:00 to 18:00. I recommend to buy tickets beforehand and arrive at the park as early as possible. We did not do all rides and spent some four hours in there. Admission prices differ by day. We bought the ticket at Klook – and it was much cheaper than European parks are alike.

 

Sanrio Puroland – Atmosphere

Sanrio Puroland is purely and indoor park. The atmosphere is lovely and just in line what you expect. In many spots, you run into all different kinds of Sanrio characters. The park majorly consists of two levels, arranged around a large plaza with The Wisdom Tree. The entrance level, however, is located on two additional upper levels. The amusement park is very family friendly. There is also plenty of opportunity to meet and greet Sanrio characters.

 

Sanrio Puroland – The Rides

There are a few more action-orientated rides – but not too surprsingly, the park is best at its more atmospheric ones. Some attractions are also a mixture of a show and a standard attraction. For example, there is Lady Kitty House, in which you first explore the home of the character before actually meeting them. I especially loved the rather slow and gentle attractions, like the Sanrio Character Boat Ride or the My Melody & Kuromi Mymeroad Drive.

 

Sanrio Puroland – Shows

There are several shows throughout the day. I highly recommend to check the schedule right after you enter the park and make up your plans accordingly. There are dedicated theaters like the Fairyland Theater for the shows, while the major parade is held in the circular Puro Village around the Wisdom Tree. People save the good spots early. Like at the rides, you may buy a fast pass. In case of the shows, they rather give you access to preferred areas than to early access. The shows are beautiful and very entertaining.

 

Sanrio Puroland – Services and Food

Of course, there is plenty of opportunity for shopping in the park, including gashapon machines (toys in balls). Some stores also sell merchandise which is exclusive to Sanrio Puroland. There is a wide range of items, also for adults. However, a general issue I had was finding socks for European sized feet.

There are numerous restaurants with different themes. Like the whole park, the design is beautiful. There is a nice range of food available. The prices are obviously higher than outside, but overall very reasonable.

As said, there are fast pass and preferred tickets for certains shows and rides. You can typically buy them at the waiting queues or close to preferred areas. The pricing is very reasonable. You should ideally come with both, coins and a loaded IC card (prepaid cash card) when you visit the card. Credit cards are also accepted, but some of the machines don’t use them.

 

Sanrio Puroland – My View

I had a really good time at Sanrio Puroland. I have to say that I should have prepared the visit much better, especially in regards of show times and being there really early on the day of visit. The atmosphere is lovely, the services are good. There was some chaos around the major shows, though. I would definitely recommend to make use of time slot / fast pass tickets, which saves a lot of time. Due to its location, visiting the park does take you quite some time on a Tokyo trip, though.

 

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