- Oita Airport has been given a Hello Kitty makeover
- Six-month rebrand in conjunction with Expo 2025
- New bus shuttle running to Sanrio Character Park Harmonyland
Expo 2025, in Osaka, Japan has been given a major injection of Hello Kitty thanks to the rebranding of a sleepy airport on Kyushu island.
Oita Airport, located in Kunisaki, Oita prefecture of the island has undergone a transformation to help attract tourists to the area. In doing so, it has become the first official Hello Kitty-branded airport in the world.
Read more: Study finds rats can distinguish between wines
The revamp launched on 13 April with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring appearances by Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Kuromi. The airport will showcase Hello Kitty-inspired colors until 16 October to coincide with the Expo.
Hello Kitty, also known as Kitty White, is a fictional cartoon character (technically not a cat) created by Yuko Shimizu for the Japanese company Sanrio in 1974.
Read more: Liverpool title celebrations set off seismic tremor
She has the appearance of a cute white kitten with a red bow in her hair and the backstory is that she lives in London with her family. In fact, she actually has her own pet cat named Charmmy Kitty.
Hello Kitty became a global phenomenon, especially among young girls, as a result of Japan’s kawaii (or cuteness) culture, which celebrates all things sweet, friendly, and adorable.
Hello Kitty airport features
New interior and exterior decorations now feature beloved Sanrio characters throughout the airport.
Passengers are greeted by Hello Kitty on the boarding bridge visible from plane windows and there’s loads more cheerful scenes inside, including posters of her towing a suitcase and flying a mini plane.
Celebrating Oita’s famous hot springs, a kawaii photo opportunity lets visitors pose in a giant bathing bucket alongside Hello Kitty, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, Kuromi, and My Melody.
Those travelling from the airport will receive special Sanrio-themed luggage tags and can spend until their heart’s content in a shop packed with merchandise that includes t-shirts and cuddly toys.
A new bus service will also transport visitors from Oita Hello Kitty Airport to Sanrio Character Park Harmonyland, located about an hour away in Oita’s Hayami district
Even the airport’s website has been taken over by Hello Kitty.
The unique appeal of Oita Prefecture
A spokesman from Oita Prefectural Government’s tourism bureau told CNN, “We hope to encourage more tourists, particularly those who typically visit high-traffic destinations like Tokyo and Kyoto, to travel to Oita instead.”
Sanrio released a statement backing its decision to revamp Oita Airport, saying “by highlighting the unique appeal of Oita Prefecture and Kyushu such as hot springs, nature, and cuisine, we aim to leverage the global popularity of Japan’s Sanrio characters and their theme park.”
During the launch of the new-look airport, Sanrio Entertainment President Aya Komaki said “We are filled with the hope that this airport will become a bridge connecting countless smiles” as she waved a flag bearing Hello Kitty’s motto at the airport: “Hello from Oita to the world.”
This isn’t Hello Kitty’s first ride, as back in 2018, she would have been spotted zooming across Japan on the front of a Shinkansen bullet train livery.
