Hello Kitty fans get excited. The beloved Sanrio character’s high-speed bullet train is coming to Japan.
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As we’ve previously reported, a Hello Kitty-themed train was set to begin service in Western Japan this summer and now we know the date service is set to commence. Last Friday, West Japan Railway Co. announced that the Hello Kitty-themed train will begin service on June 30 and will make daily round trips between Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture and Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture.
In addition to the service start date for the specially-themed train, we also have gotten our first look at concept art for what inside the train will look like. Previously we had only seen renderings of the outside decked out in pink and white, but as you can see below that color theme continues to the interior as well.
The train’s first car will be called “Hello! Plaza” and will feature a gift shop selling Hello Kitty merchandise as well as local specialty goods. Following that is the “Kawaii! Room” with Hello Kitty-themed seats and a special spot perfect for photos with a large Hello Kitty figure. You can check out the concept art in the gallery below.
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This isn’t the first time a high-speed train has been given the Hello Kitty makeover treatment. Back in 2016 a train in Taiwan was done up in the style of the world-famous cat, allowing passengers to ride in Sanrio style between Taipei and Taitung — approximately a four-hour trip. However, that Hello Kitty train had a “travel around the world with Hello Kitty” theme, with the train’s cars representing different travel scenes, quite different from this newest train’s pink and white theme.
This Hello Kitty train replaces a previous themed train, a promotional vehicle for Neon Genesis Evangelion which ended its run earlier this year. That train was originally slated to run from November 2015 to spring 2016 but was so overwhelmingly popular with the public that the promotional campaign was extended an additional 18 months. Of course, fans of Hello Kitty won’t want to count on the kawaii train getting an extended run. The Hello Kitty train is set to run until September 30.