Sanrio Puroland Guide (2026) – Visit a Hello Kitty Theme Park in Tokyo!

Sanrio fans, did you know that there is a Hello Kitty theme park in Tokyo? It’s called Sanrio Puroland, and it’s a dream come true for kawaii fans. 

It has all sorts of themed rides, shows, parades, restaurants, arcade games and more featuring your favourite characters.

It makes the perfect day trip, but it can also be chaotic and overwhelming if it’s your first visit. So, there are things you should know before you go.

I’ve loved Hello Kitty since I was a kid, all the way back in the 1900s. So, this place was easily a highlight of my trip to Japan. 

Here is a complete Sanrio Puroland guide with all the enchanting things to do and useful tips to help maximise your visit.  

What is Sanrio Puroland?

Sanrio Puroland is an attraction known as Tokyo’s Hello Kitty theme park.

It’s an indoor, all-weather attraction in Odakyu Tama Center and has four floors of kawaii goodness. 

You’ll find rides, shows, parades, restaurants and shops themed like Hello Kitty and all her friends. It makes a magical day out for all ages. 

Is Sanrio Puroland just for kids?

No. Although it is perfect for children, the majority of visitors we encountered at Puroland were adults. 

You’ll find this is the case with many kawaii character attractions in Japan.

Sanrio has been around since 1960, and the apple-loving icon Hello Kitty is now 50.

So, there are many generations of fans who love her and her cute friends. 

My friend and I are two grown adults (by the way), and we had the time of our lives. 

It’s whimsical, it’s kawaii, it’s fun, and it was healing for my inner child. 

Go forth, Sanrio lover. Enjoy your day at the Hello Kitty theme park without societal expectations or guilt. Why should kids have all the fun?

Before you arrive

Like with any theme park, there are a few things I recommend doing before you arrive;

• Buy tickets in advance – you can do this on the official website, but I found Klook had much cheaper deals.

• Book for a weekday – weekends can be very crowded. 

• Plan your journey – Puroland is 40-60 minutes by train from central Tokyo. Plan your journey. You can download a Suica Card on your phone for public transport in Japan. 

• Check the schedule – the Hello Kitty theme park is not open every day, and show/character schedules change often. 

• Buy some ears – you can get these on the day, but any Sanrio shop sells them, and it will save you time. I got Kuromi as she’s my fave!

How many rides are there at Sanrio Puroland?

There aren’t that many traditional rides here, not like you would find at Disneyland. 

There are two ‘proper’ rides, which are the Sanrio Character Boat Ride and the My Melody & Kuromi Mymeroad Drive.

However, there are parades, shows, photo studios, character greetings and plenty more attractions to keep you occupied. You won’t be bored!

Sanrio Puropass

The queues for attractions in Sanrio Puroland can be really long. I would consider buying a Puropass or two that allows you to skip them. 

You can’t buy a Parade Puropass on the day (this needs to be in advance), but you can buy ride and show Puropasses. 

I hate having to buy extra tickets on top of an entry price. But, it seems it’s normal at most theme parks nowadays to avoid long waits.

In all honesty, the Puropasses ended up being a lifeline for our visit and made sure we didn’t miss anything. 

They sell out pretty quickly, so make sure to purchase them shortly after you arrive.

Tips to maximise your visit

• Arrive early – you definitely want to arrive early to maximise your time, as queues are long. I got here an hour before, and there was already a big crowd waiting for the doors to open. 

• Take the welcome pamphlet – This is in English and has a QR code to connect to the WiFi and book your character greetings.

• Check the ride times – There are leaderboards dotted throughout with attraction wait times. Keep checking these for updates.

• Sit down early for parades/shows – people sit down way before the parades/shows start. Get there early to guarantee a spot. 

• Buy Puropasses – I’ve already mentioned them, but they help a lot. 

• Wear layers – Sanrio Puroland is a completely indoor theme park, and it gets toasty. Wear layers. There are lockers to store things. 

Things to do in Sanrio Puroland

Sanrio Puroland has four floors filled with adorable attractions. It’s easy to fill up an entire day here. 

But it’s like a Hello Kitty labyrinth, and it’s easy to get lost or miss things. 

So, make sure to follow the signs or grab an English information leaflet with a map at the entrance.

Here are all the magical things to do in Sanrio Puroland. 

1. Sanrio Character Boat Ride 

The most popular attraction in Sanrio Puroland is the Sanrio Character Boat Ride.

It’s a relaxing journey on the water where you can encounter almost every Sanrio character imaginable. 

This boat ride was so beautiful. It takes you to many themed rooms, does a loop around the Wisdom Tree and ends with a spectacular finale. 

The only downside is that this ride often has long queues, so this is the one you want to rope drop or buy Puropasses for.

On our visit, the queue was over 80 minutes long. It later broke down, and when it reopened, the queue jumped up to over 120 minutes.

Puropasses were sold out, so we opted to ride in the back row, as it has a separate queue for those who don’t care about photos as much.

We ended up only queuing for 10 minutes! I couldn’t believe it. So, keep this in mind if you want to save time. The back row is quicker.

2. Wisdom Tree Stage

In the centre of Sanrio Puroland, you’ll find a huge room with the Wisdom Tree in the centre.

You can walk down here to access Sanrio Town, the Sanrio Character Food Court, Fairyland and Discovery Theatres.

There is also a Wisdom Tree Stage where they perform shows throughout the day. 

On my visit, this was Hello Kitty’s Birthday Celebration with Hello Kitty and Pompompurin’s friend, Scones. It was so cute. 

Note that you’ll be asked to sit on the floor to watch these shows. 

3. Lady Kitty House 

Lady Kitty House is Hello Kitty’s pink mansion in Sanrio Puroland, and this is an attraction in itself.

As you walk through her home, you get to sit on her sofa, have tea on a tatami mat, pose with a giant teacup and even sit on her bed. 

I loved the giant makeup set and the VR experience of playing dress up. 

When you’re ready, at the very end, you’ll get to meet the apple queen herself!

4. Meet Hello Kitty

The main reason for visiting the Lady Kitty House is the fact you can meet Hello Kitty.

I’ve been a fan since I was a kid, so getting to meet her in Tokyo was a dream come true. 

This was such a precious moment, and she looked beautiful in her flower petal dress. 

The staff will let you take a photo on your phone, and you will get a photo taken with a professional camera as well. 

On exit, there’s a shop where you can buy your souvenir photo with a couple of different designs. 

I bought one and thought it was a lovely way to remember my visit. 

5. My Melody & Kuromi Mymeroad Drive 

Another popular ride is the My Melody & Kuromi Mymeroad Drive. 

You can ride in either a My Melody car (pink) or a Kuromi car (purple) and follow the story of My Melody. 

I loved seeing her as a baby in her crib; it was so adorable! 

I’m not going to lie, this ride is kinda boring for adults. It’s cute, but slow with not much going on.

A cool thing is that they take photos of you in each scene of the ride, and you can buy your photo as a souvenir at the end.

They had screens where you can edit the photos and add some cute stickers. You can also buy a My Melody x Kuromi frame. 

6. Kiki & Lala Twinkling Studio

Beyond the rides, Sanrio Puroland have walk-through attractions which are perfect for taking cute photos. 

The Kiki & Lala Twinkling Studio was my favourite and is based on the Little Twin Stars. 

You enter through a mirror maze, and there are so many enchanting things to do inside. 

You can sit in a boat, have tea in their cloud house or have a bubble bath. There’s also a sleeping elephant and some of their cloud friends. 

Don’t forget to use the cloud star machine. When you wind the crank, a cute mystery creature will appear!

I got a magical cloud horse that floated through the sky, but the results are random each time. So, you’ll need to see what you get.

The best part is posing on a crescent moon with Kiki & Lala. It makes a great postcard.

7. Character Food Court

If you’re feeling peckish on your visit to Sanrio Puroland, then you have to visit the famous Character Food Court.

It’s a quick-service restaurant that serves up Sanrio curries designed like all your favourite characters!

My friend and I love Kuromi, and so we decided to both get the Kuromi curry. It looked so cute, and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

I’m sorry to report that the taste was awful. Of course, the sauce was very dark, but the flavour was unknown. It just tasted burnt. 

The mystery meat for her skull was also rubbery fish. The only things that were okay were the croquette and rice. 

But, I guess we’re not here for the taste, just aesthetics. It did look pretty in photos.

I also ordered some My Melody & Kuromi mochi for dessert, which were filled with red bean paste and chocolate. 

I had an obsession with the green Fanta Melon in Japan, so I washed down my curry with this.

8. Character Greeting Residence

Meeting your favourite Sanrio character is one of the best things to do at Sanrio Puroland. 

The Character Greeting Residence is called Strawberry Hall, and there are different rooms that each have a different character. 

Unfortunately, you can’t meet all of them. You only get to book a slot for one character greeting per person. 

Also, the friends in each room change every day. So, check the schedule to see if your favourite will be there on your visit. 

Kuromi wasn’t there on our visit. But we got to meet both My Melody and Cinnamoroll. 

Both of the greetings were incredible, but meeting Cinnamoroll was one of the best things I did here.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Cinnamoroll, but after meeting him, I’m now utterly obsessed. 

I couldn’t get over how small he was! It was just so wholesome and worth waiting for. 

How to book a character greeting 

To meet a character at Sanrio Puroland, you need to connect to their WiFi (important) and scan the QR code on the welcome leaflet.

Then, you can select a character to book a greeting time slot at Strawberry Hall.

You can only book one character greeting per person. So, if there’s a group of you, you can try to book more.

Timeslots for the most popular mascots (My Melody, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, Pompom) sell out very quickly. So, book as soon as possible. 

After confirmation, you’ll be sent a QR code (don’t screenshot it) that has a countdown timer that refreshes. 

When it’s your time, show this live timer to the staff, and then you can queue for the character in Strawberry Hall. 

It will take around 15/20 minutes after you enter. So, make sure not to book too close to parade or show times.

9. My Melody & Kuromi Shop

On my visit, it was still the My Melody & Kuromi anniversary celebration, and so they had an incredible shop you could visit. 

The entire store was decorated in hot pink and black, with lots of photo opportunities to be had.

You could pose on a birthday cake, sit in My Melody x Kuromi neon booths, and talk on the telephone.

They even had an anniversary photo booth where you could receive a printed copy for free.

In the shop, they had some limited edition My Melody x Kuromi anniversary plushies. These were exclusive to Sanrio Puroland.

10. Sanrio Rainbow World Restaurant 

Another popular Sanrio Puroland restaurant is Sanrio Rainbow World. 

Inside, it has many sections decorated in vibrant colours with a mascot for each. 

They serve up some more westernised dishes, like Sanrio character pasta and hamburger steak. Plus, some character bento boxes for kids. 

We visited in the afternoon to try one of their Sanrio crepes, and these were freshly made and delicious.

I got Hello Kitty with a chocolate brownie and strawberry, but there were other options of Pompom pudding and My Melody double berry.

I also got another cup of my beloved Fanta Melon for some energy. 

We sat in the red Hello Kitty section for photos (obviously), and it was a much-needed but aesthetically pleasing break.

11. Bell of Happiness 

As well as watching shows on the Wisdom Tree stage, you can actually go inside the tree.

There are winding stairs that lead you up to the Bell of Happiness. 

It’s similar to a Shinto shrine and worship, where you need to bow twice, clap twice, bow again and then ring the bell. 

Ringing this bell is for love power! You’re asking for your wish of love to be fulfilled or for everlasting love with your partner.

Even if you don’t believe it, this gorgeous pink room is a bit of a hidden gem that’s worth visiting.

12. Sanrio Puroland Parade 

Sanrio Puroland has its own parade that takes place twice a day.

When I visited, this was called the Miracle Gift Parade, but this has now ended.

There’s now a new one called the Quest of Wonders Parade. Although it’s a different story, I’m sure it follows the same concept. 

It’s a parade with your favourite Sanrio characters that arrive on floats, and they all sing and dance around the Wisdom Tree.

We didn’t have Puropasses for this and totally regretted it. People waited for hours before the parade even started.

When we got there, all the good spots were gone. So, we ended up watching over people’s heads on the top floor. 

It wasn’t ideal, but we still got to see most of it. If you want a good view, secure a Parade Puropass before your visit or get there early. 

13. Fairyland Theatre

If you want to watch one of the shows at Sanrio Puroland, I recommend the Fairyland Theatre.

You can watch “Byonwaa – Beyond words”. It’s a non-verbal performance, so it’s perfect for those who don’t speak Japanese.

The show features Kuromi and My Melody in Fairyland, and they meet all kinds of different fairies along the way. 

The fairies can’t speak to each other, so they communicate through expressions, dance and music. Their hearts connect through Byonwaa. 

My friend and I both enjoyed this show. It’s fun, colourful, and you can clap along. 

We also got to see Kuromi on stage this way, but photography is not allowed.

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, so I’d arrive early to get a good spot. Those with Puropasses have priority. 

They also have a Marchen Theatre showing Kawaii Kabuki and a Discovery Theatre. Those shows are in Japanese, but it’s easy to follow. 

14.  Entertainment Hall

As well as all of the above, Sanrio Puroland has a gigantic entertainment hall filled with kawaii delights. 

There are many things to do there, but note that some require an extra charge. So, bring some coins with you.

1. Buddyeddy Wonderful Club
2. Challenge Puro 
3. Sanrio Puroland Gachapon
4. Carnival Games
5. Arcade games/claw machines
6. Sanrio lottery draw 
7. Portrait corner 
8. Silhouette Art
9. Fluffy Kids Land 
10. Cinnamoroll’s Little Adventure
11. Sanrio photobooths
12. Popcorn machines 

We didn’t do much of this extra stuff as we ran out of time. I couldn’t believe how quickly the day went. 

15. Entrance Shop

To maximise your time, I recommend saving the Entrance Shop until last as it stays open until after closing. 

It will be a little hectic at this time, but it means more time inside the park, and you don’t have to carry your souvenirs around all day. 

The Entrance Shop is a huge store that sells almost every Sanrio-themed trinket you can dream of.

There are ears, plushies, bags, kitchenware, homeware, badges, keyrings and mugs featuring all of your favourite mascots.

They even have miniature ears for your plushie bag charms so that you can match. I bought my Labubu a pair of Kuromi ears. Day made.

I hope you left enough room in your suitcase. It’s a Sanrio fan’s worst nightmare for their wallet.

Is Sanrio Puroland worth visiting?

Yes, if you’re a Hello Kitty or Sanrio fan, then Puroland is worth visiting. 

It makes such a great day trip from Tokyo, as there are so many cute things to do.

It’s also a paradise for photography. I think I took hundreds of photos that day, and made so many great memories on my trip to Japan. 

As a Hello Kitty fan from childhood, I was in my element and would return in a heartbeat.

Don’t miss Tokyo’s Hello Kitty theme park; it will be a fun-filled day to remember.

Where is Sanrio Puroland in Japan?

Although Sanrio Puroland is advertised as being in Tokyo, it’s actually 30 kilometres from the city centre in an area called Tama. 

This is around a 40-minute train ride from Shinjuku Station or a 1-hour journey from Tokyo Station.

I recommend downloading a Suica Card to your phone for public transport in Japan. 

The closest train station is Keio-Tama-Center Station, and it’s completely Hello Kitty themed!

From the station, you’ll need to walk around 10-15 minutes to the Odakyu Tama Center. 

How much are tickets for Sanrio Puroland? 

Ticket prices for Sanrio Puroland depend on the day you visit and the season. 

A Day Passport can cost you anything from 5,600 yen (£26) – 3,900 yen (£18). They do sell afternoon tickets for a discount. 

I personally recommend buying tickets on Klook as they are much cheaper at £17.05 / 3,589 yen. 

When you buy a ticket from Klook, you can use it on any day before it runs out, which is usually within 12 months of purchase. 

It’s also cheaper than even the lowest ticket tier on the official website. It was a no-brainer for me.

Opening times

Just like ticket prices, Sanrio Puroland opening times change with the day/season. But, it’s usually open:

• Weekdays: 9.30 am – 5 pm
• Weekends: 8.30 am – 6 pm 

It’s also not open every day. It is usually closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week. 

So, make sure to check the calendar before you plan to visit to avoid disappointment. 

How much time do you need there?

I recommend spending the entire day at Sanrio Puroland.

You can get afternoon tickets, but you will struggle to get everything done in just a couple of hours. 

I didn’t think we would fill a whole day, but we actually almost didn’t get everything done by closing. We were rushed off our feet. 

There are so many magical things to do, but there are also lots of queues and waiting around for shows. 

Not to mention you need to schedule some shopping time and a break for lunch or snacks. 

You don’t want to miss out on any of these enchanting attractions. 

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