For Sanrio fans around the world, Sanrio Puroland is a bucket list destination and a sparkly celebration of kawaii culture. With its shining rainbow gate illuminating the Tama neighborhood in Tokyo, the popular indoor theme park has been welcoming Sanrio enthusiasts from around the world for over 35 years.
As you walk through the place, you’ll notice that, along with the expected presence of children, there are hoards of teens and adults there as well, all excitedly sporting character headbands and clapping along to the parades. The joy of Puroland is infectious, and the park serves as a protective haven where guests of all backgrounds can freely express their love for all things kawaii.
Sanrio Puroland attracts over 1.5 million visitors annually, and stands as one of Tokyo’s biggest attractions. To celebrate its special anniversary, here is everything you need to know about the most kawaii theme park in the world.
Image courtesy of ©1990 LANDMARK ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
The History of Sanrio Puroland
With Sanrio’s trinket and gifting business booming, founding CEO Shintaro Tsuji believed there was room for growth, and that the company should shift its focus to experiences rather than just consumer goods.
Pushed by Sanrio’s thriving sales and the opening of Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Tsuji contacted international film director and theme park designer Gary Goddard. A grand retail store in Ginza served as a “test run” to calculate the demand for a Sanrio theme park.
Sanrio’s Ginza Gallery shop had intricate fairy tale facades and light-up displays that brilliantly showcased the merchandise. The shop was so eye-catching and popular, it became a regular stop for tour buses.
The Ginza experiment solidified Tsuji’s theme park plans. Goddard’s Landmark Entertainment Group got started on Puroland’s early concepts. The park’s original name was Sanrio Communication World and, surprisingly, Sanrio initially didn’t intend to include Hello Kitty or any of its kawaii cast of characters.
The company wanted the theme park to be a standalone educational venue. After extensive development and design, Sanrio Puroland opened on December 7 (Tsuji’s birthday), 1990, with classic characters alongside original mascots called “Puros” that represented the park’s core themes of invention, music, fantasy and the future. Just one year later, Puroland opened its sister park, Sanrio Harmonyland in Oita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu.
What’s New at Puroland
Rides
With limited space and gearing more towards character interactions, photo opportunities and the simple endearing kawaii vibe, Sanrio Puroland’s ride list is actually quite limited compared to other popular theme parks.
For a long time, the Sanrio Character Boat Ride was the theme park’s sole rideable offering. The charming ride takes guests on a calm cruise to meet a bunch of kawaii characters on the way to Hello Kitty’s extravagant party.
This is a great opportunity to see all of your favorite Sanrio friends and spotlight some of the more obscure residents, such as Monkichi, Hangyodon, Mocha, Usahana, Minna no Tabo and My Sweet Piano. My Melody Drive is another leisure attraction that takes guests through My Melody and Kuromi’s hometown.
Last year, Puroland finally received a new addition to its roster: Cinnamoroll’s Little Adventure. The flying simulator is the park’s first new ride in 11 years. The ride takes guests through obstacles that they can help defeat with Cinnamoroll and his friends using magic wands.
Celebrate 35 Years of Puro Magic
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the beloved theme park, Sanrio Puroland is hosting a special event from now until the end of 2026.
The theme of the celebration is centered around ribbons, an iconic symbol of Sanrio’s reigning queen, Hello Kitty. During the event period, park tickets feature a special anniversary design with various Sanrio characters holding ribbons.
Image courtesy of PR Times
The Quest of Wonders Parade is Puroland’s first new main parade in 10 years, an exciting and much-anticipated addition to the park’s entertainment lineup. It is replacing the long-standing Miracle Gift Parade, which concluded its run this past November. The Quest of Wonders Parade’s storyline follows Hello Kitty as she finds a mythological book that can grant eternal happiness.
Inspired by fantasy stories and role-playing games, Kitty, along with friends like Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin, My Melody and Dear Daniel, set out on magical adventures together. The parade runs for approximately 25 minutes along the first floor Puro Village parade route.
Made to accompany the parade and other park shows, the “Wonder Ribbon Light” is a light-up wand that can synchronize with the parade music and communicate with other guests’ wands for a colorful effect.
The Character Food Court is offering a 35th Anniversary Cake: a fluffy shortcake sandwiched with strawberry jam and decorated with a Hello Kitty marshmallow. The special treat also comes with an original postcard featuring either Hello Kitty or Cinnamoroll in their Quest of Wonders Parade costumes.
The theme park entrance shop stocks limited-edition anniversary merchandise. Goods include keychains, plates, lunch totes, eco bags, towels and blankets featuring the anniversary artwork.
