Last Updated on 14th April 2023 by Sophie Nadeau
Everything is pink, enjoyable, and Hello Kitty themed- together with the bathrooms! Welcome aboard the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, an excellent Kawaii bullet prepare service function by Japan Rail West Co. (JR West). Here’s methods to experience on the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, in addition to what to know earlier than you go.
I wasn’t positive that we’d truly have the ability to take the Hello Kitty prepare whereas in Japan as I didn’t suppose it would slot in our schedule. I first heard in regards to the prepare just a few years in the past and noticed that it could be operating throughout our journey.
The Hello Kitty prepare doesn’t run daily of the week so you’ll be able to test the schedule prematurely right here if you recognize that is one thing you need to match into your itinerary.
On one fortunate day, once we have been operating late to achieve Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter as a day journey from Osaka, we arrived on the platform and there it was.
Exterior of the Hello Kitty Shinkansen
The whole prepare is decked out with the cutest Hello Kitty particulars; even the entrance of the prepare is pink and the whole lot of the carriages exterior’s are adorned with little motifs of the little cat.
Eight particular Hello Kitty designs have been created to rejoice the route and every area that’s served on the route is highlighted.
Though Hello Kitty’s favorite meals are pink apples, in these particular designs, Hello Kitty is holding issues like a inexperienced apple for Tottori prefecture, a strawberry for Fukuoka, and a black shell for Shimane prefecture.
Interior of the Hello Kitty Shinkansen
The entrance of the second carriage is dwelling to a Hello Kitty kawaii room the place you’ll be able to take pictures with a life sized Hello Kitty, in addition to an cute map which plots out the route which the themed prepare takes.
The remainder of the carriage is fairly cute too, and there are Hello Kitty blinds, seat covers, and even a Hello Kitty ground. I truly walked by way of all of the carriages on the prepare and, whereas not each carriage goes into the extent of element that carriage 2 goes into, each carriage has some form of themed sticker, and so on.
The first carriage is named Hello! Plaza and you should purchase hey kitty Shinkansen merchandise, together with plush toys! I had to purchase one for myself! There aren’t any seats on this carriage.
There are a lot of totally different items on the market, together with sweets and stationery. The scale fashions of the Hello Kitty Shinkansen are literally ekiben (lunch containers). There can also be a photograph sales space on the very entrance, the place you’ll be able to take pictures with the Hello Kitty plush toys.
How to take the Hello Kitty Shinkansen
The prepare operates between Shin-Osaka and Fukuoka (Hakata), as soon as a day in every path on the Sanyo Shinkansen line. The prepare stops at each station on the route, making it the slowest form of prepare service, however permitting passengers extra cute time on the Hello Kitty prepare!
It’s a Kodama service, which means that it’s one of many prepare providers which you should utilize with the Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass customers aren’t allowed to make use of the quickest Shinkansen services- test Japan Rail costs right here).
Important stops en route embrace Kobe and Hiroshima. You can hop on at any stage of the journey and solely need to experience for a single station in the event you so want. If you don’t have a Japan Rail Pass that is probably the most price efficient factor to do.
However, do ensure you spend sufficient time to go to the Hello Kitty Plaza and Hello Kitty Photo Booth if you wish to see them. there’s typically a queue to buy the souvenirs (I waited round quarter-hour to buy my Hello Kitty plush toy) and an additional 5 minutes to take a photograph within the photograph space.
If you board or get off the prepare at Hakata Station in Fukuoka, then it’s price noting that there’s a particular Hello Kitty café and memento store promoting JR West merchandise and edible treats.
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