Being a Sanrio-lover and seller for a long time and a middle-aged mom, I never had a chance to visit ANY ORIGINAL Hello Kitty stores in Japan, because I wasn't born by a Kitty fan mother. ^^~ But I'm a bona-fide self-taught cats and Kitty fan, and finally last summer in 2014, I decided it was time for me and my 3-grade daughter to get to see Hello Kitty better, in the city where she got her name from. Not an avid and diligent blog writer myself either, however, I feel my experiences and photos taken in Tokyo a totally waste whenever I spot them in my computer files.  So, beginning this blog post, I'm going to try my best sharing my limited experiences and photos taken from my long-waited pilgrim trip to Hello Kitty stores in Tokyo Japan that I always thought I need to go at least once in a life time. I'm also giving away a unique gift to our friends and fans who read this article and share your experiences with us and our friends here. Please read through this article to the end to find our little surprise for you! There are over 20 Hello Kitty stores in Tokyo and the stores that I visited are -
  1. Hello Kitty Japan at Tokyo Skytree Town in Soramachi
  2. Questina Ginza
  3. Sanrio Vivitix Sunshine City Alpa
  4. Sanrio World Ginza
  5. Sanrio Gift Gate
I'm a person that needs to see things for myself to believe and feel, so paying visits to Hello Kitty stores in Japan meant a lot to me.  I mean, c'mon, Hello Kitty is such a super star and a world-wide phenomenon that I figure her presence in Japan must be omni-present and her charm in Japan must be omni-potent to her Japanese fellow-men. The first store that I visited upon arriving in Japan,  Hello Kitty Japan at Tokyo Skytree Town in Soramachi, to my surprise, only had sporadic visitors, mostly not speaking Japanese,  among the many crowds in the shopping mall. 10497521_10152279460913806_2539339154139866893_o 10351072_10152279424678806_7138072616717692159_n   But HEY! This store is originally set-up and meant for overseas buyers only! As Skytree tower is such a worldly land-mark that only people from out of town or foreign countries, not locals will spend a lot of time here, right? So I figure if you're in Japan for a tour and don't have much time shopping and you want to get the uniquely Japanese culture x Hello Kitty elements in a gift for your friends, the Hello Kitty Japan at Tokyo Skytree Town in Soramachi is definitely the store to go.  They have so many unique Hello Kitty-themed local gifts, such as traditional Japanese snacks & souvenirs,  ideal to bring home and to IMPRESS your friends and family! What' more, the transportation to the mall is just convenient and you won't find yourself looking for directions or get lost since Tokyo Skytree tower is such a big land-mark in Tokyo! 10494901_10152279462413806_2178191752648781481_oHello Kitty Japan TOKYO SKYTREE TOWN SORAMACHI 10549077_10152279465633806_4674900251226776267_o 10549247_10152279461938806_2959316487187283831_o By the time I started writing this article in Jan. 2015, the items that I got from Japan during the trip are already gone and used, so it's a pity that I cannot share local gifts from Japan.  But still I'm giving away THREE Sanrio Japan Hello Kitty planners to THREE friends who must do all the following two things- 1. Share a Sanrio store in cities near you that you've been to and think unique and what's unique about them or your experiendes? Please share your experiences by commenting on this blog post. 2. Share link of this article to your blog post or facebook account and provide the linkage of your sharing to us. The planner I'm giving away is handy to keep in any mid-size bag and I hope you'll like. You can find more details about it here. PS. This giveaway is valid from now till Feb. 10th, 2015. If there are more than three participants, we'll draw lots for the winners! GOOD LUCK!! DSC_1407 The next article is about Questina Ginza store, where I think OLs and young & mature women will find your adrenaline increases rapidly once you step inside the store.  I did! ^^~