Hello Kitty is a popular cartoon character in Japan. She has got her own theme park in Tokyo. And since 2018 there is even a Hello Kitty Shinkansen, running between Fukuoka and Osaka on an almost daily basis. I learned about the existence of the train a year or so ago when my son started to take an interest in trains and we were reading books about them. When we went to see Shinkansen trains at Hakata station the first few times, and when we took our first train ride on a Shinkansen train, riding on the Hello Kitty Shinkansen was just a distant dream, nothing more. But as soon as I found out that it is possible to make the 300 yen and 8 minute train ride between Hakata station and Hakata minami station on the Hello Kitty train, we made plans to go.
We arrived at Hakata station around two in the afternoon. The Hello Kitty Shinkansen departs at 16.17, so we had plenty of time to visit my son’s favorite cafe, and also the only cafe where he sits calmly on his chair letting me have a little bit of rest myself. Pancakes, sausages and ice cream for my son, and chocolate strawberries for me – I cannot imagine a better build-up to our train ride.
There were a few other children with relatives waiting on the platform with us for the short ride. We all choose the cars in front as they seem to be the most heavily Hello Kitty-themed cars, and well inside we could get a lot of fun pictures as well as enjoy the ride from Hello Kitty seats, looking at the city passing by outside.
I had been a bit anxious about going since lately I have got very very poor vision on one eye, and going to a crowded train station using only one eye and in the company of a very active toddler could present a challenge, but we kept safe and had a wonderful day together. And after my eye surgery in a few weeks time, I am sure we will come back and do it all over again. Maybe we can even find a way to bring mum along, I am sure she would like it as much as we did.
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