Hello Kitty works hard on her birthday — and expected to be busier than ever in the coming year!

Regular readers of our site may recall we recently brought to you a story congratulating Hello Kitty on her birthday. Since then, we’ve found out that the busiest kitty in the world was hard at work even on her birthday!

In fact, the fun is just starting at Sanrio Puroland, the indoor theme park located in Tama New Town, Tokyo, with all the celebrations on the way as the world-famous mascot cat turns 40 on November 1 next year! Forty, now that’s a big one for anyone … or any character for that matter.

So, how did Hello Kitty spend her 39th birthday?

We’ve always been impressed with how much work our beloved Ms. Kitty manages to get done, but the job she tackled on her recent birthday was a big task even by her standards!

On the big day this year, a commemorative event was held at Puroland to kickstart the festivities leading up to Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary, and approximately 3,000 Kitty fans gathered at the park to join in the fun. The park’s new parade, which was revamped for the first time in six years, was revealed, and Yuko Yamaguchi, the creator of the star cat herself, was also present for the event.

▼Let the festivities begin!

▼The creator of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamazaki made an appearance too

And dressed in a special 40th anniversary costume, Hello Kitty also took on the challenge of hugging 1,000 parkgoers! That’s right, one thousand! Now you see why we said the famous feline tackled such a huge job on her birthday.

▼Hello Kitty in the costume designed specially for her 40th anniversary

▼Hello Kitty giving hugs to excited fans

The “1,000 hugs” challenge marked the start of the “Give Me a Hug Tight” (HUG shite “gyu”) project, which will be one of the main activities surrounding the 40th anniversary celebrations. As part of the project, Hello Kitty will be going on a “world tour” to offer hugs and express her appreciation to fans across the globe.

So, it looks like Hello Kitty will be busier than ever with her special anniversary coming up. We’ve heard that many exciting anniversary events are scheduled to be held until December of next year (and yes, many adorable commemorative items will be sold too, we’re sure), so Hello Kitty fans should have plenty to be delighted about in the coming months. We look forward to seeing you bring much joy to your followers in many different parts of the world during your special year, Ms. Kitty, but make sure you don’t work too hard!

▼We thought we’d leave you with some additional pictures of the renewed parade: