SoraNews24 —Japan News—

About two months ago, we reported to you that 2014 was going to be a special year for Hello Kitty. That’s right, the busiest cat in the world will be hitting the big Four-O on November 1 this year. Lucky for her, she doesn’t have to worry about crow’s-feet or gray hairs — she just seems to become more popular and wiser (some would say more business-savvy) with age.

Now, when we heard that our favorite feline entrepreneur had started off the new year with a 40th anniversary sales event at Tokyo Station, we of course had to go and see what special goodies may be on offer. As it turns out, we weren’t disappointed, as there were plenty of goods to be seen and bought!

The event, which began this Monday, was being held at the First Avenue Tokyo Station (Tokyo-eki Ichibangai), a shopping and dining complex connected to Tokyo Station spanning over two floors.

▼ A sign above the stairs indicates the entrance to First Avenue Tokyo Station

▼ As shown on this map, the First Avenue Tokyo Station is basically two floors of a long arcade filled with numerous restaurants and shops. .

▼ There are some interesting shops that may well be worth a visit on their own, like this shop that specializes in Kabuki related goods.

▼ There is even a Jump Shop, where you can buy Weekly Shōnen Jump-related paraphernalia.

▼ A poster advertising the event gave us an indication that we were getting closer to the scene of action.

▼ And there she was, our beloved Ms. Kitty, greeting customers with a huge arigato in front of the event venue.

You can probably guess that by this point, we were quite anxious to look at all the Hello Kitty goods. So, what kind of delightful items were on offer?

▼ Well, how about some Hello Kitty room humidifiers if the dry Japanese winter weather is being unkind to your skin? The round one on the left will cost you 3,990 yen (US$38), and the one on the right in the shape of a house is priced at 3,465 yen ($33).

▼ Hello Kitty has also collaborated with popular Japanese doll Licca-chan with a special edition “Licca-chan loves Hello Kitty” doll for 3,360yen ($32).

▼ Licca-chan even has her own Hello Kitty house for 4,725 yen ($45).

▼ She also has her very own Hello Kitty lounge wear (1,890 yen [$18]) as well. Adorable!

▼ This is actually quite a special Hello Kitty. She’s the “Alice Design Hello Kitty”, modeled after Alice in Wonderland. She’s available only by pre-order, and she comes with a 31,500 yen ($300)price tag. But of course, she’s gorgeous — just look at that dress!

▼ There were also other cute Alice Design Kitty goods, such as mini dolls, small bags, handkerchiefs, mirrors, plastic folders and cups, which apparently aren’t available at regular stores.

▼ This Hello Kitty is decked out in a beautiful kimono (2,800 yen [$26]), complete with geta sandals and her trademark ribbon in matching flower prints.

▼ Of course, Ms. Kitty is undeniably cute as a regular mini doll …

▼… but she also looks great doing a cosplay of the popular yurukyara mascot Kumamon from Kumamoto Prefecture in the Southern Japanese island of Kyushu (3,675 yen [$35]).

▼A good number of other Hello Kitty and Kumamon collaborative items were also available.

▼ You can always opt for one of these bags if you want to carry Hello Kitty around in style.

▼ I loved this lunch box (1,344 yen [$13]) — the color and design looked awesome, especially the mask Hello Kitty is wearing!

▼ There were also cute plates and mugs (1,260 yen [$12]each) from the pop-looking Hello Kitty HUG series.

▼ And because girls of course have to take care of appearances, there were colorful nail stickers (840yen [$8]) ….

▼ … and also nail files (399 yen [$3.80]) to beautify your fingertips. There were four types of nail files, each with 10 illustrations of Hello Kitty from each year since her creation.

▼Of course, Ms. Kitty offered herself in different edible forms as well. These ribbon-shaped biscuits (1,575 yen [$15]) were manufactured specially for her 40th anniversary.

▼ Here, Hello Kitty offers herself as the “yellow castella sponge cake of happiness” (1,260 yen [$12]).

▼ This product is a collaboration between Hello Kitty and a very popular sweet rusk (1,260 yen [$12]) from the city of Kobe.

▼ These cookies (735 yen [$7]) in the shape of different members of Hello Kitty’s family are available in three flavors: plain, strawberry and apple.

▼ Hello Kitty also appears on these cookies (682 yen [$6.50]) from famous Japanese confectioner Izumiya.

▼ Or, if you’re in the mood for something more challenging than plain old shopping, there were also crane games you can try.

Faced with all these cute goods, it wasn’t very likely that we would leave empty-handed. Sure enough, I contributed to Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary earnings by buying a few items.

▼ I simply couldn’t pass up on the special anniversary biscuits; the jar alone was too cute to ignore!

▼ Each ribbon-shaped biscuit is daintily illustrated, and they were absolutely tasty, too.

▼ I also bought one of the nail files, the one with the most recent images of Hello Kitty from 2004 to 2013.

▼ Even up-close, the illustrations are a delight to look at.

▼ And as a little present for my little niece, I bought this sheet of puffy, sparkly stickers featuring Hello Kitty with Mount Fuji (399 yen [$3.80]).

▼ Even the plastic bag they put my purchases in was cute!

▼ And anyone buying over 2,000 yen ($19) worth of goods received this small novelty commemorative plate. Certainly a nice bonus!

So, how did you like the various Hello Kitty products? Did any of them catch your fancy? The event at Tokyo Station will continue until January 14, so if you’re going to be in the area, it may be worth taking a look, especially as some of the goods are special anniversary items and may be hard to come by elsewhere. In any case, for Hello Kitty and her fans, the excitement surrounding her big anniversary has just begun and we’re sure there are many more events and goodies we can look forward to. Here’s wishing you a very happy 40th anniversary year, Ms. Kitty!

Photos: RocketNews24