Sanrio Puroland Guide with Baby

Sanrio Puroland Guide with Baby

• 6.16.2019

We are back from our recent Tokyo family trip and we are so glad that we brought lil penguin over to Sanrio Puroland, it’s her first ever “theme park” visit at nearly 8 months old and we were honestly worried that she wouldn’t enjoy it that much but it turned out otherwise! 

When it comes to family friendly theme parks there are only a handful in Japan meant for children below a certain age group, like babies. So no roller coaster rides and all those stuff but just because it’s lacking of the usual thrill rides that doesn’t mean it would be boring. In all honesty, every place in Japan I’ve visited thus far falls far from the word “boring” lol, each of them has their own unique charm that makes you wish you could stay way past their closing time just to enjoy it abit more longer.

Sanrio Puroland has been on my “MUST VISIT” list since I was introduced to it by friends who went there a couple years back (almost 5 years ago) and I know some of you must be screaming inside right now knowing that I’m also a fellow hello kitty fan! Haha:P

Please if I wasn’t a big fan I wouldn’t have chase after the Hakata Hello Kitty Shinkansen last year okay! That one really went the extra mile (or more) for it because I told myself die die I MUST ride it lol. 

Sanrio has played a huge role in my childhood, I remember having the whole hello kitty & friends collectible figurines that I used to play with almost every day. There was Hello Kitty prints all over my clothes, bags, notebooks and so much more that I lost count of all the items I had over the years; but yeah it is still a big part of me even till today except I upgraded into collecting Gotochi Kitty phone straps of various prefectures and buying the toys for lil penguin lol.

So fast-forward now I have a kid (yay) that I can bring to Sanrio Puroland to enjoy together with! Now this is a #lifegoal , indirectly training my kid from young to like Sanrio too & gives me more reasons to shop their stuff hoho. 

For a hassle free trip especially with your young ones, here is a mini Sanrio Puroland tour guide I’ve made that may come in handy to enjoy this theme park to the fullest!

p/s: It is possible to cover at least 80-90% of this themepark before closing time (even with kids along).

But first let me introduce to you what is Sanrio Puroland all about:

This is an indoor park in Tokyo solely dedicated to the beloved Sanrio characters (Eg: Hello Kitty, My Melody, My Little Twin Stars, Gudetama, etc) with family friendly rides, stage performances, parades, restaurants & shops filled to the brim with every single Sanrio character merchandises you can possibly imagine of. The design & aesthetic of the park screams “kawaii”at every corner, creating a photo worthy and memorable atmosphere for all to enjoy.

Sanrio Character Boat Ride 

Note: This Ride will be closed from 2nd September 2019 till further notice

The first ride you won’t be able to miss upon entering the theme park, this interactive boat ride isn’t your usual short one too; a whole 10 minutes ride! It takes you on a fantasy tour to each character’s world, so get ready to immerse yourself in it and don’t forget to smile for the camera at the end of the ride. 

What I found most impressive was how Sanrio Puroland pushed their boundaries one step further in this ride by including sensory realism like how Pompompurin’s kitchen at the beginning of the ride segment smelt like actual cotton candy! Definitely made me crave for cotton candy after haha!

Tip #1: Skip the long queue by buying your entry pass online from their list of official resellers and for exclusive priority lane entry to various rides & performances; get the PUROPASS (available online as well).

My Meroaddrive

Fans of My Melody & Kuromi, do rejoice because there is a special ride for their world!

This quick 5 mins ride introduces you into the world of My Melody & Kuromi, so you can meet their family and friends while being included (literally) in the picture which you can later on decorate and print out a collage of your photos taken during the ride. 

  

Gudetama Land

So egg-citing!

This egg-cellent world of laziness is something all Gudetama hardcore disciples mustn’t miss, though Gudetama is considered relatively new to the Sanrio family; he doesn’t fall short behind his popular peers. And from the looks of it this lazy egg character might just top the charts as the most popular character in Sanrio Puroland next to Hello Kitty lol and a little warning that my lame egg puns is gonna make your eyes roll back lol.

Before gaining access to Gudetama land, one must apply for a special “passport” to enter.

This passport will allow you to play Gudetama themed games (1 time per passport) and photo opportunity which you can purchase the photos later before exiting. 

 The whole map of Gudetama land

Can you guess what's my favourite sushi? lol

Gudetama is literally egg-rywhere, and egg-rything is made possible because he exists in so many forms of dishes lol. That’s how important eggs are to us haha. 

Bowling Gudetama

Crack the Gudetama game, this game must try!! Sibeh fun!

There is also a special space dedicated to all sorts of Gudetama gashapon designs, get ready some 100yen coins to try your luck! 

Purchasing your pictures from Gudetama land on the way out

Parades & Shows

Hello Kitty looked at me!! 

There at least 7 different shows and parades to catch here is Sanrio Puroland and I would highly recommend for you to catch their Kawaii Kabuki- Momotaro by Hello Kitty Troupe & Miracle Gift Parade. 

Gudetama at the start of the show doing crowd control and demonstration on how to enjoy the show!

Guess he isn't so lazy after all lol.

You can purchase these color changing magic wands from Puroland souvenir store

Hello Kitty's grand entrance!

Hello Kitty & Daniel on their float!

Lil penguin enjoying the colorful lights & music

This part of the show is really magical!

The performance really pulled my heart stings that I ALMOST shed a tear especially when Hello Kitty finally appeared during the Miracle Gift Parade. This is a renewed parade celebrating its 25th Anniversary, and it’s the first time in 8 years to do so too, you can find all of Sanrio’s characters’ part of this 25min bedazzling & magical musical performance at their main Puro Village (1F) and you’ll need to come early to get a good spot for the show, but if you are a PUROPASS holder there are some reserve front row spaces for you to enjoy the show like how we did! 

Disclaimer: Photos are actually not allowed for the Kabuki play, but i had special permission to take this

Kawaii Kabuki- Momotaro by Hello Kitty Troupe takes a new modern twist to the local Japanese Kabuki performances, this full fledge musical story telling of the hero named “Momotaro” (if you remember my previous Okayama post about him, it’s a popular folklore in Japan) and it keeps you at your seat’s edge throughout the show (in a good way). 

To enjoy the show better by understanding it, do download the "OMOTENASHI GUIDE" app available on IOS & ANDROID. Upon launching the app it will directly translate Japanese audios to the language of your setting choice.  

Doesn’t matter what age, I can assure you that you WILL enjoy these performances!

Warning: It might be tear jerking (too touching) for some, so please bring a packet of tissue with you lol.

Tip #2: Check Sanrio Puroland Official website’s Calendar for their latest performance schedule and plan around it so you can focus on attractions you would like to cover during your visit.

Restaurant

There are 3 main dining areas here in Sanrio Puroland, one of it is the newly renovated Restaurant Yakata along with Sanrio Rainbow World Restaurant and Character Food Court. All 3 of them offers a wide variety of food selections ranging from normal Japanese cuisines to Western & Italian ones. 

Newly renovated Restaurant Yakata

Sanrio Rainbow World Restaurant

Lil penguin chilling at Sanrio Rainbow World Restaurant

Best part about them is that they have baby high chairs available, SO MUCH YESSSS for me because lil penguin likes to join us at the table while we eat. 

Say YES to baby high chairs!

She's trying to grab the food haha, not yet my dear :P

We ordered Hello Kitty’s 25th Anniversary Curry, Cinnamoroll Blue Curry and Pompompurin lunch bento which we could later bring home the adorable bento box as well! 

We had this Cinnamonroll Blue curry during our visit in May 2019, i heard they will stop selling during summer and will resume back after. 

You can bring home the bento case after eating!

If you like character style dishes, then you should head over to Character Food court at level at 1F. These cute and vibrantly decorated dishes will definitely make your kids gobble down their food in a heartbeat! 

The Menu

Lady Kitty House

Right after you are done dining at the Character Food Courts, just right above it is Lady Kitty’s House! You can tour around it and explore how Hello Kitty decorates her home, there is even an interactive screen that allows you to try on her wardrobe. 

You'll be given a rose petal upon entering, that's to fill in her ribbon!

Hello Kitty's make up area

She even has a tatami tea area in her house!

They only allow certain amount of visitors each session, as usual if you are a PUROPASS holder you can easily skip the long queue and gain priority access ;)

Trying on her virtual wardrobe!

Coffee, tea or me? Lol

Not only a house tour because at the end of it you’ll get to meet the owner herself and get a photo opportunity with her, a dream come true for all Hello Kitty fans! 

Upon Exiting there is a Hello Kitty souvenir shop that sells tons of limited edition designs!

Only restricted to this area in Sanrio Puroland

You can even mail a letter home or to your friends from the Hello Kitty's postbox. 

Each letter posted from here will be stamped with a limited edition Hello Kitty design.

Postcards & stamps sold here as well.

Kiki & Lala Twinkling Tour

This area is free photography area for all, so get creative in Kiki & Lala’s dreamy pastel themed world.

So precious!!

Finally a family photo haha~ sorry need to censor papa penguin's face for privacy purposes.

Baby Room

You have no idea how this room is heaven sent for all parents with babies & toddlers, it’s so well equipped that they have individual covered breastfeeding booths, boiled water for formula milk, changing stations and even provide baby bottle washing accessories like bottle soap & sponge!! 

Spacious & super clean

The level of thoughtfulness put into designing this place, can I just hug the team who made this possible? Like seriously?? 

Spacious changing stations

Every parent’s nightmare is when their kid made a massive poop bomb during an outing so it’s really important to have a clean & comfortable (& spacious) place to clean up.

What’s even more impressive is that they even sell emergency diapers, wet wipes, milk powder and even rinyuushoku ( 離乳食- baby food)!! This place is definitely more than well equipped; I feel so confident here that it’s no problem even if I accidentally left out lil penguin’s stuff lol.

Warm water at the right temperature to make baby's milk, not just "average" hot water.

Tip #3: Certain floors in Sanrio Puroland are non-accessible by baby strollers, there is a place to store them (FOC) & recommended to use a baby carrier instead.

Shopping

There are a few shops all over Sanrio Puroland and you can shop them tax free!

Head over to their largest store in Puroland- The Entrance store; filled with every single Sanrio merchandise available under one roof. Spending 1 hour here is not enough because it’s really huge and you’ll want to buy almost everything because it’s just too cute to resist!

So with that I can conclude that it was a successful theme park trip down with baby, all we needed was some planning ahead both schedule (what you want to see/ ride/ timing) & mentally lol. Starting small is the key and Puroland was the perfect place for a baby’s first visit, because by closing time lil penguin had already peacefully dozed off on her stroller XD 

Mapo tofu gudetama cookies lol

So many plushies available!

Lil Penguin & Gudetama found a connection, both needs their strollers lol

All that excitement she had from the shows and ride, hope she remembers it or we’ll just have to keep bringing her back every year haha. 

They also have lockers for you to store your stuff so you don't have to carry so many things around especially after shopping and you still want to enjoy other parts of Puroland

For the latest updates on Sanrio Puroland, do follow them on their Instagram: puroland_global
There are many seasonal news you wouldn’t want to miss out on!

Website: https://en.puroland.jp/ (English) 

So thankful for the new era, tons of exciting new opportunity awaits for us all!

Getting to Sanrio Puroland

Tama-Center, the city of Hello Kitty, is about 30 minutes by train from Shinjuku and roughly 60 minutes from Tokyo Station. 

The amazing stained glass at Keio Tama station

Sanrio Puroland
1-31 Ochiai, Tama, Tokyo
Tel. +81-42-339-1111

(9:30am -5:00pm Except Closed Days)

Yours Truly,