To much of the world, Hello Kitty is a charming cartoon icon—a blank-faced cat with a red bow and an empire of lunch boxes, backpacks, and billion-dollar branding. But her global rise tells a ...

Oita, a scenic region known for its natural hot springs on the Japanese island of Kyushu, has recently renamed its air hub Oita Hello Kitty Airport to lure fans and tourists.

The newly rebranded Oita Hello Kitty Airport officially opened on April 13, 2025, as part of the festivities surrounding the World Expo underway in Osaka.

Hello Kitty, whom many learned last week is a girl and not a cat, may be the queen of Japan’s cute characters, but she’s hardly the only one. Characters are not just for kids in Japan, but a ...

Sales of Hello Kitty products flourished in Japan between the 1980s and mid-1990s. Much of the company’s earlier merchandise was aimed at young girls, including school supplies and personal care ...

Sales of Hello Kitty products flourished in Japan between the 1980s and mid-1990s. Much of the company’s earlier merchandise was aimed at young girls, including school supplies and personal care ...

Hello Kitty, the famous Japanese character, turns 50 today. She’s earned billions for Sanrio, which created Hello Kitty and other cute characters. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for ...

11 minute read A staff member poses with Hello Kitty at the CUTE exhibition in London, on January 24, 2024. CUTE is the first major exhibition to examine the complex "power of cuteness." ...

There are five restaurants at Sanrio’s Hello Kitty theme park. The Restaurant Yakata is a character dining experience, but the rest are more like cafeterias and cafe-style places.