Tokyo’s Hello Kitty theme park shut after ‘terrorist alert’
Western Tokyo’s Hello Kitty theme park faces a tough day ahead after receiving an e-mail labelled ‘terrorist alert’. The amusement park was forced to be temporarily shut down on Saturday.
Sanrio Puroland in Tama notified the public about the hazardous object in a statement on its website: “We will be temporarily closed today as we are unable to adequately ensure the safety of our customers, performers and on-site staff at this time”.
Located in Tama, the Sanrio Puroland Park brought the police up to speed at 9 am local time about the warning issued to them via e-mail. It highlighted the presence of ‘hazardous’ objects at the park premises.
The following reports from public broadcaster NHK confirmed that the police hadn’t discovered anything suspicious at the park after scouring it. Authorities have yet to identify the e-mail’s sender.
About the Hello Kitty theme park
Hello Kitty represents an anthropomorphised white cat, a widely known fictional character. Yuko Shimizu created it originally. The Japanese entertainment company Sanrio owns the character as its creative entity.
The indoor Tokyo theme park, Sanrio Puroland, is also known as Hello Kitty Land. Located in the Tokyo suburb of Tama, this park opened in 1990. Like how Disney theme parks host their customers, the Japanese centre of attraction is dedicated to many exclusive characters such as My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Gudetama, Pochacco, Keroppi and others. It was temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The Hello Kitty Park offers numerous cutesy attractions, including rides, walkthrough centres, food factory displays, game corners, several parades and stage shows, and even a fireworks spectacle.
Another Hello Kitty Theme Park is confirmed to be opening its door to the public in Haitang Bay, China, in 2025.