Sanrio Puroland (サンリオピューロランド), or SPL, is an indoor Sanrio theme park located in Tama City in Tokyo, Japan. The park has a total of 4 floors and takes up over 11 acres (45,892 m²), making it much smaller than its sister park, Harmonyland. The park opened on December 7, 1990.
History[]
Pre-Opening[]
Construction began on November 16, 1988 and was completed in September 1990. Like Harmonyland, Sanrio Puroland was partly planned by an American company, Landmark Inc. The park's architecture is inspired by the medieval days of European cities, where jesters originated from. The park was to be named "Sanrio Pierrot Land," as a reference to the clowns and other performers, their unique costumes, and the way they would entertain and interact with guests. However, the name "Pierrot" was already trademarked by another company and would likely cause confusion among visitors. After some time, the name "Puro" came to be, which was created by combining the English words "pierrot" and "purity." "Puro" was trademarked by Sanrio in 1989.
Before opening, Sanrio events would take place in Tama City to promote the park, including a 2-day event titled "Sanrio Christmas Fantasy" in December 1989. Characters would sometimes roam the city, greeting fans and residents, most notably Hello Kitty, My Melody, and the Little Twin Stars.
Post-Opening[]
Sanrio Puroland opened to the public on December 7, 1990 as the second indoor theme park in the world, the first being Lotte World in Seoul, South Korea. The grand opening was broadcasted live on Fuji TV and TV Asahi. The most popular characters at the time were Minna no Tabo, Kerokerokeroppi, Pokopon, and of course, Hello Kitty. These and other characters participated in the opening ceremony, along with president Yuichi Nishiguchi. The park was met with massive success, even selling out of tickets for the entirety of 1991. By July 1991, just seven months after opening, the park had exceeded well over 1 million visitors.
However, there were some guest complaints, causing a major downfall for Sanrio Puroland from about 1993 on. For one, the reservation system used to access the park was difficult for guests to navigate, and for many people, visiting just wasn't worth the trouble. Of the guests that did visit, 30% of them were children under the age of 3 that receive free admission. The park was also not central enough to the capital city of Tokyo. This and other problems led to a major dip in sales, forcing the park to reduce hours and access to certain attractions starting around October 1991. In an effort to correct this, the park started offering school trips and other educational activities on weekdays, hoping that parents would see the benefit in visiting. In 1993, The TV Tokyo children's program "I love you! Hello Kitty" began airing in the park, giving fans of the show incentive to visit.
Despite their best efforts, Sanrio Puroland was in crisis mode with no way out, until a major breakthrough in 2014, when a woman named Aya Komaki became an advisor for Sanrio Puroland, and began conducting numerous reforms not just of the park itself, but of the park's work environment. Since then, the park has had a massive influx in visitors, gaining 1.26 million people in 2014, or a 106% increase from the previous year. This, mixed with the growing international popularity of Hello Kitty and Sanrio characters, led to the park's rebirth.
Today, Komaki is the president of Sanrio Puroland, and the park remains one of the top attractions to visit in the Tokyo area, especially for young people and fans from across the world.
Parades and Live Shows[]
- Miracle Gift Parade
- Nakayoku Connect
- Gudetama the Mo~vie~Show
- KAWAII KABUKI ~Momotaro of the Hello Kitty Troupe~
- Wish me mell の Chance for you
- Mewkledreamy March ~Atsumare☆Dreamy Mate~
Attractions[]
- Sanrio Character Boat Ride
- My Melody & Kuromi ~Mymeroaddrive~
- Lady Kitty House
- Charaguri (Character Greeting) Residence
- Fuwafuwa Kids Land
- Ice Cream Factory
- Bread Factory
- Juice Factory
- Chocolate Factory
Seasonal Offerings[]
- Puroland's New Year celebrations vary from year to year, depending on the year's Chinese Zodiac animal. The event typically runs from January 1 - 10.
In 2023, the event was titled "Happy Bunny Year 2023," where all guests could meet their favorite characters dressed in My Melody-like bunny hoods.
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- Sweets Puroland, formerally known as LovePuroland, is a Valentine's Day-themed event that takes place from mid-January through early April.
In 2017, the theme was "pair and share," offering couples romantic photo ops, sweets, and special coupled-up character greetings, like Hello Kitty with Dear Daniel. This was the only year that the event was called "LovePuroland."
From 2018 - 2021, the theme was set to berry picking. Food and merchandise was themed to various picked berries, mostly strawberries, and a paid character greeting, where characters would greet guests wearing berry-inspired attire in front of a grassy, naturalesque background.
In 2022 and 2023, the theme was "Puro Gakuen," or Puro School, where school-themed foods, shows, and merchandise were offered. Characters would appear during paid meet-and-greets wearing school uniforms in front of a classroom-like background. A soundtrack featuring the songs used in the event's 2023 stage show "We Are ピューロ学園★応援Dan･ce部" was released on most major music platforms. The event aims to support everyone that's doing their best as spring is drawing near.
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- Puro Easter, now known as Flower Puroland, is the park's Spring event, running from around late March through mid-late June.
In 2017, the theme was set to the typical Easter articles: bunnies, eggs, and pastels. All of Sanrio's bunny characters, as well as Gudetama, took center stage in a signature parade, looking for Easter eggs.
From 2018-2022 Puro Easter's theme has been set to "American Oldies," with 50s diner-inspired photo spots, merchandise, and retro-style foods. Characters appear wearing their Easter best in front of funky, 50s diner backgrounds.
Flower Puroland began in 2023, with flower-themed motifs and characters wearing garden-themed costumes.
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- Puro Summer is the annual summer event, running from around July - early September.
In 2017 - 2018, the theme was set to a traditional Japanese summer festival, with characters and performers sporting matsuri outfits and hosting bon dances and other traditional matsuri activities.
In 2019, the theme was set to the three main elements of summer: music, food, and beaches. Guests could take photos with an island background, try summer-themed meats and desserts, and enjoy the main event: Puro Summer Festival LIVE!!!!, which featured characters wearing illuminating costumes, representing different genres of music.
There was no Puro Summer event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the traditional festival theme returned, but with a seemingly more bright and colorful twist, as characters appeared wearing new costumes. Puro Summer Festival LIVE!!! returned, but only after hours with a separate ticket.
In 2022, the theme was set to other summer-like activities, such as catching dragonflies, enjoying sunflower fields, barbequing, and more, all while taking memorable photos. Characters appeared in outdoorsy outfits in front of a matching background.
In 2023, the event was named "Puroland Camp," with camping-themed activities including a campsite and campfire photoshoot area.
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- Puro Halloween, formerly known as Puro Halloween Party, the park's autumn/Halloween event, runs yearly from September - October 31.
In 2017 and 2018, Puro Halloween Party encouraged guests to visit in cosplay during the day for a more relaxing time meant for all ages. But at sunset, the park transformed into a darker, age-restricted (20+ only) party, complete with a frightening haunted house, a spooky overlay on the Sanrio Character Boat Ride, and the Halloween Rock Live Parade starring Cinnamoroll and his friends.
In 2019 and 2020, Puro Halloween Party hosted a similar cute and creepy party, but changed the theme to KAWAII MASQUARADE. Characters appeared in masquerade outfits, and a new interactive show was hosted in the Discovery Theater titled "Ghost Pierrot Masquerade," which was age-restricted (10+). In 2020, the nighttime events did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the theme was set to an autumn festival, focusing on fall colors, pumpkins, and other typical fall traditions. Characters appeared in pumpkin-themed outfits, including Mew, Suu, and Pico from Mewkledreamy, who debuted in Halloween costumes for the first time.
In 2022, groups of characters went head to head: Team Trick vs. Team Treat. Characters received brand new costumes, and the event's sponsor was Chupa Chups.
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- Puro Christmas is the annual Christmas celebration, typically running from November 1 - December 25.
In 2017, the party was divided with daytime and nighttime activities, similar to Puro Halloween Party, titled "Daytime Party & Romantic Nighttime." The event included an illumination show with Christmas songs, holiday-themed foods, and characters sporting red and green outfits.
In 2018 and 2019, Puro Christmas turned into a white Christmas, complete with a brand new musical titled "The Puro Christmas" and a snowy version of Kiki & Lala Twinkling Tour.
In 2020, the theme was set to rainbows, during PURO RAINBOW CHRISTMAS. The event had rainbow-themed illuminations and food, and characters would switch costumes for greetings throughout the event.
In 2021, the theme was set to snow globes, bringing a more elegant vibe to the event. Characters sported red and gold, and a four-day event titled "Kitty & Daniel's Party-Party Christmas" invited fans to enjoy a Christmas character buffet.
In 2022, Puro Christmas turned pink! Characters dressed in pink, and a new stage show titled "Sparkling Pink Christmas Party!" debuted, starring Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, and Cogimyun. The 2-day event "Pink Christmas Dinner Party" invited guests to attend a character buffet.
List of Former Shows and Attractions[]
Parades and Live Shows[]
- Sanrio Starlight Parade ( 1990 - July 1997 )
- Pop'n Step Hello Kitty!! ( 1990 - December 1991 )
- Sanrio All-Star Parade Cosmic Fantasy ( July 1997 - June 2001 )
- ILLUMINANT ( June 2001 - June 2007 )
- Cinnamon's Secret Door ~ It's a Wonderful Dream ~ ( July 2004 - June 2010 )
- Sanrio Heartful Parade "Believe" ( June 2007 - October 2013 )
- Jewelpet's Heartbeat! Magical March ( July 2010 - May 2016 )
- Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary Parade "ARIGATO EVERY ONE!" ( November 2013 - January 2015 )
- Hello Kitty in Wonderland ( April 2013 - January 2018 )
- My Melody & Little Twin Stars 40th Anniversary Parade "OMOIYARI TO YOU" ( January - November 2015 )
- Gudetama Show "Tomorrow's Book" ( April 2015 - May 2016 )
- Miracle Happiness ( December 2015 - September 2019 )
- Atsumare! Very cute ★ Bonbonribbon Miracle ( January 2014 - April 2018 )
- Rilu Rilu Fairilu Grand March -Welcome to Little Fairilu- ( August 2016 - February 2020 )
- Gudetama & Friends ~ Gudetto! Quick! Gyudetto! ~ ( April 2018 - May 2019 )
- Rainbow Drops ~The Story of Rain and Friends~ (May 2022 - May 2023)
- Hello Kitty Illumination "SPARKLE!!"
- MEMORY BOYS ~A store that sells memories~
- Happy Happy Birthday Show
Attractions[]
Trivia[]
- Because of where Sanrio Puroland is located, the park was not officially allowed to open unless it became a "study facility,' which is why the park is not allowed to open 24 hours a day, even for the park's New Year's Eve celebrations, which cannot be continued after midnight.
- The costumes from Sanrio Puroland would often be used in Sanrio's Live shows and on programs like Fun Fun Kitty!