Hello Kitty Parking Lot Opens in Tokyo's Asakusa

Tokyo, Jan. 28 (Jiji Press)--Character goods maker Sanrio Co. <8136> and Mitsui Fudosan Realty Co. said Thursday they have opened a car-parking space featuring Hello Kitty, the beloved kitten character, in Tokyo's Asakusa district. As Hello Kitty is also popular outside Japan, the car-parking lot near the "Kaminarimon" entrance gate of Sensoji, a major temple in Asakusa that many foreign tourists visit, is expected to become a new sightseeing spot. The two companies also plan to open Hello Kitty parking lots in other major cities in the country, starting from February. The affiliate of Mitsui Fudosan Co. <8801> operates the Hello Kitty parking space under its parking lot service brand. Japanese lanterns and Hello Kitty characters wearing kimono are depicted on signboards and walls of the parking space to create an atmosphere of the traditional "shitamachi" shopping and residential area of eastern Tokyo. Hello Kitty parking lots will be opened in Nagoya, central Japan, in late February and in the southwestern city of Fukuoka and Yokohama, south of Tokyo, a month later. From April, such parking spaces will also be launched in the western cities of Osaka and Hiroshima, and the northeastern city of Sendai. "We hope visitors to Japan will publicize the parking space worldwide as a photo spot," said Kazuaki Tanimura, executive officer of Sanrio. END