Japan unveils Hello Kitty-themed bullet train

[gazthomas]

So what do you think of this?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44613633

It is enough to wake the tired eyes of the groggiest commuter. A striking white and pink bullet train themed around the Japanese cartoon character and marketing phenomenon Hello Kitty.

The bespoke train will begin a three month run between the western cities of Osaka and Fukuoka on Saturday.

It was unveiled by the West Japan Railway firm which hopes the use of a famous local export will boost tourism.

Hello Kitty branding features on the windows, seat covers, and flooring.

 

[Merseysider]

Amazing

 

[gazthomas]

Maybe Virgin should have done a pink themed Penelope Pendolino back in the days of the 57/3 Thunderbirds!

 

[Desiro360]

Looks good, will defintely attract attention wherever it goes.

 

[James James]

There's a similar albeit non-bullet train in Taiwan - certainly quite a spectacle to behold:
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/taiwan-hello-kitty-train/index.html

The world's most nimble spokeskitty has struck again. This time in Taiwan.

That's where a high-speed train painted in the colors of Hello Kitty made its maiden round trip in March 2016 between the cities of Taipei and Taitung.

About 200 fans of the mouthless icon -- which, OK, technically means it's not a "spokes" anything -- won tickets to grin deliriously during the four-hour trip between the island's north and southeast. Or so we presume that was the prevailing mood on a train that bombards the senses with adorable Kitty cult messaging.

Painted over the train's exterior, the famed cat-not-catalso dominates the interior, appearing on walls, headrest covers, serving carts, meal boxes and, we imagine, an array of clothing items worn by giddy riders.

 

[krus_aragon]

A picture from that CNN article:

I think the Hello Kitty outfit looks like something out of Art Spiegelman's Maus:

 

[WideRanger]

The train they have branded is a 500-series, which are now only used on the slowest Kodama services. Most of the time, these are pretty lightly loaded, so it makes a lot of sense to do this in order to attract better loadings. There will be plenty of people who decide to ride just for the branded experience.

Sadly, I doubt the 500-series has much time left in operation because they are pretty non-standard (and so can't be used flexibly within the fleet). I remember the first time riding on them - they felt so much better than the trains they replaced on the then flagship Nozomi services. I think they are still a lot nicer (and cooler looking) than the later 700 series and variants.

 

[AndrewNewens]

I was told by the guide when on a Japan Railways holiday that I ought to know more about Hello Kitty as she was born in London. Time for a UK TOC to take up the challenge?

 

[krus_aragon]

I was told by the guide when on a Japan Railways holiday that I ought to know more about Hello Kitty as she was born in London. Time for a UK TOC to take up the challenge?

Remind me to belittle Peruvians for their (presumed) lack of knowledge about Paddington Bear when I'm next in Lima.

 

[vlad]

I was told by the guide when on a Japan Railways holiday that I ought to know more about Hello Kitty as she was born in London. Time for a UK TOC to take up the challenge?

Next time you go to Japan start talking about Noodle from Gorillaz. She's Japanese, apparently.

 

[gazthomas]

Next time you go to Japan start talking about Noodle from Gorillaz. She's Japanese, apparently.

Just like my Superdry clothes!

 

[jimbo99]

A picture from that CNN article:

The girls in green are EVA Air cabin crew. For many years I was a frequent flyer with EVA which I always found to be a serious, reliable, professional airline. (They fly London-Bangkok-Taipei daily). When they did a deal with Hello Kitty, I was horrified - but Asians went wild. They had particular 777s which were Kitty branded (generally not the ones to London). They had a particular gate all "kittied out" - it was so "cute" that I almost missed a flight because I didn't recognise it to be a gate. I remember a purser telling me that pax would clear the aircraft of plate, knives, forks etc. Everything was Kitty branded. Even in business class. People would fly to places for the sole purpose of collecting a stamp to say they had been on that particular aircraft. It is difficult for the average westerner to comprehend the popularity of Kitty in Japan/Taiwan (less so in the rest of Asia). I was in Taiwan during the "30 years of cute" celebrations. I used to get through a ton of phonecards at that time and purchased them from 7-ELEVEN where I got Kitty fridge magnets. I had so many magnets that I didn't even bother taking them out of their wrappers before sticking them on the door. Supposedly there was one design for each of the 30 years. I had grown female colleagues (even in their 40s) who asked me if they could come back to my flat just to look at my fridge. They would jump up and down with glee at the sight of my fridge.

 

[camperdown9]

The girls in green are EVA Air cabin crew. For many years I was a frequent flyer with EVA which I always found to be a serious, reliable, professional airline. (They fly London-Bangkok-Taipei daily). When they did a deal with Hello Kitty, I was horrified - but Asians went wild. They had particular 777s which were Kitty branded (generally not the ones to London). They had a particular gate all "kittied out" - it was so "cute" that I almost missed a flight because I didn't recognise it to be a gate. I remember a purser telling me that pax would clear the aircraft of plate, knives, forks etc. Everything was Kitty branded. Even in business class. People would fly to places for the sole purpose of collecting a stamp to say they had been on that particular aircraft. It is difficult for the average westerner to comprehend the popularity of Kitty in Japan/Taiwan (less so in the rest of Asia). I was in Taiwan during the "30 years of cute" celebrations. I used to get through a ton of phonecards at that time and purchased them from 7-ELEVEN where I got Kitty fridge magnets. I had so many magnets that I didn't even bother taking them out of their wrappers before sticking them on the door. Supposedly there was one design for each of the 30 years. I had grown female colleagues (even in their 40s) who asked me if they could come back to my flat just to look at my fridge. They would jump up and down with glee at the sight of my fridge.

Hello Kitty branded Eva airline items like napkins, safety cards, plates etc sell at a premium, on eBay and at the various airline collector fairs.