99 Fun Facts About Sanrio

Gudetama only came second in Sanrio's 2013 food-character contest — to a character based on what?

A salmon fillet named Kirimichan won the online poll, yet by 2019 the runner-up had become Sanrio's third most profitable character; Kirimichan is a cheerful slice of fish that wants to be eaten.

Kuromi, My Melody's rival introduced in a 2005 Sanrio anime, has her official birthday on which holiday?

Halloween suits a character with a devil tail and a criminal streak: Sanrio gives Kuromi a birthday of 31 October. She began life as a biker-gang leader before becoming one of Sanrio's most popular characters.

Which Sanrio character won the fan-voted Sanrio Character Ranking five years running, from 2020 to 2024?

Cinnamoroll also won in 2017 and 2018; in Sanrio's story the white puppy fell from the clouds outside Café Cinnamon, where he was taken in, and his curled tail looks like a cinnamon roll.

The European Commission fined Sanrio 6.2 million euros in 2019 for doing what with its licensed merchandise?

Blocking cross-border sales inside the EU cost Sanrio about 6.9 million US dollars, because licensees had been told not to sell Hello Kitty goods outside their own countries. Licensing of Sanrio's original characters had begun back in 1976.

Bad Badtz-Maru, Sanrio's spiky-haired penguin, treats which animal, named Pochi, like a pet dog?

A baby alligator called Pochi trots after Badtz-Maru like a puppy, alongside Hana-Maru the white seal and Pandaba, a panda in a red bikini skirt. Badtz-Maru topped the Sanrio Character Ranking in 1996.

Sanrio's European website says the company name joins two words meaning 'holy river' — from which language?

Spanish san ('holy') and río ('river') is the official European story, but the founder's own book derives the name from an alternative reading of the company's original Yamanashi name plus an excited 'o'. Sanrio adopted the name in 1973.

Gudetama's original animated shorts aired daily on Japan's TBS from 2014 to 2020 — roughly how long was each episode?

About one minute a day was enough: by 2019 the morning-show segment had clocked up more than 1,200 episodes, and viewers could play a remote-control game called 'Gudetama Chance!' during the broadcast.

In the Netflix anime Aggretsuko, Retsuko's golf-obsessed and sexist boss, the director of accounting, is which animal?

A pig who practises golf swings instead of working, Ton is nonetheless a brilliant, speedy accountant and may quietly see Retsuko as his successor. He nicknames her 'Short-Timer' after she bad-mouths him on television.

For Sanrio's 50th anniversary in 2010, which retailer sold limited-edition stuffed Sanrio characters?

Build-A-Bear Workshop's anniversary line included Hello Kitty, Chococat, My Melody and Keroppi; the company it honoured had started out in 1960 selling silk, then rubber sandals painted with flowers.

The first Hello Kitty Con, a four-day fan convention for her 40th anniversary in 2014, was held in which city?

Los Angeles drew more than 25,000 visitors, and the keenest queued for hours for a free, permanent Hello Kitty tattoo at the convention's pop-up parlour.

Which Sanrio dog character, drawn to resemble a flan, won the 2025 Sanrio Character Ranking after a nine-year gap?

Pompompurin first topped the poll in 1997, a year after his debut, then again in 2015 and 2016 before his 2025 comeback ended a rival's five-year streak. A Pompompurin Café opened in Harajuku in 2014.

Kuromi's purple sidekick, who carries her through the air on his back, is what kind of animal?

A tapir fits Japanese folklore, where the baku is a dream-eating beast, and Sanrio's purple Baku can likewise seek out people's dreams. He and Kuromi escape a Mariland dungeon at the start of the 2005 anime.

Keroppi's surname Hasunoue, in Sanrio's backstory, describes exactly where he sits — meaning what?

'Hasunoue' means on a lily pad, apt for a frog first sold in 1988 as part of a rainy-season promotion; his friends include Denden the snail and Teruteru, a teru teru bōzu rain charm.

Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures, a weekly series Sanrio launched in 2020, streams on which platform?

YouTube's official Hello Kitty and Friends channel premiered the series on 26 October 2020 with a cast including Keroppi, Badtz-Maru and Kuromi. Each episode is published weekly.

Sanrio's 1979 stop-motion film, co-written by the company's founder, loosely adapts which ballet?

The Nutcracker became Nutcracker Fantasy, narrated by an adult Clara, in which a Ragman turns children into mice if he catches them up past bedtime. Sanrio remastered it for Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary in 2014.

Which manga legend created Unico, the baby unicorn who belonged to Sanrio's character lineup in the early 1980s?

Osamu Tezuka's Unico ran in Sanrio's girls' magazine Lyrica from 1976; in the story the West Wind keeps whisking the unicorn to new times and places and wiping his memory, to hide him from a jealous goddess.

Sanrio's 1981 anime The Sea Prince and the Fire Child, based on its founder's story, retells which Shakespeare play?

Romeo and Juliet become Sirius, heir to the sea kingdom, and Malta, princess of fire, kept apart by a feud between water and fire that a jealous lord of the winds stirred up; Masami Hata directed.

In Netflix's 2022 Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure, the lazy hero and a chick named Shakipiyo cross Japan seeking whom?

Their mother is the goal of the ten-episode live-action and CGI hybrid, in which the hyperactive Shakipiyo pesters Gudetama before the two become best friends. A hardboiled egg character also appears.

In the 2022 Amazon series Hello Kitty: Super Style!, what lets Hello Kitty transform into a chef, detective or popstar?

Her bow does the magic in the 3D series, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 7 December 2022 and follows Hello Kitty helping the residents of Cherry Town. Some episodes carry a +7 rating on HBO Max.

Hello Kitty Park, a Sanrio theme park that opened in 2015 in Anji County, is in which country?

China's Zhejiang Province got the park, though Sanrio neither built nor paid for it: it licensed Hello Kitty to the Chinese property developer Yinrun, which footed the bill.

Which date does Sanrio give as the official birthday of Bad Badtz-Maru, its spiky-haired penguin?

April 1 is April Fool's Day, apt for a penguin Sanrio calls mischievous and contrary; on his birthday the Puroland theme park has jokingly announced it was being renamed Bad Badtz-Maru Land with him in charge.

The 500-series bullet train JR West repainted for Hello Kitty in 2018 had previously worn a livery for which anime?

Evangelion's '500 Type Eva' livery ran on set V2 from November 2015 to May 2018, weeks before the same train became the Hello Kitty Shinkansen; both liveries later turned up in the Shinkalion toy and anime franchise.

Jewelpet, Sanrio's 2008 franchise of gem-named animals with magical eyes, was a joint venture with which toy company?

Sega Toys co-created the line, which launched on January 15, 2008; its success led the pair to team up again on Rilu Rilu Fairilu in 2016 and Beatcats in 2020.

Which studio teamed up with Sanrio and FlynnPictureCo in 2019 to make an English-language Hello Kitty feature film?

New Line Cinema joined Sanrio and FlynnPictureCo in 2019 for an English-language film that Sanrio had first announced in 2015 with a 2019 target. By 2026 the project was on its second pair of directors.

Hello Kitty Skyland, a 2025 social game from Sanrio, was built for what kind of hardware?

VR headsets in the Meta Quest family run Skyland, a social virtual-reality game that followed the success of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, which got Switch and PlayStation 5 ports the same year.

Which designer created Sanrio's 2001 puppy who flies with his long ears, and later illustrated the Jewelpet characters?

Miyuki Okumura drew the puppy and his café friends Cappuccino, Chiffon, Mocha, Espresso and Milk, then Wish me mell in 2010, before announcing in November 2024 that she was leaving Sanrio after 25 years.

Sanrio's 2020 boy group Hapidanbui revived six older male characters; its name promises what shape of recovery?

V-shaped recovery is the pun: the name shortens a Japanese phrase meaning 'boys who want to become happy aim for a V-shaped recovery', and its members did climb the Sanrio Character Ranking afterwards.

The Little Twin Stars, Sanrio's angelic siblings from 1975, got their names Kiki and Lala from what?

A reader survey in Sanrio's Strawberry Newspaper named the pair, who were unnamed in their first publication. Kiki, the younger brother, has blue hair and Lala, the older sister, pink.

Cogimyun, Sanrio's fluffy fairy made of wheat flour, dreams of becoming which food?

A rice ball, or onigiri, is her grandfather's favourite food, so the wheat fairy wants to be one despite being made of the wrong grain. She keeps a fried shrimp named Ebi-chan as a pet.

Sanrio's 2010 rabbit Wish me mell was launched hiding inside her egg-like house until fans did what?

Sent encouraging messages for about a month, the timid rabbit finally came out of hiding; in Sanrio's story she now helps deliver the mail herself.

Sanrio's 1998 hamster character Corocorokuririn and his family of seven children were modelled on what?

Hamsters kept at the office of Sanrio inspired Kuririn, his mate Sakura and their pups, and his birthday of February 4 marks the day the real hamster arrived. Strawberry Newspaper readers adopted the real litter.

Bad Badtz-Maru served as the official mascot of which sport's 2006 world championship, held in Japan?

Basketball's FIBA World Championship came to Japan in 2006 with the penguin as its face; a decade later Uni Air began flying planes painted in his motifs. He is also a main cast member of the 2020 Supercute Adventures web series.

Sanrio Puroland opened in 1990 and lost money for years, partly because of the fallout from what?

Japan's asset price bubble had just burst, and complaints from Tama locals added to the pain for a park conceived as a bold challenge to Disney. Its working titles included Sanrio Heart Park and Sanrio Piero Land.

Coro Chan, the first original Sanrio character, carries croquettes on his cheeks — what animal is he?

A bear drawn by Hello Kitty's original designer, Coro Chan might eat the croquettes on his cheeks when hungry and lives in Windermere, England. Sanrio's backstory makes him a cousin of Hello Kitty's bear friend Thomas.

In Sanrio's dark 1978 anime Ringing Bell, the orphaned lamb Chirin begs which animal to train him?

A wolf — the very one that orphaned him — agrees to train Chirin, who grows into a horned killer ram before turning on his mentor. Sanrio released it as a double feature with The Mouse and His Child.

In the fifth and final season of Netflix's Aggretsuko, the red panda Retsuko runs for what?

A seat in parliament, Japan's National Diet, is the 2023 season's surprise, while her hyena admirer Haida quits his job and befriends a net-café refugee named Shikabane. The series began as shorts on TBS in 2016.

Puroland's 2018 musical KAWAII KABUKI had Sanrio's Hello Kitty Troupe perform which Japanese folk tale?

Momotarō, the peach boy who recruits a dog, a monkey and a pheasant to fight ogres, got the kawaii treatment in a musical Puroland created with Shochiku, the company that owns Tokyo's Kabuki-za theatre.

Puroland's main parades circle which Puro Village landmark, home to Hello Kitty's Bell of Happiness?

The Tree of Wisdom has hosted the Miracle Gift Parade since late 2015, when it debuted for Puroland's 25th anniversary; the park's first parade was the Sanrio Starlight Parade, which ran from 1990 to 1997.

Sanrio co-produced two 1982 films with Sunrise that concluded which Yoshiyuki Tomino mecha series?

Space Runaway Ideon's finale films, A Contact and Be Invoked, were among Sanrio's rare dark productions aimed at young adults, alongside Ringing Bell. In 2025 Sanrio became the fourth-largest shareholder of anime group IG Port.

Which Sanrio character, who lives in France with a mouse named Tabby, topped the first Sanrio Character Ranking?

Zashikibuta, a pink hog in a green scarf, won the inaugural poll and by 1987 was decorating bankbooks for Nagano Bank. His official birthday is February 4.

Which Minoru Onoue-designed Sanrio character, more popular once drawn in shirts, topped the ranking from 1991 to 1995?

Pochacco was first drawn without clothes and behaving more like a real dog; his name comes from 'pocha pocha', meaning chubby, and his 35th anniversary in 2024 brought pop-up cafés to Tokyo and Osaka.

Which animation company took Sanrio to court, claiming its own animator designed Kuromi for a 2005 anime?

Studio Comet says Tomoko Miyakawa drew Kuromi while working on the 2005 anime and that its director Makoto Moriwaki coined her name, whereas a 2023 Sanrio book credits Hello Kitty's lead designer.

Which voice actress got her first major role in Hello Kitty's first animated series, a 1987 DIC co-production?

Tara Strong went on to voice hundreds of cartoon roles; the series spoofed a fairy tale or movie each episode, with Hello Kitty or Tuxedo Sam announcing 'Once upon a meow'. Toei Animation drew it.

Which obscure 1978 Sanrio crocodile with no prior media appearances became a lead in Hello Kitty Island Adventure?

Big Challenges had made no media appearance since his creation in 1978 until the game cast him as a lead; in it he says only one word, 'gao', Japanese for 'roar'.

Sanrio's founder, born in Kofu, spent the 1950s working for what before starting the company in 1960?

A prefectural government job in Yamanashi from 1949, including a spell as a teacher, preceded the founder's leap into business; he narrowly avoided a slander campaign against the governor's rivals before leaving in 1960.

Aggretsuko's office-worker red panda Retsuko was created by a Sanrio designer working under which pseudonym?

Yeti's creation first appeared in Fanworks shorts on TBS from April 2016, two years before Netflix picked her up; an Oni Press comic followed in 2020. Gudetama's designer likewise works under a pseudonym, Amy.

Sanrio's 2021 Kuromi marketing campaign in Shibuya and on social media ran under which slogan?

KUROMIfy the World paid off: Kuromi climbed from fifth in the 2021 Sanrio Character Ranking to third in 2022, and the anime shorts Kuromi's Pretty Journey followed in 2023, sending her after her older sister Romina.

Pekkle, Sanrio's white duck in a blue T-shirt marked P, was born in which country according to his profile?

Australia's Cairns is his birthplace, and unusually for a Sanrio character of his era he was given eyebrows to look goofier. He leads Hapidanbui and re-entered the ranking's top 10 in 2025.

Sanrio's twin rabbits Shirousa and Kurousa, created in 2004 and living in Bunniesfield, are geniuses at making what?

Sweets and pastries made the twins Sanrio's in-house patissiers from 2004, and a 27-episode TV Tokyo anime in 2007 spawned two sequels, Chocolat! and Fleur.

Hello Kitty, created by Japan's Sanrio in 1974, has a family home in the suburbs of which city?

London was chosen because British culture was fashionable in Japan in the 1970s. Sanrio already had several characters set in the US and wanted its new cat to be different.

Sanrio's profile for Hello Kitty gives her height as five of which fruit, and her weight as three?

Apples are the only unit Sanrio uses for her size: five tall and three heavy. Fittingly, she is said to love her mama's homemade apple pie.

In 2014 Sanrio told an anthropologist that Hello Kitty was not simply a cat but what?

A little girl was how Sanrio described her, since she is never drawn on all fours. The company later added that she is no human either, comparing her to Mickey Mouse.

Retsuko, the red panda of Sanrio's Aggretsuko, vents her work stress by singing what at karaoke?

Death metal is her nightly release after days of pushy superiors and co-workers. In later episodes she goes public with the growl and turns it into a lucrative side hustle.

Beyond Hello Kitty, Sanrio has run Tokyo franchises of an American chain famous for which food?

Fried chicken comes into it because Sanrio has operated several KFC franchises across Tokyo and neighbouring Saitama. The company also takes part in film production and publishing.

Before creating its own characters, Sanrio sold 1960s goods starring which American cartoon dog?

Snoopy went onto Sanrio goods after the company acquired the Japanese licensing rights to Peanuts. To stop paying outside royalties, the founder then hired his own designers.

Bangkok police in 2007 punished rule-breaking officers by making them wear a pink Hello Kitty what?

Armband wearers had turned up late, parked badly or committed other minor offences, and had to keep it on for several days. Officials said the cute cat was meant to shame them.

A TV series announced in 2013 but never aired was to pair Hello Kitty with cartoon versions of which band?

Kiss member Gene Simmons was the producer of the crossover, which was meant to air on The Hub Network. It never came to fruition.

Gudetama, Sanrio's lazy egg yolk, often lies on an egg white for a bed and uses what as a blanket?

Bacon is the usual cover for the yolk, whose name blends the Japanese words for lazy and egg. Soy sauce is one of the few things that can get the character motivated.

Which children's character's owners sued Sanrio in 2010, saying Hello Kitty's friend Cathy was a copy?

Miffy's creator Dick Bruna had already called Hello Kitty herself a copy of his rabbit. A Dutch court sided with him over Cathy, and Sanrio agreed to stop making her in 2011.

Hello Kitty, Sanrio's white cat with a red ribbon, is famously drawn without which feature?

A mouth is missing so that people can project their own feelings onto her, Sanrio has said. Her longtime designer has also claimed she does have one, hidden in the fur.

Which Sanrio character is Hello Kitty's shy twin sister, with a yellow ribbon on the opposite ear?

Mimmy is described as shy and very girly, a keen sewer who dreams of marriage. While her sister's ribbon is red and sits on the left ear, hers goes on the right.

Hello Kitty made her 1975 debut in Japan printed on which small vinyl item from Sanrio?

A coin purse carried the first Hello Kitty design in March 1975, a year after she was drawn. By 2008 there were over 50,000 different products with her name on them.

Hello Kitty's first Sanrio design showed her sitting between a goldfish bowl and a bottle of what?

Milk and a goldfish framed a character first known only as the white kitten with no name. Sanrio's founder considered calling her Hi Kitty before choosing a different greeting.

Which British children's book series, begun in 1971, did Sanrio buy the rights to in 2011?

Mr. Men and the Little Miss books came to Sanrio after their previous owner, Chorion, went into administration. Mr. Tickle, the first character, was inspired by the author's young son.

Sanrio's founder ran the company for 60 years before handing over in 2020 to which relative?

His grandson Tomokuni Tsuji took over at just 31, while the founder, by then 92, stayed on as chairman.

Hello Kitty's Fashion Avenue and its cupcake teacup ride sit in a Japanese theme park of which brand?

Universal Studios Japan placed the zone inside Universal Wonderland, its area for families that opened in March 2012. Fans can meet the cat herself at a spot called Ribbon Collection.

Sanrio Puroland, the Hello Kitty theme park that opened in Tokyo in 1990, was built entirely where?

Indoors is where all of Puroland's attractions, live shows, shops and restaurants sit, in a suburb called Tama New Town. The park is also known as Hello Kitty Land.

Which Canadian singer put a song titled Hello Kitty on her self-titled 2013 album?

Avril Lavigne co-wrote the track with Chad Kroeger, mixing J-pop, dubstep and EDM. The song was influenced by her affinity for the Japanese brand.

Kiki and Lala, Sanrio's Little Twin Stars, began in a 1975 seasonal promotion and share which birthday?

Christmas Eve suits a pair first sketched in warm coats and winter scarves. Their designer then settled on stars and white angel-style clothes because they came from the sky.

Which plump blue Sanrio penguin from Antarctica is drawn wearing a sailor hat?

Tuxedosam debuted in 1979 and by 1982 was Sanrio's fourth most popular character, trailing only Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars and My Melody.

Kuromi, Sanrio's rabbit with a devil's tail, wears a black jester's hat bearing which pink emblem?

A skull sits on the front of the hat and sometimes changes expression to match her mood. She has also been shown leading a biker gang called Kuromi's 5.

Which Sanrio character, a childhood friend who went travelling with his parents, is Hello Kitty's boyfriend?

Dear Daniel was designed after a Japanese pop star spoke openly about having a boyfriend, a daring admission at the time. He takes his name from the hero of the 1971 British film Melody.

Keroppi, Sanrio's big-eyed frog, was created in 1988 as part of a promotion for which time of year?

The rainy season was the hook for the first Keroppi goods in 1988. Two years later he topped Sanrio's fan-voted character ranking.

My Melody, Sanrio's rabbit, treasures the hood that covers her ears because it was made by whom?

Her grandmother made the hood, which official profiles call her greatest treasure. My Melody is drawn as an honest, cheerful character who looks out for her younger brother.

Chococat, Sanrio's black cat with a chocolate-brown nose, senses news like an antenna using what?

His whiskers work like antennae, so he is often the first to know what is going on. In 2005 he was Sanrio's third most successful character.

The name of Sanrio's penguin Bad Badtz-Maru joins the Japanese words for which two marks?

A cross and a circle stand for a wrong answer and a right one in Japan, so his name figuratively means wrong-right. It is often written simply as XO.

My Sweet Piano, the pink best friend of Sanrio's rabbit My Melody, is what kind of animal?

A sheep, she was introduced in 1980 and known for years simply as Hitsuji-san, roughly Miss Sheep. Her first solo merchandise under the full name arrived in 2008.

In Sanrio's Aggretsuko, Haida, the mild-mannered co-worker in love with Retsuko, is which animal?

A hyena of the spotted kind, Haida is as socially anxious as Retsuko herself. His roundabout attempts to confess his feelings keep landing him in comical situations.

Which Sanrio fish, a lonely joker whose heroic plans go awry, rejoined the fan ranking's top ten in 2022?

Hangyodon placed eighth that year, his first top-ten finish in 34 years. He was designed by Hisato Inoue, who also drew the spiky-haired penguin Bad Badtz-Maru.

Which designer, who shares a November 1 birthday with Hello Kitty, created the Sanrio star in 1974?

Yuko Shimizu left Sanrio only two years later, and the character passed to other hands. The designer who took over in 1980 stayed in charge for 46 years.

Hello Kitty's original designer took the name Kitty from a pet cat in which classic children's book?

Through the Looking-Glass opens with Alice playing with a cat she calls Kitty. Sanrio's founder then added a greeting so the name would suggest friendly communication.

Which organisation named Hello Kitty its children's ambassador to the United States in 1983?

UNICEF repeated the honour in Japan in 1994 and a decade later named her its Special Friend of Children, a title unique to her.

Hello Kitty, Sanrio's star character since 1974, is often described as which breed of cat?

Japanese Bobtail is how outlets such as NPR describe her, though Sanrio itself names no breed. The company calls her a gijinka, an animal given human form.

Which Taiwanese airline launched a Hello Kitty Jet with Sanrio in 2005, themed inside and out?

EVA Air retired the first livery in 2009 but brought the idea back in 2011, eventually painting seven jets. Later planes starred other Sanrio characters as well.

A Hello Kitty-themed hospital opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan, in 2008, specialising in which field?

Maternity patients find the cat on receiving blankets, bed linen, nurses' uniforms and even birth certificate covers. The owner hoped the theme would ease the stress of childbirth.

A Hello Kitty figure launched in June 2014 gazed at Earth from the window of what kind of craft?

A satellite named Hodoyoshi-3 carried her into orbit on a Dnepr rocket. Messages could be shown on a display beside her and photographed with the planet in view.

Which guitar maker launched a Hello Kitty electric model in 2005 that Courtney Love later played?

Fender sold the Hello Kitty Stratocaster under its Squier brand for $230. By 2022 vintage ones were among the most popular instruments on a resale marketplace, some fetching over $1,000.

Which Japanese rock star inspired a Sanrio cat that outpolled Hello Kitty in the 2018 fan ranking?

Yoshiki of X Japan got his own character, Yoshikitty, in 2009. It was the first Sanrio character modelled on a real person, and it placed third in the 2018 vote.

For Sanrio's 50th anniversary, Hello Kitty inspired Nekomura Iroha, a voice for which singing software?

Vocaloid voice maker AH-Software chose her as the model for its new singing voice. The name Nekomura suits a feline muse: neko is the Japanese word for cat.

Sanrio was founded in 1960 under a different name, as a company dealing in which fabric?

Silk gave the firm its first name, the Yamanashi Silk Center, and it started with one million yen in capital. The Sanrio name was not adopted until 1973.

Sanrio's founder discovered that cute designs sell after painting flowers on which product in 1962?

Rubber sandals with painted flowers sold so well that he began putting cartoon characters on his goods. He later hired his own cartoonists, which led to Hello Kitty in 1974.

Sanrio's monthly newspaper for fans, printed since 1975, is named after which fruit?

Strawberry News carries a monthly message from the Strawberry King, a character with a berry for a head who is the founder's alter ego. By 2019 it had reached six hundred issues.

A 1977 documentary from Sanrio's film label, about a couple raising nineteen children, won which prize?

An Oscar for best feature-length documentary went to the film in 1978. From 1977 to 1985 Sanrio made features through its own label, Sanrio Films.

Which Hollywood legend starred in Olly Olly Oxen Free, a 1978 balloon adventure funded by Sanrio?

Katharine Hepburn played Miss Pudd, an eccentric junk dealer who ends up dangling from a runaway hot-air balloon. Sanrio paid for the film hoping it would complement its toy line.

Hello Kitty Town, a theme park open from 2012 to 2019 in Iskandar Puteri, was in which country?

Malaysia hosted the park in the state of Johor. Neighbouring Indonesia got a Hello Kitty cinema attraction in 2014, at a theme park called Dufan.

Harmonyland, one of Sanrio's two theme parks in Japan, stands in the town of Hiji on which main island?

Kyushu is home to Harmonyland, which opened in Oita Prefecture in April 1991. The town around it is also known for its Trappist monastery.

Patty & Jimmy, a Sanrio duo as popular as Hello Kitty in the 1970s, are neighbours where in the US?

Kansas City was chosen after a visit to an affiliate company that Sanrio had there. Patty is a sporty tomboy in red overalls, Jimmy a clumsy bookworm who is great at chess.

Sanrio's triplet brothers Goropikadon, created in 1982, come from a land named for which thing they fear?

Thunder terrifies all three brothers, even though their name echoes the Japanese sound words for a storm. Youngest brother Pika is nonetheless good at playing the thunder drums.

The Sanrio Boys, schoolboys who love cute mascots, drew 100,000 followers within two months on which platform?

Twitter was where the characters posted about their daily lives before any manga or anime existed. The project was created in November 2015 to promote goods for Sanrio's best-selling characters.