⚠️ Service ended — Both of Kansai’s Hello Kitty trains have now finished running. The Hello Kitty livery on the Haruka airport express ended in March 2026, and the Hello Kitty Shinkansen made its final run on Sunday, 17 May 2026. This article is a record of what they were like. If you are planning a trip and looking for what you can still ride, skip to the last two sections.
What this article covers
・What the two Hello Kitty trains of Kansai were actually like
・Where to find the Hello Kitty headrest covers on the Haruka
・Inside the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, and the goods sold on board
・How hard the reservations were, and what you can still ride today
Kansai Had Two Hello Kitty Trains, and Most People Only Knew About One
Even railway fans in Japan were often surprised by this: Kansai had two trains themed around Hello Kitty, not one. There was the Haruka, the limited express that runs from Kansai International Airport, and there was the Hello Kitty Shinkansen on the Sanyo line. They were completely different experiences, and I rode both.
1. The Haruka: Look Closely and Hello Kitty Is on Every Seat
The Haruka is the limited express most travellers take out of Kansai International Airport, heading for Kyoto and Shin-Osaka. Look into the carriage and you will find Hello Kitty on the headrest cover of every seat, in a kimono. It is easy to miss if you are not looking for it.
The Haruka is operated by JR West and reaches Kyoto from the airport in about 75 minutes. IC cards such as ICOCA and Suica can be used, which makes it a straightforward first train to take after you land.
2. The Hello Kitty Shinkansen: The 500 Series I Booked a Trip Around
This was the one I had wanted to ride for years, and finally did.
It ran just one round trip a day between Hakata and Shin-Osaka, which made it a rare train to catch. A reservation was essential — you could not simply turn up and hope.
Hello Kitty Inside and Out
What made this Shinkansen remarkable was that the theme did not stop at the paintwork. The seats, the walls, the floor — Hello Kitty was everywhere you looked inside the carriage.
Hello Kitty Goods Sold On Board
There was also a range of Hello Kitty Shinkansen exclusive goods sold on board. Even if you are not particularly a Hello Kitty person, they were charming enough that you found yourself buying something before you had really decided to.
The Hello Kitty Shinkansen was a 500 Series train operated by JR West, running one round trip a day between Hakata and Shin-Osaka. The 500 Series itself is now approaching retirement.
The People Who Loved This Train
While it was running, the Hello Kitty Shinkansen was the sort of train that drew a particular mix of passenger
- People who loved Hello Kitty
- People who wanted to ride a 500 Series Shinkansen
- People who simply wanted a cheerful train journey
- Families travelling with young children
- Visitors from overseas, for whom it made a memorable first Shinkansen ride
The Haruka Itself Is Still Running
The Hello Kitty headrest covers disappeared in March 2026, but the Haruka limited express itself has not gone anywhere. It still runs between Kansai International Airport and Kyoto exactly as before. If you are landing at KIX and heading for Kyoto, it remains a perfectly good option — just without the cat.
And the 500 Series Is Still Running, For Now
This is the part worth knowing if you are planning a trip to Japan.
The Hello Kitty livery is gone, but 500 Series trains themselves continue to run on part of the Sanyo Shinkansen. That long, rounded nose is still one of the most admired shapes in Japanese railways, and it is still out there.
JR West has announced that scheduled 500 Series services will end on 13 January 2027, with the train retiring from revenue service entirely in July 2027. In other words, there is a little over a year left to ride one.
If You Missed Them, the Goods Are Still Around
Both trains have stopped running, but Hello Kitty Shinkansen commemorative goods can still be found through Japanese online marketplaces. If you never got the chance to ride, they are a way to keep a piece of it.
There Is a Station in Tokyo Covered in Hello Kitty
Kansai’s two Hello Kitty trains have finished, but the pairing of Sanrio and railways is alive and well in the Tokyo area.
On 19 October 2023 I spent the day in the Tama area of western Tokyo. Waiting for a train at Chofu station on the Keio Line, what pulled in was a pale pink wrapped train. Beside one door, Lala was holding a bunch of pansies; on another carriage, Cinnamoroll was carrying cosmos. It reminded me of the Little Twin Stars star house I was given as a child and kept carefully for years, and I took a photograph almost without thinking.
The train was not what surprised me most that day, though. That came at Keio Tama-Center, the station for Sanrio Puroland, when I happened to look up. There were Hello Kitty characters across the ceiling, all over the place. A wrapped train is not unusual, but a station that is itself covered in Hello Kitty had never occurred to me, and I stood there looking around for a while. I had got off there knowing nothing about it, which made it all the more startling.
I learned later that Keio Tama-Center has been decorated in collaboration with Sanrio Puroland since 2016, and that Hello Kitty serves as its honorary stationmaster. Pom Pom Purin is the group leader, My Melody handles customer enquiries, Cinnamoroll looks after lost property, and the Little Twin Stars are in charge of patrolling the platform. Which means the characters I had photographed at Chofu that morning were, at Tama-Center, on duty.
What I regret is not taking a single photograph of the station. I simply stood and stared, and that was that.
One more thing worth knowing. There are two Tama-Center stations, Keio and Odakyu, standing side by side. The Odakyu one has been decorated since 2018, and in February 2026 its interior was completely redecorated, with the number of Sanrio characters on display rising from four to fourteen. I have not seen that one yet. When I do, I will write it up.
In Closing
Both trains have finished their runs. What is left is the record — the photographs, the headrest covers, the pink deck, the goods. If you rode one of them, you were there for something that no longer exists. If you did not, the 500 Series is still running, and there is still time.
The full account of the last ride on the 500 Series Hello Kitty Shinkansen is here
Summary: Two Hello Kitty Trains of Kansai
| Train | Route | Hello Kitty Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Haruka Limited Express | Kansai Airport → Kyoto | Hello Kitty headcovers on seats |
| Hello Kitty Shinkansen | Hakata → Shin-Osaka (1 round trip/day) | Full Hello Kitty interior, exterior & exclusive merchandise |