Sanrio Puroland

Sanrio Puroland is an indoor theme park located in Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan that attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year. Opened on December 7, 1990, the theme park is run by the Sanrio company, and hosts various musicals, restaurants, attractions, and theme rides using popular characters such as Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Jewelpet and many more. While many of these attractions are only in Japanese, Puroland attracts many visitors from overseas as well as Japan because of the worldwide popularity of these characters. Puroland also has an extensive gift shop selling Sanrio character merchandise. Tourists visiting during the summer will be able to see fireworks on a daily basis. It includes a boat ride similar to It's a Small World in which Cinnamorroll leads riders to a party being held by Hello Kitty, passing through the homes of several Sanrio characters, including Kerroppi's pond and Badtz Maru's cave. Visitors can also tour Kitty's house which includes Renaissance style portraits of her family, fancy furniture and a bath-tub shaped like her face, and displays of her purses and jewelry. Her computer and television are also in her head shape. There are three live theaters and one film theater. It also includes attraction areas themed to candy, ice cream, bread, juice, and chocolate factories. The theme park lost money during its first three years, owing to operational foul-ups and a temporary lull in Hello Kitty's popularity. Despite these setbacks, the park has become one of Japan's most popular attractions along with Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.