Hello Kitty Garden at the Japan Expo

From the 7^th to the 10^th of July, fans of the Japanese culture were welcomed to live their passion at the Japan Expo in France.

Since 2006, the Parc d’Expositions in Paris has been opening its doors to cosplayers, fans of all things Japanese and intrigued guests. This year, the Japan Expo received more than 250,000 visitors making it one of the largest Japanese exhibitions in Europe.

The Sanrio team gave their fans and visitors a full Japanese experience around the theme of the Sakura. More than 20,000 visitors passed under the Torii gates to discover the Sanrio stand.

Fans explored and took pictures surrounded by cherry blossom trees and in front of a Mount Fuji backdrop. They also relaxed in the swing seat or the Gudetama tent, played with the zen garden, or wrote wishes on the bamboo trees following the tanabata tradition. This Japanese tradition originates from a romantic legend and it is said that wishes will come true if they are written down and hung on bamboo branches.

Of course, Hello Kitty herself made several appearances to the delight of guests! Cosplayers, fans wearing cardboards Hello Kitty ears or Gudetama took pictures with Hello Kitty. We were thrilled to see fans wearing Hello Kitty, Gudetama and various Sanrio characters clothing!

See if you can spot yourself in the crowd in the gallery below!