Tokyo west · Tama New TownNo.302★Open in map →
Sanrio Puroland
— Hello Kitty's indoor world in Tama
Japan's first indoor theme park, open since 1990: four floors of Sanrio character shows, a parade and a boat ride — 40 minutes west of Shinjuku.
Sanrio Puroland stands in Tama, on the western edge of Tokyo, inside the planned district of Tama New Town. It opened on 7 December 1990 as Japan's first entirely indoor theme park — a four-storey building rather than a fenced outdoor site — and that single decision still defines the visit: nothing here is cancelled or thinned out by rain, heat or cold. The park is built around Sanrio's characters, Hello Kitty foremost but also My Melody, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll and Pompompurin. Its main draws are live stage shows, a musical parade through the central hall, a gentle indoor boat ride past character scenes, and character houses you walk through. Admission works on a passport ticket covering the attractions and shows, and entry requires a reservation made before the day.
Why it stays quiet
It is 40 minutes from Shinjuku on a single express train, entirely indoors, and full of characters most visitors already know before they land — yet it sits in a residential new town that no sightseeing route passes through, so itineraries almost never reach it.
Background & history
Puroland opened on 7 December 1990, the first fully indoor theme park in Japan. Its site is Tama New Town, a large planned suburb laid out from the 1960s across the hills west of central Tokyo, and the park was among the developments meant to give that new district a destination of its own. The building was designed with four floors above ground, stacking shows, rides and character houses around a central hall instead of spreading them over open grounds — the reason a full day here is walkable rather than a trek. Entry today is by passport ticket with an advance booking through the official site or the Sanrio+ app.
What to look for
- Miracle Gift Parade
- the park's main musical parade, staged in the central hall on a fixed daily timetable
- Sanrio Character Boat Ride
- a slow indoor boat ride past character scenes — the attraction most associated with Puroland
- Lady Kitty House
- a walk-through of Hello Kitty's house, ending with a greeting and a photograph
- Character greetings
- scheduled meeting points spread across the four floors; check the day's timetable as you enter
- Park-exclusive goods
- Sanrio merchandise sold only here, not in ordinary Sanrio shops
How to enjoy it
Book before you go — entry needs both a reservation and a passport ticket, prices vary by date, and popular Saturdays sell out. Take the day's schedule as you enter and build the visit around the parade and show times, using the gaps for the queues. Four to five hours is normal. Because everything is indoors, this is the Tokyo day to hold in reserve for the forecast that ruins everything else.
How to actually get there
- Reserve online before the day (official site or Sanrio+ app)
- Shinjuku Station → Keio Tama-Center Station (Keio Line express, ~30 min)
- Keio Tama-Center Station → Puroland entrance (walk, ~5 min)
- Pick up the day's show timetable at entry → parade and stage shows
- Keio Line express from Shinjuku, then a 5-minute walk
- Shinjuku Stn →(Keio Line express toward Hashimoto, changing at Chofu if your train is not through-running, ~30 min)→ Keio Tama-Center Stn → walk ~5 min. Total about 40 min. Trains are frequent. The Odakyu Line from Shinjuku and the Tama Monorail both arrive at the same station square.
- Return from Keio Tama-Center Stn to Shinjuku
- Walk back to Tama-Center and take the Keio Line express to Shinjuku, or the Odakyu Line if you are heading toward Shinjuku via Shimo-Kitazawa. Both run late into the evening.
Before you go
- Cash
- Entry is by passport ticket, priced by date, and requires an advance reservation — buy through the official site or the Sanrio+ app before you travel rather than at the gate. Cards and IC payment are accepted inside, and IC cards work on the trains.
- Closing days
- The park has irregular closed days and its opening hours change by date. Check the official calendar for the exact day you plan to go.
- Another way
- The Odakyu Odawara and Tama Lines from Shinjuku to Odakyu Tama-Center take about 40 minutes and set you down at the same station square as the Keio line.
- After you get off
- From Keio Tama-Center Station, cross the station square and follow the signposted pedestrian deck west for about 5 minutes to the park entrance.