サンリオ　ギフトゲート

Sanrio store in Tokyo...

Thanks to Dean F. for encouraging me to go INSIDE this Sanrio store near the Ikebukuro Station!

We walked past this store, "GIFT GATE", on our way to the train station from our hotel and I noticed that familiar logo of Hello Kitty...waaah!!! She was calling me!!! I resisted because we were going to see the Hachi Statue.

Dean said that on our way back to the hotel, I should take a look inside because there might be something that I can only find in Japan...he was (of course) right!

So, after visiting Hachiko, we returned to Gift Gate... OMG...there's a second floor!

We started at the top. Straight ahead was Hello Kitty luggage and matching tote bag...wow... very tempting, but I have Hello Kitty luggage...lol! Then, I saw the plushies...and key chains, dishes, purses, tote bags, pens, stationary, clothing, etc. The variety...it's quite overwhelming...

I thought, "what is one thing that I cannot get anywhere else?"

And... I got it! Can you guess what it is???

I made it my goal to visit each of the Sanrio recommended stores that are featured in Sanrio Japan's website. This was the first of the Sanrio stores I visited while in Tokyo!

It is located a short distance from the Ikebukuro station and very close to Sunshine city. It's two stories high and filled with lots of Sanrio items. I saw a lot of Hello Kitty and Sanrio luggage here as well as various kids clothes. It was here that I also found a unique Hello Kitty plush in a kimono holding a fan. I was not able to find that anywhere else I went.

I also got to purchase my Sanrio Puroland tickets here for a discounted price. Yay!

I was very happy with this store and having it be my first Sanrio store visit in Japan makes it memorable for me.

Frequently packed Sanrio store on one of Ikebukuro's busiest streets, this place offers a wide range of Sanrio items with a specialty in collaboration products. If you're looking for some interesting cross-branding between Hello Kitty and just about anything, you can find it here.

The prices are what one would expect for Sanrio merchandise, and the shop is neat and cutely decorated. Navigating it is difficult, though, and the veritable piles of merchandise leads to a lot of customers knocking things over (myself included) because there simply isn't enough room for everyone.

Since the rotation of items here is incredibly frequent, I would keep this place in mind for any Sanrio shopping you want to do!

Super busy and tiny store. Really hot and stuffy but lots of merchandise. You can never have too many Sanrio products.