While the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Sanrio’s popular Hello Kitty character continues, fans can peruse the decades of merchandise featuring the icon at a special exhibit running in Tokyo through Feb. 24.

The concept behind “As I Change, So Does She” at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, is to demonstrate the many ways the London-girl-resembling-cat character has grown with its fans, adapting to changing fashion, trends and brand collaborations throughout the years.

When the exhibit opened in November 2024, crowds rushed to be first in line to get not only a look at the displays, but also first dibs on exclusive 50^th anniversary merchandise, including postcards, keychains, figurines, custom tote bags, buttons and other collaborative items.

Anticipating crowds to still be at max-capacity during a recent visit to the exhibit, I made sure to arrive right at 9:30 a.m. as doors opened. There was already a line of people waiting to enter the museum compound, as there are other exhibits held simultaneously in other buildings. Fortunately, when the gates opened, the crowd moved fast and dispersed into whatever exhibits they had entry for, so the wait to enter the building with the Hello Kitty exhibit was only 10-15 minutes.

Once inside, a large Hello Kitty greeted us with a banner extending up through the building rotunda, which provided a stately air to an exhibit celebrating an endearing kawaii culture symbol. Inside the exhibit, the display walls featured hundreds of Hello Kitty-branded merchandise throughout the years, including landline telephones (remember those?), toys, purses, notebooks and keychains. Some I recognized from being a Hello Kitty lover since I was a teen, and even others I remembered from the odd discovery in my childhood garage while out digging through odd boxes in search of the Christmas lights.

This was truly a testament to how Hello Kitty has been a sometimes quiet, sometimes very bright and loud, presence in my life. I recognized her face on the 1980’s lunchbox and on the quilted pink Nokia phone carrying case.

On the second floor, one section featured Hello Kitty fashion, while another showcased the many collaborations the Sanrio character has had in the past and currently has, including the Shinkansen bullet train, Paul Frank, Adidas and more. There were even displays of how Hello Kitty collaborations included ONE PIECE and Gundam, franchises and comics originally for male audiences but loved by many women, too.

At the Hello Kitty Theater, a short video played on a loop showing the evolution of the character’s design throughout the years.

Another room named “Hello Kitty and I,” featured fan art created by local illustrators and artists like Itousa and Mame. The prints are cool takes on the influence Kitty-chan has had on the artists. Postcards and prints of these artworks are also available at the shop on the first floor.

To round up the visit, photo spots with large Hello Kitty props like a branded ruler and home slippers were set up so visitors could take turns taking pictures on their smartphones.

The exhibit was large but not too large that I felt overwhelmed. After I had my fill of taking photos, I headed back downstairs to see what items were still left to purchase inside the gift shop. Despite signage indicating that many of the items were sold out early in November when the exhibit opened, there were still plenty of other Hello Kitty items to buy.

Visitors are only given 10 minutes to shop, so I quickly picked a custom button with the museum name featuring Hello Kitty in a Japanese Ukiyo-e landscape and the date I visited. I also bought a bunch of postcards of some of my favorite local artist prints to send to my friends and family who are also Hello Kitty fans.

By the time I left, there were massive lines to enter the gift shop, and a pretty long line to go into the exhibit itself. The time I saved not having to wait in line was worth dragging myself out of bed to get there early.

In the end, what I enjoyed about the exhibit is that it felt less like a look at the history of this illustrated giant, and more of a walk through my childhood. The crowd, while mostly comprised of women, ranged in ages who were also, like me, basking in the nostalgia of Hello Kitty items we, our sisters or mothers once owned or still hold onto today. As I’ve changed, so has Hello Kitty. I’m now an adult with adult money and no longer have to wait to save my allowance to buy something cute at the Sanrio store or an exorbitant amount on museum Hello Kitty goods.

The exhibit ends Feb. 24 and will travel next to the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum (March 7- May 11); Fukuoka City Art Museum (June 24- Aug. 31); and Kyoto’s Kyocera Museum of Art (Sept. 25- Dec. 7). General same-day tickets for the Tokyo exhibit are available now but will be transitioned to date-specific tickets on Feb. 14. Ticket sales for Okinawa, Fukuoka and Kyoto are TBD. Also, make sure to carry yen, because there is a Hello Kitty food truck serving up some adorable themed doughnuts and other cute merch outside the exhibit but does not accept electronic payments. The museum gift store does accept electronic payment.

“As I Change, So Does She” at the Tokyo National Museum

• Address: 13-9 Ueno Koen, Taito, Tokyo

• Dates: Through Feb. 24; 9:30- 5 p.m. Tues.-Fri., until 7 p.m. on weekends. Closed Mondays.

• Website

• Cost: General adults, 1,800 yen (advance) and 2,000 yen (same-day); Junior high and high school students, 1,600 yen (advance) and 1,800 yen (same-day) Elementary school students 800 yen (advance) and 1,000 yen (same-day). Free admission for preschool students with adult admission.

Catch the exhibit near you:

Okinawa-

• Okinawa Prefectural Museum

• March 7- May 11

• Website

Fukuoka-

• Fukuoka City Art Museum

• June 24- Aug. 31

• Website

Kyoto-

• Kyocera Museum of Art

• Website

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Naval Air Facility Atsugi

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