{"id":7818,"date":"2026-08-05T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=7818"},"modified":"2026-08-05T08:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:00:07","slug":"aichi-city-throws-year-long-20th-birthday-bash-for-giant-beckoning-cat-statue-hello-kitty-invited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=7818","title":{"rendered":"Aichi city throws year-long 20th birthday bash for giant beckoning cat statue, Hello Kitty invited"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The 20th birthday of a local legend calls for collaborations with Hello Kitty, Chubu Centrair International Airport, and 15 local businesses<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

March 28, 2027<\/strong> will mark 20 years to the day when the city of Tokoname <\/strong>in Aichi Prefecture <\/strong>erected a giant manekineko<\/strong> (beckoning cat) statue affectionately named Tokonyan<\/strong>.<\/strong>\u00a0At 3.8 meters (4.2 yards) tall and 6.3 meters wide, <\/strong>Tokonyan is a popular photo spot near the entrance to the Pottery Footpath (Yakimono Sanpomichi), a local sightseeing spot that highlights the city\u2019s rich pottery heritage and traditional Tokoname ware along with historical kilns, brick chimneys, and other related landmarks. Birthday celebrations are already underway as the city has dubbed the time between August 1, 2026 <\/strong>and July 31, 2027<\/strong> as Tokonyan\u2019s 20th Anniversary Year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Such a big birthday milestone calls for special party favors, and thankfully some big names have signed on for the haul. As of August 1, three collaborative goods with Sanrio star Hello Kitty<\/strong> are being sold at the Tokoname Tourism Association.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Felines unite!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Embroidered towel \/ 660 yen (US$4.19)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Acrylic keychain \/ 660 yen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Sticker \/ 550 yen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In addition, beginning on August 15, collaborative merch with the nearby Chubu Centrair International Airport<\/strong> will also make their debut at the Association.<\/p>\n

\u25bc The airport\u2019s own mascot is called \u201cMysterious Traveler Fu.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Clear folder \/ 550 yen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Magnet \/ 550 yen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc Sticker \/ 440 yen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What\u2019s probably the biggest sign of Tokoname\u2019s love for Tokonyan, however, is the fact that 15 local businesses<\/strong> are also offering limited-time collaborative menus and products (pictured below) for the duration of the year-long celebration.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Products include Tokonyan-themed cream bread, parfaits, and cider, to name just a few.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Finally, visitors can snap a special photo next to an illuminated Tokonyan<\/strong> during two specified timeframes: December 18-25<\/strong> (100 days before its birthday) and March 19-April 4<\/strong> (its birthday week).<\/p>\n

\u25bc Any photo taken then will become a special keepsake for sure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As an extra bonus, a social media campaign<\/strong> will also begin on February 22<\/strong> (Cat Day in Japan<\/a>) and last through April 30<\/strong>, during which time users can follow Tokoname Tourism Association\u2019s official Instagram<\/a> or X\/Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts and post a message celebrating the anniversary using hashtag \uff03\u3068\u3053\u306b\u3083\u309320\u5468\u5e74. They\u2019ll then automatically be entered into a lottery to win some fantastic prizes such as Tokonyan merch or local Tokoname specialty products.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine that there\u2019s any other place in Japan that loves its local manekineko just as much\u2013but we\u2019ve got a strong contender<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Store information<\/strong>
\nTokoname Tourism Association \/ \u3068\u3053\u306a\u3081\u89b3\u5149\u5354\u4f1a
\nAddress: Aichi-ken, Tokoname-shi, Sakae-machi 3-8
\n\u611b\u77e5\u770c\u5e38\u6ed1\u5e02\u6804\u753a 3-8
\nStore open: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

Source, images: PR Times<\/a><\/em>
\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n

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The 20th birthday of a local legend calls for collaborations with Hello Kitty, Chubu Centrair International Airport, and 15 local businesses. March 28, 2027 will mark 20 years to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}