Kawaii eats and treats for Hello Kitty’s 50th birthday at pop-up in Shibuya

(Photo by Denisse Rauda)

Happy 50th birthday, Hello Kitty! Celebrate the symbol of Japanese kawaii (cute) culture at limited cafés in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya through the end of October.

As a fan of Kitty-chan, I booked a reservation (660 yen per person) early for afternoon tea to ring in the popular character’s golden anniversary. Although Hello Kitty resembles a kitten, in 2014, creator Yuko Shimizu revealed that she is a little girl from the suburbs of London. I was just as shocked as you might be if you didn’t already know the lore.

After waiting in line for about 15 minutes in the basement of trendy Shibuya 109, we were shown to our seat with strict instructions on only ordering once via QR code for at least one food and one drink per person. Special souvenirs also needed to be ordered ahead via QR.

We ordered the two-tiered afternoon tea set for two for 6,590 yen (about $46), a Hello Kitty soda and a café latte for 990 yen each. The afternoon tea also includes a pot of earl grey tea with refills.

The gift shop offerings were lacking. There were 50^th anniversary pins, keychains and an eco-bag. The only item I was interested in, a cute pink mug with a heart-shaped handle, was sold out. The mug is also used in the store to serve hot drinks, which is probably why the inventory was already depleted.

The café itself wasn’t very special. Hello Kitty cartoon clips on a loop were projected onto the walls and temporary wallpaper featuring the 50^th anniversary logo and characters was plastered everywhere. No photo spot either. It was giving circus tent with a purpose to get Hello Kitty fans in and out the door without lingering for pics.

The theme of the interior was lacking, but based on the neighboring tables, I had high hopes for our food and drinks.

My soda arrived first, and fortunately, it was heavy on the sweetness and the cuteness. The pomegranate, apple soda concoction was served in a tall wine glass and topped with a scoop of raspberry sorbet shaped like an apple, a nod to Hello Kitty’s favorite apple pie. The latte was just a regular latte served in the cute sold-out mug.

Our tea set took a little longer to arrive, but it was well-arranged with much attention to detail.

The savories of the bottom tier included croissant sandwiches complete with bell pepper slices shaped like Hello Kitty’s iconic bow. There was also a variety of steamed veggies and a tiny glass pitcher with ranch which was a nice, healthy addition to this sugar-fest. The sandwiches were a little soggy and low on ham and cheese, but they weren’t bad.

After an okay savory portion, we moved onto the desserts of the set. They were all too cute to eat, but sacrifices were made. I liked that there was a solid mix of dessert bites featuring either chocolate, fruit or a combination of the two. There were pudding cups with strawberry fruit jelly, mini pancakes sandwiches with cream, strawberries and bananas, mini eclairs, and white chocolate-covered strawberries.

The set’s pièces de resistance were the tarts with pudding shaped to look like Hello Kitty and her twin, Mimmy. Though the tart itself tasted store-bought, the rest of the dessert was tasty.

We finished our tea set and drinks and left the café within 45 minutes. It was a quick, small meal, but I liked that I didn’t feel stuffed and didn’t have a sugar coma after.

Though it wasn’t as fun as other Hello Kitty-related activities you can do in Tokyo and around Japan like Sanrio Puroland or the permanent Hello Kitty Cafés in Enoshima or Kyoto, I enjoyed the afternoon tea at BOX cafe&space. The Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Cafe runs in Tokyo through Oct. 27; in Osaka through Oct. 20 and in Nagoya through Oct. 27.