Daimaru Umeda hosts a chocolate-themed Hello Kitty pop-up with Osaka-exclusive items
Daimaru Umeda's seventh floor turns over to a chocolate-themed Sanrio pop-up from September 18, with an Osaka-only canvas pouch and coaster rather than any claim to be the first of its kind.
Daimaru Umeda will host "HELLO KITTY'S SWEETS MARKET," a chocolate-themed pop-up on the seventh-floor special exhibition space, from September 18 to October 5, J. Front Retailing said in a statement. The store describes a lineup of roughly 2,000 items or more built around Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters, all tied to a chocolate motif.
Osaka-only items include a ¥1,760 canvas pouch and a ¥1,320 water-absorbing coaster, alongside several advance-sale pieces such as mascots, bags and an apron, according to the release; prices across the assortment run from an ¥880 hand towel to a ¥4,620 tote-and-apron set. Shoppers spending ¥5,500 or more receive an original ruler while supplies last.
Daimaru's own announcement makes no claim that this is a first-anywhere event, and the pop-up sits within a broader pattern of touring character-merchandise fairs that move between department stores through the year — the kind of format where the exclusive item, not the overall scale, is what gives each stop something to advertise locally.