All Aboard Japan’s New Hello Kitty Bullet Train www.citylab.com

The bullet train is decked out in pink ribbons and images of Hello Kitty as a conductor.
Blink and you might miss the sight of one the world’s most iconic characters plastered on the side: the beloved Hello Kitty.
Inside, Hello Kitty is everywhere—on the bright pink walls, on headrests, and even on window curtains.
Today, Hello Kitty (and the rest of the Sanrio gang) can be found on almost everything, from clothing to stationery to entire cafes.
But in Japan, Hello Kitty has graced the surfaces of buses and traditional trains, and on less-expected things: traffic barriers, for example, and manhole covers.