Japan’s Oita Airport (OIT) has officially changed its name to ‘Oita Hello Kitty Airport’ but only for the next six months.
Oita Airport is an international airport in Kunisaki City, Oita Prefecture and, for the duration of Expo 2025 in Osaka (April 13 to October 13, 2025), it will officially be known by its charming new name. The airport will retain its original name after the expo.
Until October 2025, the airport will welcome travelers and expo attendees with photo backdrops and studios featuring Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters.
その名も「#大分ハローキティ空港」
来月開幕する万博の期間中大分空港とハローキティがコラボ！大分県に観光客を呼び込む狙いです#大分NEWSWEBhttps://t.co/m8EAMccrNB
ぶんドキ【総合】平日 午後6時10分～土日 午後6時45分～ pic.twitter.com/Z2sx9uM2jV
— NHK大分放送局 (@nhk_oita) March 17, 2025
Next to Tokyo, Oita is the only place in Japan that has a Sanrio theme park. Harmonyland, which opened in April 1991, is an outdoor amusement park run by Sanrio and is a sister park of Sanrio Puroland, a theme park that opened the previous year in Tama City, Tokyo.
A shuttle bus connecting Oita Hello Kitty Airport and Harmonyland is scheduled to run between August to October 2025.
The Oita Prefectural Government announced its marketing and branding campaign plans for the airport in March 2025. Oita Governor Kiichiro Sato said that the government expects to generate “significant effects” from the branding campaign and promotion.
