While in Himeji to see the castle, we stopped for a coffee break in Cafe de Miki with Hello Kitty.
Cafe de Miki with Hello Kitty!
This Hello Kitty themed cafe in Himeji certainly fits with Japan’s “kawaii culture”. Both exterior and interior are coloured with shades of pink and feature images of Paris icons. The reason for this is the cafe is a collaboration between Hello Kitty creator, Sanrio and eyewear company Paris Miki. The partnership sees Hello Kitty take on a new look, wearing glasses. 
The location
The cafe is located in Miyuki Dori, an undercover shopping street situated between Himeji Station and Himeji Castle. You can actually walk through the shopping street to get from one to the other. Just a short walk from the station exit, to the right, is a smaller shopping street that leads to Miyuki Dori. The overhead sign reads ‘Ekimae Flower Road’. We walked through this, turned left and then followed the arcade until we reached Cafe de Miki.
There is also another entrance further up the main road. The sign above this reads ‘Shopping Center The Kyowo-Dori’. This entrance will take you straight to the cafe, you can see Hello Kitty’s bow from the street. It’s easy to get to and the pink building is hard to miss! 
The interior
Pink is the main colour throughout the cafe. Everywhere you look there is a Hello Kitty. There are plush toys in the entrance, pictures on the wall, themed wallpaper and even plants potted in Hello Kitty cups. Upon entering the cafe you will find a small area with the counter and display cabinet. There is bar style seating and stairs leading to the seating areas, I think there are two levels of seating. We sat at a pink booth style seat and Fletcher was impressed that the table had the cafe name on it and a picture of Hello Kitty wearing glasses. 
The food and drinks
Cafe de Miki with Hello Kitty has a small amount of both savouries and sweets. There is pasta, sandwiches, pancakes, waffles and other desserts. They all feature Hello Kitty in some way. There are coffees and teas served hot or cold. There are also sodas and juices. The coffee, although an espresso, was from an automatic machine rather than being barista made. Tim says it was the best he had at the time as they had only found filtered coffee before hand. 
My Mum had an iced latte and thought it was a little too bitter. There was a sachet on the tray that may have been a sweetener but we weren’t sure. I love the flavour of matcha so I enjoyed my iced matcha milk. The iced drinks are quite large and we all struggled to finish them. Fletcher hardly drank any of his iced cocoa which upon tasting was really sweet. We probably should have just got one to share. Each drink had a stenciled Hello Kitty on top which was fun.
We got two waffle sandwiches to share. The flavours were berry and choc-caramel. Both were delicious and a nice treat to keep us fueled for exploring Himeji Castle. They featured a little Hello Kitty bow on top. 
Our visit to a Hello Kitty themed cafe
During our first visit to Japan and Himeji, I had seen this Hello Kitty cafe and wanted to go there. With a non-coffee drinking husband, I had no chance of getting him into the Pink building. Fast forward three years and he was now a coffee addict. The men had been after an espresso coffee since arriving in Japan. I knew my Dad would be wanting a coffee, so waited till he bought it up. When he did, I said “great, I know a place!”. Hubby, the sceptic, immediately suggested it would be over-priced, average coffee. Already knowing this, I had the cafe’s webpage on my phone to prove the prices were reasonable. With a morning tea (coffee) loving father on my side, we headed to the cafe for some Hello Kitty themed drinks.
Fletcher was especially impressed by the theme and loved watching a Hello Kitty musical on the TV. When we visited the place was empty so we were able to relax, let the kids wander around and check out all the Hello Kitty items. The men got their coffee fix and we all enjoyed being able to have a special treat. The theme gives the place a fun atmosphere with cute detail spread throughout the cafe.
We all had a great time at Cafe de Miki with Hello Kitty. If you are in the area go and check it out.
The details
Cafe Name: Cafe de Miki with Hello Kitty
Location: Miyuki Dori, a short walk from Himeji Station.
Open hours: 9:30 – 20:00 (last orders 19:30)
Kid-friendly: Yes
Non-smoking: Yes
Latte cost: 400 yen
Website: http://cafedemiki.jp/himeji/
