Moshi Moshi Nippon has announced that Harajuku’s own Kawaii Monster Cafe has undergone an entire Hello Kitty themed makeover. The re-design comes as a two-month-long collaboration between Hello Kitty and Kawaii Monster Cafe that will run until September 1st later this year.
Kawaii Monster Cafe sits as if it were a cute castle, a shrine to all things kawaii near the end of the Takeshita shopping street. Hello Kitty has been transformed into a decora style Harajuku girl, and you can see her real-life head garnishing the giant light-up cake in the center of the vibrant cafe. Kawaii Monster Cafe has also transformed their colorful, traditional tatami room into a space they’ve dubbed the Mel-Tea Hello Kitty Room, which must be reserved ahead of time. Hello Kitty’s face shines brightly at the back of the room, and there are colorful plushes of Hello Kitty and her big red bow hanging in abundance from the walls. This tatami room, in particular, was designed by Sebastian Masuda, the lead designer for the worldwide popular Harajuku-based decora brand, 6% Doki Doki.
Kawaii Monster Cafe also introduced a whole new, Hello-Kitty themed menu and a few pieces of merchandise with the cafe’s updated motif. The new menu includes a Hello Kitty burger, Hello Kitty rainbow curry, and my favorite, a dessert that looks like the cafe’s giant “Sweets Go Round” cake with Hello Kitty’s head sitting cutely on the top.
Kawaii Monster Cafe represents something you’d only see in the middle of Disneyland, and I guess you could call it Harajuku’s own theme park. There are frequent performances by the group Tempura Kids, who go by the name Harajuku Tribe when they perform at the cafe. Kawaii Monster Cafe is truly a place where classic Harajuku fashion and food combine in cute harmony.