Southwest Japan airport to be renamed 'Oita Hello Kitty Airport' during Osaka Expo

Southwest Japan airport to be renamed 'Oita Hello Kitty Airport' during Osaka Expo

OITA -- Oita Airport will be temporarily renamed

Hello Kitty Getting an Airport Named After Her

Oita Airport in Japan will be temporarily renamed Oita Hello Kitty Airport between April and October this year.

There is less than a month until the Osaka-Kansai Expo opens on April 13th. Advance ticket sales have been sluggish, and public interest is not growing. The national government and Osaka Prefecture and City, which hosted the Expo, should feel a sense of crisis and work harder to attract visitors. The cost of preparing the venue alone has already reached 235 billion yen, about 1.9 times the amount originally planned.