Sanrio fans will be delighted to hear that the adorable long-eared white puppy himself Cinnamoroll is set to get his very own drink shop called Cinnamoroll Sky Drink Stand which will open in Harajuku on August 22 for four days. The shop will make use of a revamped Cinnamoroll Talk app which was released in June last year and lets you chat with the character. The theme of this limited-time shop aims to send you soaring up into the clouds with its fluffy decor and decorations where the shop's owner Cinnamoroll will be waiting to serve you some super special drinks. There are 27 drinks in total to choose from. At the counter you can converse with Cinnamoroll, and depending on how he answers your questions, the colour, flavour and toppings of your drink will change. Your specially made and unique drink will arrive bottled with a handwritten name label on the front. You'll even be able to order your drink in advance from August 17 using the Cinnamoroll Talk app which is compatible with Google Assistant. After you say, in Japanese, "OK Google, Cinnamoroll ni Osora Dorinku Onegai" (OK Google, please give me a Cinnamoroll Sky Drink), the order window will pop up. After you've talked with Cinnamoroll on the app you will receive an order number to collect your drink. Commemorate your trip to the drink stand by taking a photo at the above-pictured photo spot and look like a member of staff yourself with your special drink.   ©’01, ’19 SANRIO

Sanrio has announced that it will open its third-ever limited-time cafe themed on their magazine Ichigo Shimbun at EGG & SPUMA located on the 8th floor of Shinjuku Lumine EST from July 11 to September 30.   Ichigo Shimbun is a monthly magazine published by Sanrio which includes information about the latest character merchandise, the Sanrio Character Awards, and more. Many of Sanrio's characters appear in the magazine and are set to appear at the cafe in the form of food. The theme of the cafe will be "Vacation." The menu special is the special party combo box for two. Served in an original box, it contains Pochacco and Cinnamoroll burgers, fries, cute Kiki & Lala desserts, two drinks, and more. EGG & SPUMA are known for their pancakes, so for the Sanrio collaboration, they will serve a special plate of pancakes themed on a beach with Pompompurin sunbathing on top. You can also order refreshing summery soda drinks too. There will be two different menus served at different periods for the duration of the collaboration, meaning a repeat visit is a must. We hope you get to try everything!

Hi, everyone. Midori here from MMN's editorial department.   The Sanrio Character Awards is a hugely popular event held in Japan every year. The winners were just recently announced, and I got to attend the announcement event.   This year marks the 34th run of the awards which have become an annual custom amongst Sanrio fans. People waited with a slight nervous anticipation at Puroland where the event was held as they awaited for the award ceremony to begin. The ceremony began with an initial greeting by Kabuki Nyantarou before the participating characters of the awards were presented on screen. There were over 80 entries this year!   They took no time at all in listing the winners in order from the top. Cinnamoroll has reigned champion for two years in a row, but taking the crown this year is Hello Kitty who is celebrating her 45th anniversary. After her were Cinnamoroll and then Pompompurin. Hello Kitty is the poster girl for Sanrio but the last time she earned the No. 1 spot was six years ago in 2013, and last year she was in 4th place.   Hello Kitty is the only character since 2000 to win three years in a row. The highest streak by the other characters is just two years. When the votes began rolling in this year Cinamoroll was initially at the top with Hello Kitty in 2nd place, but halfway through they swapped places. Of course, we mustn't forget Pompompurin and YOSHIKITTY either who followed close behind them.   Firstly, let's take a look at who received the Special Awards. Cogimyun―Sanrio's flour dough fairy character―obtained a much higher ranking than last year, earning her the Hop Step Jump Award. Fans were fascinated with this announcement as Cogimyun is said to the most elusive of the Sanrio characters. Hello Mandy reigned in the Collaborations Category, a collaboration between Hello Kitty and Mandy Sekiguchi from Japanese boy band GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE. Sekiguchi himself surprised the crowd as he was present to receive the award alongside Hello Mandy. Taking home the TikTok Award this year is Marumofubiyori Moppu. Moppu is a cute white bear who likes to lounge around at home wrapped in his favourite blanket. His sleepy videos were a hit on the Japanese TikTok.   Now, for the main announcements. Ranks 20 through 10 were announced via large cardboard panels.   The top 10 were then announced in order, from 10 down to 1. Each of these popular characters were announced until just 2nd and 1st place were left to be announced. The remaining two names were Cinnamoroll and Hello Kitty, leaving fans anxious to hear who the winner of 2019 will be.   And the winner is... Hello Kitty, with 1,647,073 votes! Not only does she take home the top award, it's also her 45th anniversary and the first win of Japan's Reiwa era. Cinnamoroll came in a close second at 1,584,057 votes. I saw some fans with tears in their eyes as a result of this heated battle. At the end, the characters lined up in a big row and celebrated their rank by holding up a card. To celebrate her win, it was announced that Hello Kitty will hit up Sanrio stores across Japan to show her gratitude. Exclusive merchandise will also be available for purchase to thank fans for their support. Full details can be found on Sanrio's official website.   The Awards were also held in several overseas countries with the outcomes being much different. In Taiwan Cinnamoroll was 1st place, Pompompurin 2nd place and Hello Kitty 3rd place. In China, it was Cinnamoroll in 1st place, My Melody in 2nd place, and YOSHIKITTY in 3rd place, a collaboration between X Japan member Yoshiki. And in Hong Kong it was Pekkle in 1st place, Pompompurin in 2nd place and Cinnamoroll in 3rd place.   This year's award ceremony for the internationally beloved Sanrio characters comes to an end. Congratulations, Hello Kitty!