{"id":2973,"date":"2025-05-13T06:38:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T13:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agencyveneer.com\/WP\/?page_id=2973"},"modified":"2025-05-26T10:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T17:10:47","slug":"expo2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/agencyveneer.com\/WP\/japan\/expo2025\/","title":{"rendered":"EXPO2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I attended EXPO<\/a> in Osaka 9 days after it\u2019s opening day (April 21). In the USA EXPOs are referred to as world\u2019s fairs. It is located in\u00a0Osaka, Kansai, Japan<\/strong>\u00a0beginning April 13 until October 13, 2025 on a man-made island called Yumeshima and is projected to welcome 28.2 million visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some highlights of the site: The 2-kilometer wooden skywalk is a highlight, with its impressive size. The pavilions are visually striking, with many adopting flowing, circular forms.\u00a0Some reviewers praise the Japanese public restrooms, noting their cleanliness and thoughtful design (because public restrooms are very difficult to find in Japan).\u00a0 Video: my 1st encounter with the wooden skywalk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Wooden Ring<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I planned my trip to Japan without knowing that Osaka was hosting EXPO this year so, I had to change my itinerary to include it without regret. I really enjoyed my day at Expo but it has been subjected to very bad press, some justified. I was helped by an encounter in my hotel\u2019s elevator where I met 3 ladies employed at the Qatar Pavilion who told me to 1) pre-register for pavilions at 2) get to the entrance very early to beat the crowds 3) carefully plan to run to my top preferences before the crowds arrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Qatar Pavilion<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Czech National Pavilion<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The elegant spiral structure made of Czech wood and glass has become\u00a0the very first CLT panel timber building in all of Japan constructed without a metal support fram<\/strong>e<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The reasons for these recommendations were to handle the huge crowds \u2013 155,000 visitors on the day I visited. So, one major complaint is overcrowding, long wait times for both entry and popular pavilions, and a lack of multilingual support, making it difficult to navigate (which I never experienced anywhere in Japan). The gates open at 09:00 and I arrived before 8 (I should have arrived at 6) \u2013 look at this video to see the chaos<\/a> at 1 of the 2 entry gates. And, yes, the lines to enter pavilions were long \u2013 I was unable to (actually not interested in standing in the sun for an hour) visit Spain and Italy. I got to about 20 country pavilions (see below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UK Pavilion<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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USA Pavilion<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

No other EXPO has setup a reservation system for entry into pavilions \u2013 presumably you will get preferential entry if you have a reservation. The reservation system totally sucks \u2013 it\u2019s confusing and restrictive, with limitations on how many pavilions can be visited per day.\u00a0 I attempted to use this system and discovered none of the hundreds of the listed pavilions had any available reservations. Hence I did not get to Spain or Italy or Japan or China, for example. But, I did OK without reservations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canada Pavilion<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Me in front of Huge Mural sitting in a Muskoka Chair<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The theme of EXPO is \u201cDesigning Future Society for Our Lives\u201d and the \u201cPeople\u2019s Living Lab\u201d concept.\u00a0 Countries were encouraged to showcase their key technologies such as robotics, AI, smart mobility, energy solutions and advancements in health care.\u00a0So, the UK was demonstrating a new photo system where you can have an exotic background behind you. For some\u00a0reason the guy doing the demonstration chose Alhambra<\/a> as my background (above). <\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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