After months of negative reports on the nightly news and in online forums, my expectations were low for the Expo. But the World’s Fair romantic in me was still excited to go see what was there. Osaka 2025 did not disappoint.
Yes, there were crowds but they were manageable. Yes, the food was too expensive and mostly disappointing. Yes, there were unfinished pavilions. But there were SO MANY things to enjoy that those hitches were not so bad. There were performances; impressive architecture; and beautiful views.
Because I got mad at the complicated reservation system and I don’t like standing in lines, we had limited options. The few hopes I’d had for specific pavilions were unmet but the things we saw instead were worthwhile.
Of the pavilions, I think the Commons are best. These are the large collective pavilions where many countries display their commercial and tourism highlights. There are places you’ve never heard of and they are all interesting.
We took our time and whenever we could, we talked to the people manning those booths and made memorable connections. It became our mission to ask all the foreign staff how they were doing, to find out about their experience in Japan, and to offer advice when we could.
We gave the Jamaican lady a link to where she can buy patties online (https://www.pattypanjp.com/) and suggested a place to buy coconut to the team at Barbuda & Antigua; I helped a woman from Timor-Leste with some skincare product suggestions; we discussed food options to one of the ladies running the Guyana booth. There was lots of laughter and friendly interaction. They all made an impression.
And thanks to those conversations, we also learned a lot about the places they represented. Just by chatting with the staff, we had personal tours at Yemen (exceeded every expectation with its beauty and friendliness), Moldova (their rolled cherry cake is on my short list of things to cook), Armenia (now on my short list of places to visit especially after learning about their education system and food), Comoros, & Vanuatu and so many others that included details not given in the basic displays. It was gratifying and enjoyable.
I feel talking to people was the real reason to come to the Expo, though the displays of handcraft and history were equally wonderful. I am a sucker for interesting textiles and good designs. I tried to capture some of the things that made me smile along the way.
One person we spent a lot of time talking to is my former hoop dance partner, Kana. She’s running the restaurant at the Portugal pavilion. We haven’t seen each other in at least ten years. She hasn’t changed a bit and we had a delightful catch-up as Tod & I enjoyed a glass of wine and some cod croquettes
Not all the visitors were going slowly. There is a stamp rally, so people were hurrying from one booth to the next on a quest to collect them all. I noticed a couple of staff trying to interact with the “stamp parade” by saying hello and signing the stamps.
Beyond the Commons, a few pavilions stood out:
MONACO had the best layout. There were lots of small interactive exhibitions to play in. We didn’t go upstairs – it was a 60 minute wait for a VR tour – but I was so delighted with the other parts that were really well done – fun and informative.
TUNISIA smelled the best – jasmine & rose petals. And at the end of the nicely produced video tour there was a little market with freshly made Tunisian sweets for sale. Which of course we tried.
EARTH MART was the only pavilion where we managed to get a reservation. I am glad we did. It was fabulous. The displays were all about appreciation of our food, where it comes from (the baby cow photos with the steak sitting under it made me cry) and about how it can be created with less waste in the future. It was thoughtful, emotional, and educational as well as beautiful. 100% recommend this to anyone who eats and cares about food.
One terrible thing was how exhausting it was. I left after 8 hours on the first day in pain. My brain thinks I’m in my 30s but my body decidedly disagrees! On the second day we took it easier, stayed less time, and made better use of benches and opportunities to rest between pavilions.
Will I go back to Expo 2025 before it closes in October? Probably not, though there were so many more things that I wanted to do and see. I enjoyed this trip and that’s enough.
