On our first full day in Osaka, we left our hotel in the Shinsaibashi area early to visit Osaka EXPO 2025, arriving by subway along with thousands of other people and making our way to the entrance for our 9am tickets. The wait was long (and hot!) and when we finally got in, we were so grateful and happy to be there.
We marvelled at the “grand ring” structure, made of 20-metre-high, interconnected wood beams that surround and provide a constant guiding path around the EXPO. Plus, it provided much needed shade we could walk under when the hot sun became too much for us. It also often led us to food, bathroom, and rest areas, which was really helpful.
We visited several pavilions, including Spain’s, which was one of my favourites. It centred around the country’s many innovations in wind energy, and documented how Japan and Spain are connected by their proximity to the sea. The pavilion also highlighted a recent case the country fought in international courts against a US scavenger ship that retrieved a treasure in gold coins from a Spanish ship that sunk in the straight of Gibraltar hundreds of years ago. The story is now a film and a graphic novel, both of which were displayed in part at the pavilion.
We also visited pavilions for Thailand, Latvia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and our absolute favourite – Canada. The wait to get into the Canadian pavilion was about two hours, but because we’re Canadian, we got preferred access, so we only had to wait about 20 minutes, which was awesome.
Once we entered, we were given a tablet, which we pointed at each of eight, large “icebergs” in the main room. After a few seconds, an AR image would appear on the tablet, displaying a different scene in Canada as we moved the tablet around each iceberg. The experience included sounds, and arial views of the scenes when we pointed the tablet toward the top of the icebergs or the air above them.
One of the icebergs displayed forests and seaside homes in PEI. Another displayed an image of an Indigenous woman carving a sculpture. Another showed a Japanese man working on the Canadian railway in BC, including an image of the train from the time, winding its way through the Rockies. When we pointed the tablet up, we could see the train crossing a bridge from one mountain top to another.
At the end of the exhibit, we could see Canadian astronauts floating around in the international space station, with the air above us filled with stars. It was super engaging and fun. We loved it best because it showed everyone beautiful landscapes of our country, along with aspects of our culture and history that make Canada what it is today. We chatted with a few of the young people working at the exhibit and loved hearing about where they were from and how they liked working in Osaka at the EXPO.
After our last pavilion, we took an escalator to the top of the ring and walked around it, viewing the pavilions from above. What a gorgeous view! Then we watched the nightly fireworks before joining the crowds for a mad dash to the subway. Everyone filed out and onto the subway platform pretty quickly, though, and we were home in no time.
It was a long, beautiful first day in Osaka.
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