Introduction
This year, one of the biggest events happening in Japan, and in particular the Kansai area, is the World Expo 2025. Visitors from all across the country and around the world are flocking to the Yumeshima area in Osaka to explore the pavilions and experience the multitude of events.
A World Expo, formally known as an International Registered Exhibition, is a months-long event that usually takes place once every 5 years. World Expos are themed around issues and challenges that are faced by humanity -such as the challenge of sustainability- and countries all over the world can participate via pavilions and exhibits that relate to the theme in some way.
The first World Expo was held in 1851 in London at Crystal Palace and was known as The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, or the Great Exhibition for short. It was meant as a friendly competition between the nations of the world. They would showcase their cutting-edge technology and innovations to inspire visitors.
World Expos present a unique opportunity for countries to show off their architectural and technological prowess, so they have also traditionally been the sites where new inventions and architectural creations have been introduced to the world, some of which include iconic buildings like the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. They also include inventions like the Ferris wheel, the X-ray machine and also delicious treats like the hamburger and tomato ketchup.
World Expo 2025
At the World Expo 2025, the theme is "Designing Future Society for Our Lives". The theme is further broken down into three subthemes: Saving Lives, Empowering Lives, and Connecting Lives. These themes encourage participants and visitors to think more deeply about making society a better place amidst new global challenges, conflicts and the rise of technology like AI.
In addition to the overall theme, the goals of the Expo this time around are to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and also to achieve Society 5.0 in Japan. Society 5.0 is meant to be the next stage of society that progresses after hunting, farming, industry, and information societies.
With all of these in mind, it makes the Expo a perfect place to visit for anyone interested in science, technology, sustainability and societal advancements.
Otaku Experiences at the World Expo
The World Expo 2025 has events that span a range of genres and themes. When visiting the Expo as TOM Senpai, we were mainly interested in the sights, events and pavilions that otaku could enjoy. We’ll share a bit about them in this article.
Myaku-Myaku
To start, we must mention Myaku-Myaku. This strange amorphous creature is the official mascot character of the World Expo 2025, and its iconic red and blue color scheme and numerous eyeballs have become immediately recognizable. The image of Myaku-Myaku has been used to promote the Expo and encourage visitors so you can find it scattered all across Japan.
For lovers of Japanese yuru-kyara, a visit to the Expo would not be complete without taking note of all the fun places where Myaku-Myaku’s image pops up. From statues to graffiti to manhole covers, you can find traces of Myaku-Myaku all over the venue. There are also tons of merchandise and collaboration goods that you can buy which feature it, and they are sure to make a perfect Expo souvenir. What’s more, you can visit its home located in the Expo venue and even get a chance to meet it in person!
Official site: About “MYAKU-MYAKU”Monster Hunter Bridge
We had an immersive experience with Monster Hunter Bridge at the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion.
Using special VR goggles, Monster Hunter Bridge puts you in the world of Monster Hunter allowing you to walk around and experience the terrain.
We were delighted to interact with big and small creatures within the environment. The experience ranged from whimsical to ominous after we had to quickly work with the other participants to fend off a monster attack. Overall, it definitely left an impression, and we recommended it for Monster Hunter fans.
Gundam Next Future Pavilion
It wouldn’t be an otaku experience at the World Expo if we didn’t visit the Gundam Next Future Pavilion. The pavilion imagines a future where humans live and thrive in space colonies with the use of mobile suits that help improve the quality of life and do tasks like cleaning up space trash and rebuilding society. In the pavilion, we journeyed from the space port, which was located at Yumeshima, and traveled up the orbital elevator to Star Jaburo, a terminal located just outside of Earth’s atmosphere.
The entire experience takes almost an hour to go through, and it gave us an up close and personal look at mobile suits and the Gundam in action.
Pokemon Statues
While wandering around the Expo, we were delighted to discover statues of Pokemon scattered around the area! They made a perfect photo spot and added a touch of nostalgia as we made our way between pavilions.
Hoekago Parade
For those interested in the more traditional side, we got to experience a Hoekago parade. Hoekago is an event that usually takes place in the New Year and is celebrated in the Osaka Minami area. It’s a procession made up of palanquins and people on foot, and it features celebrities, geisha and participants dressed in traditional costumes. The parade goes through the streets of Osaka and ends up at the Imamiya Ebisu Shrine where “Ebessan” the god of business in Osaka is worshipped.
The parade at the World Expo started near the main entrance to the venue and proceeded a short distance with all the participants shouting “Hoekago! Hoekago!” to keep their spirits up and make the procession lively.
Cool Japan Showcase Anime Manga Tourism Festival
One of the bigger events for otaku was the Cool Japan Showcase Anime Manga Tourism Festival, or AMTF for short. Held over a period of three days, the festival not only had dedicated booths, but they also held VTuber live shows, talk shows and a daily Bon Odori dance for that perfect festival atmosphere.
The overall aim of the festival was to showcase different areas in Japan that are related to anime and manga in some way. The event was specifically geared towards tourists in order to entice them to visit places across Japan, beyond the usual spots like Tokyo and Kyoto. Each location had their own booth at the festival and proudly advertised their connection to otaku culture.
For some places this meant they were showcasing their connection to a particular manga artist or series with the hopes of attracting fans of that series. Examples included locations like Yamanashi prefecture where the series Laid-Back Camp takes place, or Hita City in Oita Prefecture which is the hometown of Hajime Isayama, the creator of Attack on Titan.
For other places, they would highlight a specific anime-related project that they were conducting to spread awareness and drum up support.
One example of this includes Ube City, located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which has a life-sized statue of the Spear of Longinus from Evangelion on display in the city. What’s more, the city has collaborated with various stores and vendors to offer one-of-a-kind Evangelion collaboration merchandise for fans of the series to enjoy.
Another example is the hotel Koito, located in the Iwaki Yumoto Hot Spring area of Fukushima. The hotel has a project to encourage more cosplayers to visit and use the area as a site for photoshoots.
All this and more was on display at AMTF and we were able to not only learn a lot about different areas in Japan but also see how anime could be represented and experienced in real world locations. All in all it was a great experience.
