Exhaustion and Reflection: A Reporter’s Two-Day Experience at the Aichi Expo 2005

What did FRIDAY report 10, 20, and 30 years ago? Let’s revisit the topics that made headlines back then in this edition of Playback Friday. This time, we look back at the April 8, 2005 issue, featuring the article “Our reporter walked for two days and gave an honest report – Aichi Expo (preview event) ‘Saw it!’ ‘Walked it!!’ ‘Got tired!!!'”

On April 13, the Osaka Kansai Expo will finally open. There have been many negative reports, such as poor pre-sale ticket sales and delays in pavilion construction. What was it like during the Aichi Expo, held 20 years ago? From March 18–20, 2005, a preview event for the media and local residents was held before the opening, and our magazine participated, reporting on the real situation (quoted text in 《》 from past articles).

 

Despite being an event only for invited guests, there was a one-hour wait to enter the preview event

On the morning of the first day of the preview event (18th), it was supposed to be only for media personnel, but by 9:30 AM, when the gates opened, there was already a line. Entrance required luggage inspection and a metal detector check. As a result, the line moved slowly, and it took the reporter about 30 minutes to get in.

On the 19th, it took about an hour to get in. In response, the Expo Association simply stated that this was within expectations. In other words, their attitude seemed to be, “Waiting for about an hour is natural.” The sense of fatigue started setting in early.

So, how were the exhibition pavilions? The Aichi Expo, with the nickname “Aichi Earth Expo,” was considered an environmental expo, and its theme was “Wisdom of Nature.” However, the actual exhibits didn’t seem to have much to do with the theme.

For example, the most popular exhibit, “Satsuki and Mei’s House,” recreated the house where the protagonists from the movie My Neighbor Totoro live. Entry was free, but a reservation through Lawson’s “Loppi” system was required, which was a challenge for those unfamiliar with it. As a result, tickets were selling for about 5000 yen on online auctions. When the reporter actually visited.

“It was located quite far back, and it took about 20 minutes to walk from the main ‘NorthGate.’ When I got there, there was just a house modeled after the early Showa period. Newspaper reporters visiting remarked, ‘Meiji Village (a theme park in Aichi Prefecture) is better.’ Those with a deep attachment to Totoro seemed to be moved, but for those who didn’t, it didn’t seem worth the trouble of obtaining a ticket and making the effort to visit.”

The “Global House” was a themed pavilion sponsored by companies like Sony and Yomiuri Shimbun. Exhibits like “Frozen Mammoth” and “Moon Rock” were on display, but the exhibits seemed somewhat disconnected. The Expo’s biggest attraction, the “Frozen Mammoth,” wasn’t a full body display but just tusks, the head, and part of a leg, which didn’t appear as large as expected. It was unclear how it related to “Wisdom of Nature.”

For the corporate pavilions exhibited by nine companies, long lines were common, with waits of 1-2 hours being typical. Some pavilions, such as “JR Tokai Superconducting Linear Train Pavilion,” had clear themes and were easier to understand, but it was questionable whether they were worth waiting in line for.

The food situation at the Expo, where bringing your own food and drinks was prohibited

At this point, bringing food and drinks into the Expo was prohibited. So, what was the situation like with the restaurants?

“The first place I tried was ‘Umaimonya Nippon,’ where I had a miso katsu don and kishimen set. The miso katsu was tough, and the kishimen was overcooked. This cost 1500 yen.

Trying to find something a little better, I went into Hotel Okura’s Chinese restaurant, ‘Toukarin,’ and ordered the 2500 yen ‘Negi Soba Set.’ The negi soba came with spring rolls, zongzi, and almond tofu, which was shocking for the price. The soba was lukewarm, the spring rolls had a bad smell of meat, the zongzi was too sweet, and the flavor was overpowering.

For something much cheaper, I stood in line for about 20 minutes to get some yakisoba, which was just frozen food reheated in a microwave for 500 yen. However, it hadn’t been warmed enough, and the middle was still frozen. I didn’t even have the energy to complain. With no possibility of bringing in your own bento, with only these types of shops available, what are the customers supposed to eat?”

On the second day of the preview event, there were 50,000 visitors. As mentioned earlier, it took about an hour to get in due to the heavy crowds. Furthermore, the “Linimo”, the transportation from Nagoya city to the venue, had waits of up to 100 minutes, making it a 3–4 hour trip to get into the venue from downtown Nagoya. The reporter who covered this event concluded the article with the following reflections:

“The Expo site is so vast that just walking around the perimeter takes about 40 minutes. After two days of walking and visiting, I still couldn’t figure out what the wisdom of nature really meant.

To sum it up, I was just exhausted.”

Even so, the number of visitors far exceeded the target

The ban on bringing in food and drinks was met with strong criticism, leading to a subsequent relaxation of the policy.

World Expos up until the 20th century were largely seen as developmental or national prestige events, serving as platforms for national PR. In contrast, the Aichi Expo, the first of the 21st century, was positioned as an event meant to address the challenges humanity faces in the 21st century and to communicate the direction of human existence.

However, there were voices of opposition from the start. Despite the theme of “The Wisdom of Nature,” the plan to create a new residential area on the site of the Expo was criticized as nothing short of environmental destruction. It was also revealed that the original location was a nesting site for the endangered Japanese goshawk, forcing the relocation of the venue. The atmosphere of the Expo being incompatible with nature conservation remained until the event’s opening.

Because of these circumstances, the number of visitors was initially dismal, falling to less than 30% of the projected 450,000 during the opening month. However, attendance picked up significantly after Golden Week, and the final attendance number exceeded the goal, reaching 22.04 million. In hindsight, the Aichi Expo can be considered a great success. Still, it has been pointed out that 95% of the visitors were Japanese, with 53% coming from the Tokai region, making it a rather insular Expo.

As the “Osaka Kansai Expo” opens on April 13, it remains to be seen how many people will attend.