Long Lines and Flooded Reservations: The Real Situation at the Osaka-Kansai Expo
Even getting a seat in the food court was a challenge
On April 13, the Osaka-Kansai Expo finally opened.
This Expo had been plagued by various issues, including repeated increases in the cost of hosting and delays in construction. In fact, pavilions and exhibition spaces from eight countries, including Nepal and India, were not ready in time for the opening, and it was announced that “general visitors cannot enter” these areas. Even after the opening, there was ongoing chaos.
The first day was unfortunately rainy. The Expo site is located close to Osaka Bay, and at times, the maximum wind speed exceeded 10m/s. There were very few places to take shelter from the wind and rain, and many visitors were completely drenched. Despite the bad weather, 120,000 people attended. While the goal had been to avoid long lines, reports from various media outlets mentioned queues of up to two hours at the entrance gates. However, a reporter from Friday Digital, who arrived at the West Gate around noon, found a line of only about 10 people and was able to enter smoothly.
What caught the reporter’s attention instead was the line in front of the 7-Eleven near the entrance gate. About 20 men and women were standing outside, getting soaked by the rain.
“At its worst, I heard it took an hour just to buy something. You can eat at restaurants inside the pavilions too, but they’re generally expensive. A set of dan dan noodles and half fried rice cost 2,000 yen. If you want to keep it cheap, the convenience store is your only option,” said a convenience store customer.
After 1 p.m., the reporter visited the “Sukiyanen Osaka Food Court EAST SIDE,” which features many familiar eateries from Osaka. It’s a massive food court with about 600 seats, but upon entering, it was so crowded that finding a seat was a struggle. People holding trays of food like ramen were left standing, becoming seat refugees. Spotting someone about to finish their meal, visitors would rush to claim the seat first — seat battles were breaking out all over the place.
Next, the reporter headed to the international exhibition pavilions. The pavilions at the Osaka-Kansai Expo are divided into two types: those that require advance reservations and those with open access.
“For popular pavilions like Japan, the UK, and Canada, reservations are flooding in, and securing a slot is extremely difficult. The system allowed visitors to make one same-day reservation in addition to their advance bookings, but due to high traffic, the system repeatedly displayed ‘no availability,’ causing numerous issues,” said an Expo official.
The reporter also tried to book a pavilion through the official website after entering the venue, but no matter how many times they tried, it kept showing no availability.
Diversity of pavilions
With that in mind, the reporter headed to “Earth at Night,” one of the few pavilions open to all visitors without reservations. There, a Wajima lacquer globe—famous craftsmanship from the Noto Peninsula, which was struck by a recent disaster—was on display. Perhaps because it featured a disaster-affected region, most of the visitors were Japanese, though there were also some tourists from Taiwan.
Next was the Malaysia Pavilion, known for its striking exterior covered entirely in bamboo. Inside, exhibits included models of Malaysian home-cooked meals and cityscapes. There was also a photo spot where visitors could take pictures with local women dressed in traditional attire. Near the exit was a restaurant serving Malaysian cuisine, but by that time, most of the food had already sold out.
Among the many exhibits, one of the highlights is said to be the “Commons.” In the Commons, multiple countries share a single pavilion to showcase their exhibits. A man in his 40s who visited “Commons A,” which featured countries from Latin America such as Sri Lanka and Kenya, shared the following:
“In Commons A, locals from each country were working as staff at each booth. Most of the communication was in English since Japanese wasn’t understood. Not just the exhibits, but the personalities of the staff were diverse and interesting too. In some booths, staff were glued to their smartphones even with visitors around, while in others, they were serving guests while sipping tea on the sofas. Experiencing this kind of diversity is part of what makes the Expo so enjoyable.”
The follow-up article will provide detailed coverage of Type A pavilions, which have been plagued by repeated construction delays, as well as the state of partially completed pavilions.
PHOTO： Kei Kato
