Exploring Controversial 200 Million Yen Toilet at Osaka Kansai Expo

1-hour wait at 7-Eleven

On the opening day, the weather was unfortunately rainy.

The venue for the Osaka-Kansai Expo is located on reclaimed land in Osaka Bay, where the maximum wind speed exceeded 10m/s. From the opening time at 9 AM to around 6 PM, heavy rain continued to fall. There were few places in the venue to shelter from the rain and wind, and there was no sign of rain gear being sold. People were seen taking shelter under the roofs of entrance gates and ticket counters. However, despite being drenched in the cold rain, the 120,000 visitors on the first day silently stood in line.

At noon, entering through the relatively empty West Gate, the first thing that caught the eye was a 7-Eleven near the entrance. About 20 men and women were forming a line outside the store.

“It took an hour to buy products at the worst times. There are restaurants inside the pavilions, but the prices are generally high. If you’re trying to keep it cheap, the convenience store is the only choice,” said one customer.

At 1 PM, the FRIDAY reporter visited the “SukiYanen Osaka Food Court EAST SIDE.” It had five stores, including “Manpuku Udon,” which sold udon for nearly 2,000 yen, and “Kitashinchi Meat Cuisine Meimon,” known for its black wagyu beef bowls. With 600 seats, the enormous food court was crowded with people, and there was no room to move. The sight of vacant seat refugees standing with their trays was noticeable. After pushing through the crowd, the reporter ordered “Hiyoko Tantanmen Half-Set” from “Hiyoko Hanten,” a popular Chinese restaurant. Priced at 2,068 yen, the dish had great flavors with chewy noodles, an excellent soup, and plenty of minced meat, surpassing expectations in taste.

Around 2 PM, after lunch, the reporter began visiting the various national pavilions. The pavilions were divided into two categories: those that required a reservation and those that were open for free entry.

“For popular pavilions like Japan and the Netherlands, reservations were flooded, and it was extremely difficult to secure an open slot. The system allowed one to make a reservation for a pavilion to visit on the day of entry, in addition to the previously booked ones. However, due to overwhelming access, people kept seeing the message ‘No availability’ and couldn’t make reservations (this was improved on the 14th),” said a representative from one of the expo exhibitors.

As a result, the reporter decided to visit pavilions that did not require reservations. The first stop was “Earth at Night.” A globe made from Wajima lacquerware, a famous product from the Noto Peninsula affected by the earthquake, was displayed. Most of the visitors were Japanese, but there were also tourists from Taiwan.

Challenges that remain even after the opening

The next stop was Pavilion C at the Commons (an international pavilion where multiple countries jointly exhibit). In the Ukrainian exhibition, the yellow space symbolizing wheat fields was decorated with a globe and a megaphone, both in blue, and the words “NOT FOR SALE” were displayed. Perhaps it was a message to Russia, declaring, “We will not sell out our country.”

As I visited several pavilions, it was already 8 p.m. before I knew it. That evening, I visited the Australian Pavilion, the only one I had been able to reserve in advance. The displays were themed around eucalyptus trees, and a large screen at the back showcased footage of Australia’s natural wonders.

“The exhibits were great, but what was interesting was the personality of the staff at each pavilion. Some staff members were constantly on their phones, while others were serving visitors while drinking tea on sofas within their booths. At one pavilion, the queue was disorganized, and foreigners were arguing about who was first in line. It’s the diversity that makes the Expo so interesting. Honestly, I had a great time,” said a female visitor in her 40s.

The longest line I stood in that day was for coffee at the Burundi Pavilion in the Commons A section. After waiting an hour, I finally got my coffee and canelé parfait, which cost over 2200 yen. The taste was fruity and sweet at first, followed by a slight bitterness. Other visitors around me were praising the coffee, saying it was delicious. It wasn’t cheap, but the line never seemed to end.

In the first week of the Expo, around 600,000 people had visited, and by the 21st, about 800,000. However, challenges remained. Eight pavilions opened incomplete, and when I visited the Indian Pavilion, I saw that construction wires were left carelessly scattered around.

Outside the venue, some exhausted visitors were sitting on the ground, asleep, possibly waiting for their turn. One man complained, “The venue is non-smoking, so I have to go outside to smoke. It’s inconvenient.” Another man in his 30s shared this story:

“The design of the washbasins in the 200 million yen toilet inside the venue focused more on aesthetics than practicality. The water from washing hands just drips onto the floor and flows into the drain. Every time water hits the floor, it splashes onto shoes and pants, soaking them. Several people were angry, saying, ‘Why is this the design?!'”

Even before the opening—and still after—chaos continues at the Expo. Six months from now, how will it end?

From the May 9, 16, and 23, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”