Why People Are Sleeping in Line for the Expo That Promised No Waiting

They had heavily promoted it as a no-lines Expo, but reality turned out quite different

【“No Lines” Was the Promise—But Reality Says Otherwise】 As the Osaka–Kansai Expo heads for its grand finale on October 13, crowds have surged beyond expectation. To enter the Expo, visitors need not only tickets but also an advance visit date reservation. Yet the official Expo ticket site now shows “Fully Booked” through closing day.

Even those who manage to get in face long waits everywhere—at pavilions, restaurants, convenience stores, souvenir shops, restrooms, and even for elevators and escalators leading up to the Great Roof Ring. At the start, organizers proudly promoted it as a no-lines Expo. And indeed, in the early months, if you secured pavilion reservations, you could walk right in without much delay. But as attendance soared, it became harder and harder to book both pavilion slots and entry dates. The queues didn’t just appear onsite—people now even find themselves virtually waiting in line for hours online.

Both online and on-site, waiting in line has become unavoidable

From April until now, after visiting the Expo more than 20 times—including for reporting purposes—I’ve reached one clear conclusion: it’s impossible not to wait.

To begin with, even when reserving your visit date and time through the official Expo Ticket Site, you’re made to wait. After entering your pre-registered Expo ID and password, you often get stuck on a waiting screen if too many people are trying to access the site. And once you finally log in to book your date, you’re met with yet another waiting screen.

The same happens when reserving pavilion entry slots. By September, the online queue had swelled to as many as 130,000 people, with wait times exceeding four hours—only to find that every available date was already marked full.

Adding to the frustration, the Expo Ticket Site underwent several maintenance periods around September. Yet after each one, error screens appeared more frequently, and the congested yellow display—meant to indicate limited availability—still failed to let users secure reservations. While the Expo itself gained praise as its popularity soared, this clunky, stress-inducing ticket system remained a disappointing blemish that many visitors are unlikely to forget.

To truly enjoy a full day at the Expo, the golden rule is simple: get there first thing in the morning

Although entry officially starts at 9 a.m., it’s not enough to just reserve the 9:00 time slot—you’ll also need to line up at the gates well before opening.

The author reports arriving around 7 a.m. several times even with a 9 a.m. reservation. For the East Gate, that meant catching one of the earliest subways to Yumeshima Station; for the West Gate, taking a taxi from Cosmo Square Station. In both cases, it still required more than two hours of waiting before entering. Especially from June onward, the early-morning heat and humidity made the wait almost unbearable.

But if you manage to enter right around 9:00, it pays off. Until about 11 a.m., most pavilions can be entered with little to no waiting, and you can even secure same-day reservations for popular exhibits. In this way, it’s just barely possible to experience what organizers once promised—a no-lines Expo.

The number of overnight waiters has surged despite calls for restraint, the situation shows no sign of improving

In fact, this early-morning waiting strategy still works, but as the Expo’s closing draws near, competition has become even more intense. While there were almost no people camping out near the East Gate during the scorching heat of August, now there are dozens to hundreds every night. The first subway train bound for Yumeshima is so packed that some people even walk to the island before the first train to line up. At the West Gate, more than 100 taxis now queue up before the transport terminal officially opens in the morning.

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo posted an official notice at the end of August asking visitors to refrain from lining up early at both the East and West Gates. Measures were also introduced against the first-train dash, in which visitors sprint from the first arriving subway to the gates. However, the number of people waiting overnight or arriving with the first train has not decreased.

For example, even if you arrive at the gate around 8 a.m.—one hour before the 9 a.m. entry slot—there’s already a massive crowd, meaning you’re essentially too late. Even if you manage to enter around 9:30 a.m., by then all same-day reservations for popular pavilions are already marked full, leaving only minimal advantages.

At the most popular Italy Pavilion, some visitors who started lining up around 9:30 a.m. reported waiting four to five hours. Recently, queue restrictions have become common—visitors can’t even get into the waiting line during busy hours. It’s now a familiar sight to see people sitting for hours on their folding Expo chairs, patiently enduring the long waits.

From admission to exit, visitors are forced to stand in line — yet the Expo Association remains silent

In late September, FRIDAY Digital sent an inquiry to the Expo Association’s secretariat regarding the much-promoted no-lines Expo. However, no response was received by the stated deadline.

Currently, visitors must wait online to reserve entry dates and pavilion tickets, queue at the gates before entering, line up inside for pavilions, restaurants, convenience stores, and even restrooms — some even have to wait to go up to the Grand Roof Ring. Moreover, during exit hours, congestion worsens near the East Gate adjacent to Yumeshima Station. Despite the station being right in front, visitors are forced to take a long detour route, and around 9 p.m., crowds become so dense that exit restrictions are imposed, preventing people from leaving the grounds.

When daily attendance surpasses 200,000, walkways are packed, benches beneath the Grand Roof Ring are full, and many sit directly on the ground, visibly exhausted. Meanwhile, others stare endlessly at the same online reservation page, refreshing and scrolling in vain. Many lament, “I couldn’t book a single pavilion — I’m just completely worn out.”

Unused ticket exchanges sold out before the first train?!

Although entry reservations for the Expo remain fully booked, occasional openings do appear. Hoping to catch one, some visitors stay logged in all day refreshing the site, while others begin waiting online from 3 or 4 a.m. two days before their visit, anticipating that travel agencies will release unused tickets. Similarly, the midnight first-come, first-served pavilion reservation system—available three days in advance—frequently shows a waiting screen as massive numbers of users flood the site.

To address the surplus of unused tickets from people unable to secure reservation slots, a same-day ticket exchange program began on September 27. However, crowds immediately formed: people camped out overnight seeking afternoon-entry tickets, and in many cases, all tickets were gone before the first subway train even arrived.

At this stage, anyone hoping to enjoy the Expo with minimal waiting must line up for hours at the gate before dawn—if not stay overnight. Those entering later in the day face long lines not only for popular pavilions, but also for restaurants, restrooms, and even toilets. And after the nighttime drone shows or fireworks, visitors once again find themselves trapped in massive queues just to exit the venue or reach the subway.

Even as people leave with fond memories of the Expo, one question lingers: “What ever happened to the ‘no-lines Expo’ we were promised?”