Three Japan World Expos over 40 years!
- jason.griffing
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Expo 2025 Osaka is now open, and this is an exciting time for me. I have been to every World Expo/Fair since 1982 which means I have been lucky enough to attend two prior World Expos in Japan: Expo 1985 Tsukuba and Expo 2005 Aichi. The anticipation for my return to Japan is palpable.
I was a just a youth and my trip to Expo 1985 Tsukuba would be my first overseas travel outside of my home country, the United States of America. I attended my first Expo in 1982 which was hosted in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had such a great time I decided to attend Expo1984 New Orleans, Louisiana. After those Expo trips, my interest was sparked to research World Expos and learn all about them. One of my original reasons on following the Expos was that it would be an interesting way to plan vacations. The World Expos would always be in a different country, the host country would be welcoming foreign travelers, infrastructure would be upgraded, I could explore another country and of course something very exciting would be occurring while I was there. Well, my feelings over more than 40 years and 16 trips to World Expos has been proven to be true.
I remember the feeling of excitement taking off from the airport in the USA and heading to Japan, my mother and a good friend along for the trip. We landed at the then new, Narita airport and made our way to Tokyo where we would be staying for the duration of our trip at the Holiday Inn.
During this trip we explored beautiful Japan, like the town of Nikko with Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls. In Tokyo we experienced a major Sumo wrestling event which we discovered later was special since it is not something that happened with regularity. We visited Hiroshima to pay our respects and honor the lives that were lost. While in Japan we were welcomed by so many who were so friendly and dined on wonderful food. I was also excited to find Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Stores with some flavors that we did not have in the USA. I was working at a Baskin-Robbins back home at the time!
The highlight and most exciting part of my trip of course was going to the Expo. I remember working our way through the maze of underground subway and train stations in Tokyo to catch the train to Tsukuba, which was a bit of a ride. Then lining up at the Expo gate before opening and the anticipation to see what laid beyond the gates.
I was not disappointed! The architecture and technology presented were beyond belief for a young man during these days when technology was rapidly evolving. Robots playing piano, painting and many other things. Movies projected on screens made of water. Riding one of the world’s first roller coasters that you stand up on instead of sitting down and also riding the HSST test track, one of the world’s first maglev trains. I met a Japanese girl who became a pen pal of mine for many years…sadly we lost touch at some point. How could one not be blown away by everything I saw and experienced.
This Expo trip solidified my desire to attend every Expo from that point so I could be one of the first to see and experience future technology that would eventually make it into our everyday lives.
Fast forward 20 years and 6 Expos later….. my trip to Expo 2005 Aichi arrives! This trip was a solo trip and again I was able to experience more of Japan. An all-day bike ride in Kyoto to the Golden Palace and other areas of the city. Sunset at Inari Shrine. Hiking in the mountains in Nagano site of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Spending a day walking the Nakasendo trail and of course seven full days at the Expo in Aichi!
At the Golden Palace in Kyoto, the mountains of Nagano and along the Nakasendo trail in 2005
I even managed to return to the Expo 1985 Tsukuba site to see what remained. Sadly, not much at all. There was a small memorial replica of the Expo Theme Tower located in the Expo Park area which was preserved. The rest of the site had been converted into an office park. It was a true disappointment to stand there and remember the awe I experienced and to have none of it there to relive. This, however, is unfortunately true with most former Expo sites as many pavilions are not constructed to be permanent. One good note is that in the recent years many pavilions are designed to be reused and are moved and converted to other uses, not just demolished.
As with my first trip to Tsukuba and other Expos, I was blown away by the Aichi 2005 Expo. A beautiful site in the countryside outside of Nagoya. And to get to it?... ride the world’s first commercial maglev train…the Linimo, which had stations all along it’s run from Nagayo to the Expo site. The HSST from Expo 1985 Tsukuba had made it into a reality for public transit! A note that the founder of Expomuseum, Urso Chappel, designed artwork on the outside of one of the Linimo train cars!
The Aichi Expo site was set on rolling landscape, and the designers brought it together by connecting areas with elevated walkways. The theme of the Expo was ‘Nature’s Wisdom’. During my visit I experienced ways to maintain our planet in a better way, how to conserve water, reduce waste, recycle and so many other positive things to improve our lives in the future. I remember for the first time seeing OLED screens in the Korea pavilion not yet commercially viable, The Laser Dream Theater where the world’s largest laser projected movie was shown on a screen that was 2005 inches! The Earth Tower Nagoya City pavilion and it’s giant kaleidoscope and musical elements from the wind. In the Global House the frozen remains of a 18,000-year-old of a Woolly Mammoth that had been discovered recently were displayed. A moving and yet heartwarming animated film in the South Korea pavilion on how we were destroying our planet and a wonderful stop animation film in the Czech Pavilion with dancers made of blown glass. The Australia Pavilion even had playful giant model of a platypus you could climb on.
Also, a first, as far as I am aware, is that the Aichi Expo had a small second site, The Seto Area. To arrive at The Seto Area you boarded a gondola at the main Expo site and traveled through the air for about 2 miles on it! The gondola at one point traversed close to a neighborhood and surprisingly the windows magically turned opaque to protect the privacy of the nearby residents as you passed over them. After passing by they turned clear magically! At The Seto Area visitors could take the time to come in contact with nature and with each other. It was a time to reflect upon everything nature brings into our lives and be thankful for it.
Now another 20 years and another 6 Expos later..... I am thrilled to be planning a trip to Japan for the third time to experience another Expo. Osaka is hosting its second Expo this year, it also hosted Expo1970. Unfortunately, I was only 6 years old in 1970 and did not make it to that Expo! However, on my trip later this year I hope to visit the Expo 1970 site and see the Tower of the Sun theme structure from that Expo in person as well as make a return trip to Aichi. Will Japan see me again in another 20 years? Let’s hope so!
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