Nature's Wisdom

March 25, 2005 6:13 AM

The World Expo 2005 opened doors to visitors today. Attractions include robots, a mammoth, and participating countries from Australia to Zimbabwe. Some think that in the age of the Internet and intercontinental travel, world expos are becoming obsolete; others think the Aichi Expo might spawn a new industry: industrial tourism. The last Expo in Japan was held in Osaka in 1970, and brought us arguably the world's ugliest artifact.
posted by sour cream (7 comments total)

Actually Japan held a World Expo in 1985 in Tsukuba.
posted by gen at 6:39 AM on March 25, 2005

I've been to the site of the Osaka Expo; you ride the monorail out to it. The bird thing is actually pretty cool, if you see it in the right combination of light. I'm hoping to go to Expo 2005, if I can swing it.
posted by carter at 7:08 AM on March 25, 2005

Some think that in the age of the Internet and intercontinental travel, world expos are becoming obsolete

Since all the images are illustrations not photographs, I am not convinced this thing exits off the internet.
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:23 AM on March 25, 2005

hehe, when they clone the mastodon and it starts destroying the expo, they'll have to summon godzillat.rex, who saves the day!

i've only been to expo '86 in vancouver, it was pretty cool cuz i got to ride a maglev :D

i think they're pretty great because they highlight certain cities around the world that aspire to be like cosmopolitan destinations and stuff. like i don't think i'd have thought about visiting portugal before expo '98 in lisboa :D not everyone can host the olympics! plus, if nothing else, it's a good excuse to go somewhere :D

um, so hopefully cornwall and montevideo are next!

but excuse me while i enjoy a nice pepsi blue at the pepsi pavillion :D

cheers!
posted by kliuless at 9:52 AM on March 25, 2005

It wouldn't be Japanese without strange but endearingly cute mascots.
posted by clevershark at 11:17 AM on March 25, 2005

I was going to add a link to the mascots earlier today but never got around to it. I like how the upper right-hand corner image changes randomly with each page load.

I edited a film that will be screening on the huge outdoor screen every night for the next few months or so. They sent us plush mascot dolls over the summer. Very cute.
posted by nobody at 1:55 PM on March 25, 2005

A dedicated flickrs site has been set up and some members wil be visitiing the expo 2005 starting from the end of this month. More comments, photos, and insight looks to come.
posted by schee at 1:01 AM on March 27, 2005