Yokoso! Japan

August 18, 2005 4:31 PM

Aichi Expo 2005 Review.Yuki of Kissui.net travels to the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan and posts a wonderful review with great photos and commentary.
posted by gen (9 comments total)

Please feel free to share other Expo reviews in this thread.
posted by gen at 4:32 PM on August 18, 2005

It's also worth mentioning that there is a large "childrens area". Since there are many families that go there, it was a really good idea. We spent a couple of hours in the paddling pools and slides.

The boy would probably have hated the whole day if it hadn't been for that.
posted by lundman at 5:57 PM on August 18, 2005

Wow! Thanks for this post.

Our WorldSmart crew for this semester will be visiting the World Expo during our tour. I thought it was going to be just a simple event, but it seems to be a lot larger and grander than that. We may also be performing there, but I'm not certain of that.

It would be interesting to visit the pavillions set up by our countries of origin - they'd be surprised to see a visit from home, and perhaps so will we...

Am very much looking forward to this, thank you.
posted by divabat at 6:42 PM on August 18, 2005

Well, here's my 2 cents. We went to the Expo a couple of months ago and well.... I'm just glad we didn't have to pay for it.
posted by saketini99 at 7:08 PM on August 18, 2005

I really enjoyed the Expo and am disappointed I only got to spend one day there, but then again I'm a sucker for state fairs and the like. However, I do have to say that the extra security at the USA pavilion was embarassing and annoying. It was also embarassing that they had their dorky workers riding around on Segways while wearing bicycle helmets.
posted by missmerrymack at 7:29 PM on August 18, 2005

I had fun. I used used to live in Nagoya and studied pottery in Seto so there is a little Aichi-ken pride mixed up in this. The infrastructure improvements alone were impressive. I love the Linimo. I wish it had been built three years ago.

I started on the Seto side and liked the forest and crafts exhibits. I think a lot of people missed those, but they weren't crowded and had lots of cool things. I missed some of the things hidden in the forest and I wish I could go back and see them.

I tended to like the smaller country pavilions. I liked eating Tibetan food and listening to the pop music of Togo. The Jordanian pavilion had part of the Dead Sea flown in. It was quite impressive.

Compared to the theme park food gouging in America, the prices were fair and there were convenience stores around if one was looking to save a little money. However, the crowd in the souvenir store was amazing, though. It had to be a fire hazard.

It was a lot like Disney World with a little more education, but then again Disney based Epcot center on the World's Fair. There was something very Japanese about the whole spectacle. A lot of Japanese people I know love the idea of seeing other cultures, but are terrified of going somewhere where they don't speak the language. There is even a theme park down by Nagasaki where people can go and pretend they are in the Netherlands. This World Expo is perfect for a lot of people who can't afford international travel or find it too intimidating.
posted by Alison at 7:31 PM on August 18, 2005

I got there early and spent a full day just generally wandering about, including some time down in the forest/gardens section, away from the omnipresent crowds. A combination of jet lag, heat, and queues kept me away from many of the pavilions, although I checked out the robots, and also the JR Mag-lev pavilion, amongst others (pics here). Scored mysef a JR commemorative shinkansen t-shirt, too! In retrospect, I wish that I'd planned at least another day there, to check more stuff out (I visited the Meiji Mura Museum at Inuyama, and Kyoto for a few days, which were just as cool ...).
posted by carter at 7:21 AM on August 19, 2005

I liked the Cuban pavillion, which was essentially one big bar. When you entered it, you were greeted by the bartender with a cheerful "how 'bout some Cuba Libre?"

... no, wait, on second thought, he was probably hawking Daiquiris or something.
posted by sour cream at 12:37 PM on August 19, 2005

Seriously, it was actually a Cuba Libre. I took a picture of the menu.
posted by Alison at 9:21 PM on August 19, 2005