- The Quick Guide to Expo 2025 in Osaka - 19 April 2025
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Expo 2025 has opened in Osaka and is running until October 13th. The site is enormous, even the website is like a maze, and it’s all a bit complicated to understand what’s there and how to access it. So, if you’re planning on visiting, or wondering if you should, here’s the very simple version of what you need to know.
What is Expo 2025?
Expo 2025 is a world fair hosted by Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to October 13, 2025.
Its theme is Designing Future Society for Our Lives, which I admit gives nothing away! Think of it as part cultural showcase, part tech fair, part sustainability summit. Each participating country will have its own pavilion, as do some companies – there are over 150 pavilions in all.
Make sure you do your research into what it is all about as one thing coming through from early reports is that what tourists expected from the Expo isn’t exactly what they found when they walked in.
Many people expected it to be a high-tech affair showcasing the latest technologies and ideas from different countries—and while some pavilions do offer that, others are more like what you’d find at a travel trade fair!
Someone described it as ‘like Epcot’ if that reference means anything to you – although, there aren’t any rides!!
What Are Some of the Highlights?
A lot is going on at Expo 2025, but after reviewing everything I’ve seen, here are some of the highlights.
1. The Architecture of the Pavilions
They are immense, and every one is different – some look incredible. The Netherlands one is super space-age, Australia has what looks like a giant Emu/Cassowary outside, and the Ocean Dome looks very calming. Inside these, you’ll find exhibits, live performances, light shows teamLab would be proud of, amazing design and new technologies – you can even create your own new world in one area.
It’s a real mixed bag – but what have seen has made me want to go.
I’d suggest spending some time going through the list, seeing what you think you might want to see most, and making a list in order. See the artist’s impressions here. Going through various early first-person reports, everyone seems to have a different favourite, so it’s a bit too early to name any stand-outs.
Some of the Pavilions do need booking in advance. I’ll cover that in a minute.
2. The Grand Ring
Basically, a giant walkway that leads you around the site is the biggest wooden structure in Japan. It even has a Guinness World Record certificate to prove it!
Note, though, that it’s not completely covered. One criticism of the site on the first day, when the crowds were large and the weather was bad, was that it was very hard to shelter in the Grand Ring.
3. The Giant Gundam
Bandai has built a life-size Gundam for the Next Future Pavilion. Inside the connected Pavilion, you’ll discover what it’s like to live in space, in case you fancy moving there.
This is already one of the most popular Pavilions. If you really want to see it, try and get a reservation.
4. The Water & Light Shows
The Expo is open well into the evening, and there are a couple of evening events not to miss. The Water Show mixes light, music, fire – and fountains! A huge stage space has been created, approximately 200 metres wide and 60 metres deep.
Plus, every night there’s a light, projection and drone show that looks very cool.
See a preview video of the concept here.
That’s not even scratching the surface of what’s on offer and what you’ll find in each pavilion. Just looking at the website has given me massive FOMO!
How Much Are Tickets?
Tickets for Expo 2025 are available on the official website or through third-party vendors like Klook.
General admission for adults (aged 18 and above) starts at ¥3700 for an evening ticket – although, that’s not going to be enough time to see anywhere near everything.
A weekday ticket bought now that the Expo has started costs ¥6000 for adults, a weekend ticket is ¥7500. Kids are cheaper. There are also some other multi-day tickets.
Either check the official ticketing site, or, to be less bamboozled, look on Klook for what’s available on your date.
Save Money with Klook & Japlanease
If you plan on buying tickets or tours from Klook for when you’re in Japan, you could save up to 10 per cent by using the code JAPLANEASEKLOOK at the checkout. Click here to see what’s on offer.
T&Cs apply. Some items, including Tokyo Disney and USJ tickets, are not available for discounts.
How Do You Book the Pavilions?
Your ticket gives you access to the Expo site and many of the pavilions, you can just walk into. However, to manage crowd levels and reduce waiting times, some of the pavilions at Expo 2025 offer booking in advance.
Once you’ve bought your ticket, you can register it on the official website to make these. You can do this with tickets bought via the Expo, but also from tickets bought from third-parties like Klook. Head here to set up your account. Exactly when you can book different pavilions varies, so check the list you’ll get access to when you register your account.
Note – a type of ticket called Expo Quick sold on the official site can’t be used to book pavilions, so avoid this if you want to do so.
You can also book them once on-site via the Expo App.
Which Ones Need Booking?
Some pavilions require Advance Reservations, some offer them, but you might be able to get in on the day without one, others are expected to be so popular that they’re selected by Lottery.
Basically, the bigger the country and/or the larger or more high-tech the Pavilion, the more likely they’ll have a reservation system.
The list below shows Pavilions that fall under at least one of the three categories above. If there’s one you’re interested in visiting, go to this page of the official website. It’s the fastest way to discover what rules apply to each Pavilion – if I list the rules for each one individually, it will turn into a book – and that will not help me keep this guide simple.
Countries
Australia, Canada, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Oman, Poland, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Serbia, Thailand, The Netherlands, UAE, United Kingdom, Vatican City.
Signature Pavilions
Dialogue Theatre: Sign of Life, Dynamic Equilibrium of Life, Earthmart, Future of Life, Live Earth Journey. Null2, Playground of Life: Jellyfish Pavilion.
Private Sector
New Future (and the Gundam), Mitsubishi, Techworld, Sumitomo, Yoshimoto
Others
United Nations, International Solar Alliance, Future City, Kansai, Women’s Pavilion in Association with Cartier.
If you miss out on bookings, though, do ask at the Pavilion itself. People have found that even some reservation-only ones do still have a ‘walk-in’ queue, especially during quiet times.
How Long Do You Need?
That’s a bit ‘how long is a piece of string’. If you want to go into all the Pavilions, see the shows, and eat a decent amount of snacks, you probably need two days. If you have only one day, make sure you know where you’re going and try to secure bookings to minimise the time spent queuing.
If there’s somewhere you really want to see, don’t leave it too late, as some pavilions close their doors to new visitors before the Expo ends.
If you haven’t already bought tickets, as with many things in Japan, crowds will be less on weekdays than on weekends. Try to avoid public holidays like the plague!
Is There Food and Drink Inside?
There are entire food areas full of food stalls selling cuisines from various countries, but according to reports, prices are skewing high.
A bowl of udon noodles in one restaurant is showing at 1450 to 1680 yen a bowl, plain curry rice is about 1200, add katsu and you’ll take it to 1800. A medium-sized selection of sushi is about 1500 yen.
If you’re trying to keep costs down, there is a Lawson outside, and you can bring in food – although there are restrictions on cans and bottles. Refillable water bottles are fine though, and there are water fountains.
Not surprisingly, there are also vending machines on site for drinks.
One thing to watch for is that some food areas have premium seating areas where you need to pay to sit down. It’s 550 yen for 50 minutes, and you need a reservation. Depending on how much your feet are hurting, this might be an absolute rip-off or the best money you’ve ever spent!
How Do You Get to the Site?
Expo 2025 is being held on Yumeshima Island, a newly built island just off the coast of central Osaka – it’s a bit past Universal Studios Japan on the map. The nearest station is the newly built Yumeshima Station right outside the entrance, and this is on the Osaka Metro Chuo Line.
However, the Expo have also laid on many other types of transport like direct trains, or shuttle buses from major stations like Shin-Osaka, Osaka Station and Namba (plus some other smaller stations).
Find general transport details here so you can work out how to get there from your hotel.
You must book most of the shuttle buses in advance via the Kansai MaaS App – note this only works on Apple devices. The exception is the bus from JR Sakurajima Station, which you can just pay for with a Suica/ICOCA or other IC Card.
Find more details on using the shuttle buses here.
There are also buses from the airports – but note, you can’t take big bags into the Expo site, so, you’ll need to leave your luggage somewhere else. If you’re hoping to get off the plane and head straight to the Expo, you’ll be better off sending your luggage to the hotel.
Where to Stay?
The closest hotels to the newly built area are those located near USJ. These include
The Singulari Hotel and SkySpa
With so many great transport links though, anywhere in Osaka will get you to the Expo in less than 30 minutes.
If you haven’t already decided where to stay, our guide on the best places to stay in Osaka can help.
Tips For your Visit
The Expo is still very new, but a few tips people have pointed out….
Gates Matter
Make sure you note which gate you need to enter by – the East Gate or the West Gate (it says on your ticket) as transport might be different for both. If you discover that the easiest transport for you stops at another gate, you can change this on the Expo Ticketing Website.
Go Old School
The official app is very glitchy. It might be a good idea to download (and maybe even print) the site maps in advance in case you lose signal while there. You can download them here.
Allow For Crowds
The crowds on the first few days were bad, and there were long queues for everything. Things are getting better as time goes on, and problems are being ironed out, but allow plenty of time to get into the site and get around.
Bring a Stamp Book
Many of the pavilions have ink stamps to collect. If you want an official souvenir you can also buy the official Expo one. Find out more about the stamps here.
No Cash Needed
The whole Expo sight is cash free, so make sure you have a card handy.
And I think that will do for now. I’ll add more tips and useful advice as I hear more from people who have visited, so if you’re visiting Expo 2025, bookmark this post and keep coming back to check in.
Photo credit: Images of Expo Pavilions and the kneeling Gundam by Lauren Whitehouse. Giant ring and Gundam at night by Takeshi Suzuki. Thank you both for letting me use them.