International Pavilions Offering Discounted Goods Before Expo Closes; Big-Ticket Items Half Price as Event Approaches Ends

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, September 27, 2025

OSAKA — With less than three weeks to go until the end of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, shops in some international pavilions have begun offering discounts on unsold goods, with some selling “fukubukuro” lucky bags like those seen at stores in Japan during the New Year.

At the German Pavilion this month, bags filled with items worth around ¥10,000 were being sold for ¥7,800 each. The contents varied between each bag but included hats with the pavilion’s logo as well as marjoram, a spice used in sausages served at the pavilion’s restaurant, according to the pavilion.

“I got some great deals,” a 36-year-old woman from Kyoto said with a smile.

According to a staff member at the German Pavilion, these kinds of bags are also found in stores in Germany, where they are called Wundertute. The pavilion prepared 20 to 25 bags a day, and on some days all bags sold out.

Meanwhile, many pavilions are starting to offer discounts on their merchandise.

The Turkmenistan Pavilion cut its prices for handmade Turkmen carpets in half — from ¥3 million to ¥1.5 million.

At the Belgian Pavilion, candle holders that had been selling for ¥5,000-¥8,000 were on sale for half price as of Wednesday.

Many international pavilions are apparently reluctant to hold on to unsold goods owing to a lack of either storage space or sales channels that can be utilized after the Expo.

The 2005 Aichi Expo also saw steep discounts on goods right before the end of the event.