2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo ‘Flying Car’ Opens Simulation Theater in Osaka for Limited Run

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:58 JST, March 24, 2026

A theater offering a simulated flight experience aboard a next-generation mode of transportation known as a “flying car,” which drew strong interest at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, is set to finish its run in Osaka on March 25. As at the Expo, the attraction uses video, sound, and vibration technology to create the realistic sensation of riding in a flying car.

The theater is installed inside the aircraft hangar at the Osakako Vertiport, a takeoff and landing facility for flying cars in Osaka’s Minato Ward. The theater, measuring 5 meters wide, 3.4 meters high and 5.7 meters deep, is about 30% smaller than the one exhibited at the Expo but retains the same design with screens on four of the room’s surfaces — the front, sides and floor.

The content is the same as at the Expo. Visitors will take off from the Expo ’70 Commemorative Park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, and enjoy a roughly 15-minute simulated flight while looking out over the Osaka cityscape below.

The project is being carried out by Soracle, operator of the “flying cars” established by Japan Airlines Co. and Sumitomo Corp., together with Osaka Metro Co. Soracle plans to begin commercial operations as early as next year and hopes this experience will help build momentum.