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The Yomiuri Shimbun Visitors take a rest under the Grand Ring to escape from the hot sun.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
12:47 JST, April 8, 2025
About 50,000 people visited the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo on Sunday, the final day of a three-day “test run” event held on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Konohana Ward, Osaka, exceeding the number of guests on the first and second days.
Visitors expressed concerns such as heat stroke and mobile battery charging, as smartphones are required for various Expo functions, including entering the venue. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, the organizer of the Expo, is speeding up efforts to address these concerns ahead of the opening day, April 13, when over 120,000 people are expected to come.
Taking a rest under Grand Ring
On Sunday, the temperature in Osaka rose to 21.3 C, and the venue was a sea of parasols. Many people rested under the Grand Ring, which measures 20 meters in height and two kilometers in circumference and acts as a symbol of the event. Maiko Adachi, 39, a company employee from Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, said, “I bought a hat for my son. Since there are few places to escape from the heat, I think the organizers should take measures to prevent heat stroke.”
Naonobu Harada, 72, from Higashinari Ward, Osaka, visited the event with his wife. As they left the venue, he said, “Because of the hot weather, we got tired just waiting in line at the entrance gate. If the situation remains the same, the test run rehearsal will be enough [of the Expo] for me.”
As measures to prevent heat stroke, the association prepared misters and parasols at the venue. There was a pavilion whose staff called on visitors to stay hydrated. According to the Osaka Municipal Fire Department, seven ambulances had been dispatched to the Expo site as of 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Mobile batteries needed
At the Expo’s vaunted “super-smart venue,” visitors will need to use a smartphone or tablet device to enter the gates, make cashless payments and use audio guides and other services at pavilions. In order to efficiently make the rounds of the pavilions, visitors will need to use their smartphones to find and book available spots on the day.
A 37-year-old company employee from Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, said in a bewildered tone, “I have to use my smartphone many times to do things such as making reservations, making payments and taking photos. I’m trying to use my phone as little as possible because I’m worried the battery might run out.”
A 52-year-old temporary worker from the same city felt that the situation needed to be improved. She said, “You can’t do anything here without a smartphone, but I can’t find anywhere to charge my phone.”
There were many social media posts calling for visitors to make sure to bring extra mobile batteries with them.
During the Expo, the association does not plan to distribute printed maps, out of consideration for the environment. Visitors will need to print the map in advance or look at it on their smartphones.
However, during the test run, printed maps were distributed near the gates; they had soon all been given away. Visitors lined up at information centers and other places to get paid maps.
“Using the app drains my phone battery. So a printed map ends up being more convenient after all,” said Hiroaki Maruyama, 54, a company employee from Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture.
Congestion continues
Congestion at the entrance gates continued Sunday, although not at the levels it reached on the first and second days. While half of the 31 lanes at the East Gate were closed on Saturday, all the lanes were opened on Sunday. For that reason, almost all visitors were able to enter the venue in less than an hour, according to the association.
At Yumeshima Station on the Osaka Metro Chuo Line, the closest station to the Expo site, areas around the ticket gates were crowded with visitors waiting for others, and the station staff and security guards asked them to move to different places. The use of escalators and stairways was temporarily suspended to avoid accidents caused by overcrowding.
The association is gathering feedback from visitor surveys and from the staff. “We would like to use this information to make improvements as needed before the opening day,” Jun Takashina, deputy secretary general of the association, said to reporters Sunday.
