2025 Osaka Expo: Experience-Oriented Company Pavilions Popular at Osaka-Kansai Expo; Visitors Enjoy Hands-on Experiences with Cutting-Edge Technology

By Yukiho Takaichi and Kazuki Sat / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:19 JST, April 27, 2025

OSAKA — Exhibitions at private-sector pavilions, in which visitors can have experiences like interacting with advanced technology, are attracting big crowds at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.

There are a total of 13 of these pavilions, which are operated by Japanese companies and private-sector organizations.

Because long lines of people have been forming in front of some of the pavilions, the companies and organizations operating them have made efforts to ease the congestion and allow as many visitors as possible to enjoy the exhibits.

Future of sleep

In the Pasona Group Inc. pavilion, large crowds gathered around graphical displays and other exhibits on April 18.

Its exhibits are focused on medical care and health. Before the expo’s opening, a beating heart made from induced pluripotent stem cells attracted a lot of attention. But since the opening, a bed on which visitors can experience “the future of sleep” has rapidly become popular.

The bed uses sensor technology developed by major machine parts manufacturer MinebeaMitsumi Inc. to analyze the physical condition of the person lying on it, and the mattress automatically changes its inclination to guide them into a comfortable sleep.

A 43-year-old woman from Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, who experienced lying down on the bed, said, “It was fluffy and comfortable. It’s nice that it offers everybody sleep support that’s just right for them.”

As long lines formed to try the bed from the first day of the event, the pavilion now distributes numbered tickets which designate times when visitors can come try the bed.

The main feature of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.’s pavilion is that it allows visitors to experience IOWN next-generation telecommunication technology.

Aiming to let as many people as possible experience using this bleeding-edge technology, the NTT group also set up special telephones that use IOWN technology outside the pavilion. Users of the telephones can transmit not only video and audio, but also touch and vibration to people in faraway places. Visitors do not need to make reservations in advance to use these telephones.

Appealing to foreign visitors

Certain pavilions are highly popular among children and foreign visitors.

The Japan Gas Association’s pavilion offers even children the chance to have fun as they learn how technology is used to cause a chemical reaction between carbon dioxide and hydrogen that produces methane, the main component of city gas.

Visitors can also enjoy using extended reality (XR) technology, which fuses reality with images from virtual reality. Wearing goggles, they can transform into a ghost in a virtual space to take part in XR games.

In order to participate in these experiences, visitors must make an advance reservation, most of which fill up quickly. However, a lane has been set up at the pavilion where visitors can wait for cancelations, so even people without reservations can take part in the fun.

The Osaka Restaurant Management Association’s pavilion offers an event in which visitors can experience making sushi. The event, organized by major vinegar maker, Tamanoi Vinegar Co., is filled to capacity day after day.

The company said the reactions have been “beyond our expectations.” Thus, the company decided to hold an additional event only for foreign visitors.

An official of the company said, “We hope as many foreign visitors as possible will enjoy Japan’s traditional cuisine.”