2025年7月27日 大阪万博（字幕あり）
Today I went to the Expo. I took a bus tour. I left a little after 7:30 AM. I used the Tokaido-Meihan and Meihan Expressways to Maishima. There were no traffic jams and it took about three hours to reach the Maishima Expo site. There were many shuttle buses running from the station. The large roofed ring was impressive. The 200 million yen toilet looked like a tin shed. After getting off the bus, it was a 10-minute walk to the West Gate. There were a lot of people there, but I was able to get through fairly easily. After entering, my first destination was the Miyakumyaku lottery booth. Miyakumyaku is an Expo mascot. It’s close to the West Gate. The wait time was about an hour and a half, which was a little over an hour. It was hot, so a parasol was essential. While the Expo makes extensive use of IT, with cashless payment and a reservation system, this lottery was old-fashioned and analog. Each person was limited to one ticket, and each ticket cost 2,200 yen. Since I was a couple, we both got tickets. If you don’t pull carefully, you’ll get a lot of lottery tickets. First prize is a large Miyakumyaku, second prize is a medium-sized Miyakumyaku, and third prize is a small Miyakumyaku. There are no losers. Etsuko won third prize. Hiroshi won second prize. Yay! Now, let’s go inside. Miyakumyaku and Gundam were waiting for us. The large roof ring is pretty amazing. It was shady and cool with the breeze underneath. It was very hot in the sun, but since it’s near the sea, the breeze was still cool. Is the cylindrical shape the Czech Pavilion? I went to the Nordic Pavilion, which was my main focus. A wooden building with a typical Nordic feel. It was unbearably hot outside, but inside it was cool like Nordic style. I stayed there for a while to cool off. The exhibits were difficult for me. I also went to the cafe on the third floor of the Nordic Pavilion. This is a Swedish semla, a bread-like pastry. On the left is the Turkmenistan Pavilion, and on the right is the Bahrain Pavilion. I took the escalator up to the large roof ring. It was windy on top of the ring. The view was great. The United Arab Emirates Pavilion. Tours were temporarily suspended. The popular France Pavilion. I didn’t visit the pavilions this time, which required waiting in line or reservations. I wasn’t interested in Vuitton. The Common Pavilion. This one had many exhibits from Africa, Asia, and Central America. I found this one the most interesting. Nauru, which is currently a hot topic. The blue sky is beautiful. The merchandise is cute. It’s some African country. They play drums to the accompaniment of the visitors. This is Cambodia. The sound is amazing. This pavilion smells of incense. I thought it was Greece, but it’s actually Uzbekistan. It’s near the West Gate. They started a Bon Odori dance after 3:00 PM. Apparently, they set a Guinness World Record for the number of participants in a Bon Odori dance on the 26th, the day before. It was called Myaku Myaku Ondo? It was a song introducing delicious foods from all over Japan. I was tired from all the walking. I left the gate and headed home. There was a Kuroneko inside the Kuroneko Yamato office. We took a commemorative photo. It was a great day.
夏の盛りに大阪万博に夫婦揃って行ってきました。とても暑かったです。でも、様々な国パビリオン・展示を見ることができて世界を感じることができました。
名阪近鉄のカッコーツアーで行きましたが、行き帰りとも渋滞もなく快適でした。
ちなみにえつこさんは日本で開催された1970年大阪万博、愛・地球博、今回の大阪万博全てに行ったことになるらしい。私は愛・地球博と今回の万博だけです。
＃EXPO2025
＃万博
＃みゃくみゃく
