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The Mie Journal

A WEBLOG MADE IN JAPAN

Expo 2005

By Daichi · October 27, 2005

This year’s World Exposition, Expo 2005 was held in Aichi Prefecture for half a year.

I went to the Expo on September 16. That morning, I got up at four o’clock and I took a train at about five thirty. There were many, many people at the Expo, some of them foreigners. I was surprised.

There were many country and business pavilions. For example Germany, France, Toyota and Mitsubishi etc. There were also many fun things.

I went to the Hitachi pavilion, which was very popular, and I had to wait for five hours to enter. Needless to say, the Hitachi pavilion was very good. I experienced 3D, which was great, and I saw endangered species on screen.

Also, I saw a mammoth and visited Malaysia’s pavilion where I experienced a squall. And I ate curry in India’s pavilion, and drank beer in Germany’s pavilion. I thought that all the food at the Expo was very expensive, which worried me. For example, the curry price is one thousand yen, and the beer price is eight hundred yen. I think it is crazy.

I stayed all day long, so I was tired. But it was fun, and I think everyone who went to the Expo felt very happy.

If the Expo is held in Japan again, I want to go.

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Comments (5)

Link to this comment! Rudolf wrote on October 27, 2005:

Yuki of Kissui.net went to the Expo and wrote a long weblog post about her visit.

When I went, it was very, very crowded indeed, and everyone was waiting in long lines in front of the pavilions.

I took a couple of photos.

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Link to this comment! Yuriko wrote on October 29, 2005:

I went to Aichi Expo five months ago. It was not so crowded. I enjoyed all business pavilions.

My favorite pavilion is Mitui Toushiba pavilion. Did you go there? I was suprised that my face projected on the screen was the living image of me!

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Link to this comment! Rudolf wrote on October 29, 2005:

Five months ago? It was a lot less crowded then. Here are some visitor statistics (requires Flash) that show the increase of visitors through the six months (no absolute numbers are given.)

I’ve just found a site called Expo 2005 photo essays written by a young German who worked at the German pavilion for half a year. It’s a very interesting read although the author sounds a bit jaded and bitter at times. Here’s his Afterword.

Statistical facts gleaned from the Afterword: “more than half of the visitors to the Expo came from the three prefectures in the Tokai region, Aichi, Mie and Gifu. Visitors from foreign countries made up about 5 percent of all visitors”. This percentage is up from the World Fair in Osaka in 1970, which had three percent foreign visitors. Both figures seem very low to me (also, I wonder how they elicited those numbers in the first place. While standing in line for the Swiss pavillion, I was approached by two young ladies with excellent English who wanted me to participate in a survey of foreigners. Having nothing better to do, I obliged. But I wonder how they could tell the Asian foreigners from the Japanese? Surely it doesn’t make sense to hold a survey of non-Asian-looking Expo visitors?)

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Link to this comment! Kayo wrote on November 09, 2005:

I’m really happy to hear that you had great time. Because I couldn’t go to EXPO, I really wanted to go to EXPO.

You wrote that the price of food was crazy. I agree with you. But it sounds really nice to wat something special at EXPO, so if I’ll go to next EXPO I’m not sure but I’d like to wat something special like the curry price or something.

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Link to this comment! daichi wrote on November 13, 2005:

Hello Yuriko!

Thank you for writing.

I couldn’t go to Mitui Toushiba pavilion because there were many, many people, so, I had no time to go there.

I am jealous that you went to all business pavilions.

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