by Senior Trip Planner Mary Curry
September 3, 2025
I experienced the World Expo Osaka 2025 on two wildly different days. The first day was with a group of five on a sunny weekend and the second was as a single traveler on a rainy Monday. The experience was wonderful both days, but here's what I wish someone had told us initially:
1. Lotteries
The Expo 2025 offers a complicated lottery system to manage crowds for access to pavilions and special events. Some pavilions are only accessible via the lotteries while others have priority access. This becomes relevant as crowds are a huge issue and, surprisingly, weren’t that much better on a rainy Monday than a sunny weekend.
Lotteries are available 2 months prior, one week prior, and 3 days before. As a family of five, we tried for the advance lotteries and won only one. Supposedly, you can also make ‘same day’ reservations. However, I tried dozens of times throughout both days and only managed to snag one reservation as a solo traveler. Even when spaces showed ‘available’, they typically could not be confirmed as you are competing with all the other festival goers that day for the spaces.
If you are a larger group traveling on a popular day, try for the advance lotteries, but don't spend too much time the day of your visit trying to snag existing spots. We wasted over 3 hours this first day just getting oriented, filling water bottles, and searching for non-existent space. The intense heat didn't help us think clearly.
2. Accessing Pavilions
Find an available pavilion queue and get in line while you try for ‘same day’ reservations – Korea is a fun pavilion and admits a lot of folks at once so the line moves rather quickly. Consider heading straight to that line, near the East Entrance, while you get oriented to the online system.
Despite our wasted time initially, we managed 9 pavilions the first day and could have done more if we didn't have such heat exhaustion. Don’t be afraid to queue. Unlike theme parks that have years of experience developing ‘tricks’ to avoid the lines, ultimately you will likely need to stand in quite a few queues if you want to experience the World Expo Osaka 2025.
3. Restrooms and Water
Use the restroom in the train station. Though there are plentiful restrooms in the park, they can take awhile to find and there aren’t many near the entrances. Choose a direction and start walking around the ring to find services.
You can bring full water bottles in, so fill these in advance also. There are water filling stations around the park, but not nearly enough. We waited for over 30 minutes the first time to fill our bottles and never less than 10. For a facility that boasts sustainability, it was irritating to find only one water bottle filler with a long queue next to 8 water bottle vending machines with no line. Fill up if you ever see a short line and anytime you are eating in a restaurant.
If you need other supplies (feminine products, medicine, diapers), there's a drug store located in the building next to Osaka Healthcare.
4. Entry/ Exit
The crowds are real! It didn't seem to matter when I arrived relative to our entry time. Both days (even torrential rain on a Monday) took about 45 minutes to enter. Though entry is organized, the Expo 2025 could definitely take lessons from the theme parks on efficiency. They don’t have enough staff for security checks relative to ticket takers. Unless they change systems to redistribute staff to more security lines, entry will take awhile.
Manage entry crowds by going prepared for the chaos so you don't get overwhelmed. Bring plenty of water, an umbrella and comfortable clothes to manage the conditions.
As you are walking from the train station in Osaka, stick to the outer ring as the line curves around corners as this is where it moves the quickest. As I told my kids (and failed to remember the next day on my own), don't make the mistake of getting "eddied out" by trying to take sharp corners. Stay in the fast moving current on the outside of the entry/exit parade of people rather than trying to cut the inside track where the line stalls more quickly.
Getting out of the venue is much more efficient than entry because you don’t have security checks. Though the queue detours several hundred meters away from the train station, it generally keeps moving and trains come often enough that there’s almost no wait once you get to the track.
5. Food
A venue like this is going to have incredible food, but I had trouble finding a comprehensive list of menus (the app lists dining places, but not menus). Most of the larger country pavilions have their own restaurant. Though a few of the best known restaurants offer online menus, I generally found it easiest to head towards our desired country cuisine and check directly on site for menus and wait times. Lines for food vary, but we could usually get seated within 15 to 60 minutes, even on the busiest day. Saudi Arabia is the exception and had a long line with typical waits of 2-4 hours.
Be mindful of the time for 'last order' when planning for dinner. I recommend going at least 2 hours before your chosen restaurant closes for the best chance of getting in as the staff will cut off admissions well in advance to allow time for ordering and eating before close.
Visiting Expo 2025 in Osaka is both exciting and overwhelming. With preparation, patience, and flexibility, you’ll be able to enjoy its global culture, food, and innovation without too much stress.
