1 week Ago By Isagani de Castro Jr.
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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-1" ); MANILA, Philippines – Here’s another reason to visit Japan in 2025, aside from its Sakura or cherry blossom season this year. Must Read [ANALYSIS] Reflections on Japan’s cherry blossom tourism The World Expo 2025 officially opened to the public on Sunday, April 13, in Osaka, Japan, with new attractions that will surely bring in more visitors there not just during the international expo but in the years to come.
World Expo 2025, with its post-pandemic theme “Designing Future Society For Our Lives,” is being held in Yumeshima, a man-made island in Osaka Bay, Osaka Prefecture. For only 5,000 yen or around P1,990 (for the first half of the expo or until July 18) for adults, visitors will witness various creations that tackle sustainable development. The expo is open for six months or until October 13.
In what will likely become another iconic Osaka attraction, the most Instagrammable of all the main facilities is its Grand Ring. On March 4, the Guinness World Records recognized this masterpiece as “the largest wooden architectural structure.” Its building area is 61,035 square meters.
It’s around 2,000 kilometers around the Grand Ring. Play VideoAccording to the Japanese organizers, the Grand Ring “expresses the concept of Unity in Diversity.“ It was constructed “using a fusion of modern construction methods and traditional Nuki joints.
..used in construction of Japanese shrines and temples.
” Play VideoIt has an outer diameter of around 675 meters and a height from 12 meters to 20 meters. The Japanese consortium of builders used Japanese cedar, Japanese cypress and Scots Pine, with 70% of the wood from local sources. Another must-see main facility is the two-storey Shining Hat Expo Hall, a “large, golden-shimmering circular roof” with an amphiteater for musical events, performing arts, and futuristic entertainment.
It has a seating capacity of around 1,900 and a floor area of 8,200 square meters. There will be various projection screenings on the hall’s exterior. Play VideoAnother main facility — the Expo National Day Hall — will be used for National Day and Special Day ceremonies, and other events.
It has a seating capacity of around 500. The Philippines will have its “National Day” honoring its participation in the world expo on June 7, five days before the Philippines celebrates its 127th Independence Day. window.
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displayAd( "mobile-middle-2" );TOP VIEW. The Philippine Pavilion (center with the brightly-lit square LED) as seen from atop the Grand Ring of the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Photo by Masaki Komatsu/Carlo Calma ConsultancyPhilippine PavilionThe Philippines is only one of 47 Official Participants’ Pavilions from 46 countries and the International Red Cross, and only one of five ASEAN pavilions in the World Expo 2025.
The four other Southeast Asian countries with pavilions are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. There are 161 countries and 7 international organizations (including the United Nations) participating in the World Expo 2025. View this post on Instagram A post shared by MALDAVAR FILMS (@maldavarfilms)Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano said the country’s participation in the World Expo is a “celebration of the long standing and excellent bilateral relations between the Philippines and Japan.
..,” and “offers another avenue to deepen this bond, as we share our rich cultural heritage and innovative spirit with our Japanese friends and the world.
” The two countries will celebrate the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations next year. Must Read From hate to love: Is Japan the Philippines’ new Valentine? The Philippine pavilion has a rattan façade. Filipino artisans made over a thousand pieces of woven rattan in Cebu, known for its furniture exports and world-class designers such as Kenneth Cobonpue.
The woven rattan pieces were shipped to Japan, and will be disassembled and brought back to the Philippines after the expo. CEBU. Over 1,000 rattan pieces that were made in Cebu were attached to the metal structure of the Phiippine Pavilion in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
Photo by Masaki Komatsu/Carlo Calma Consultancy The Philippine Pavilion is titled “Woven” and pays tribute to the country’s indigenous cultures. It has 212 unique woven tiles made by different weavers from all 18 Philippine regions. It is the country’s “largest network of weavers” collaborating for one Philippine project, symbolizing “unity through diversity,” said Carlo Calma Consultancy, the lead architectural firm for the pavilion.
RESILIENCY. There are 212 woven tiles created by weavers from all regions of the Philippines in the Philippine Pavilion in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Photo by Masaki Komatsu/Carlo Calma ConsultancyIt took eight months to finish all woven tiles, and each one is in a weather-sealed case that allows it to “sway with the wind, symbolizing our long history of resilience,” said architect Carlo Calma in an interview with Kanto Creative Corners, an online magazine focusing on design, architecture, and other modern creatives.
Netherlands design studio Tellart provided the guest experience design. Calma’s central concept is “how nature, culture and community can be woven together for a better future.” window.
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displayAd( "mobile-middle-3" );The 693-square-meter Philippine pavilion features several interactive spaces, including “Dancing with Nature,” where the visitor becomes an animated figure (such as a bunch of mangoes or bananas) that moves along with the dancer similar to the popular Just Dance video games. DANCE. Visitors can “dance with nature” in the Philippine Pavilion in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
Screenshot from an official video of Carlo Calma ConsultancyThere are also actual traditional dance performances by Filipinos in the pavilion in various times of the day, depicting the Philippine fiesta. “A love for nature is central to the design concept for the Philippine Pavilion. Our trip to the Philippines immersed us in the creative culture and traditions of this unique country of islands.
I found it so inspiring that Filipino mythologies are deeply intertwined with nature, reflecting the people’s respect and care for the environment. The multisensory experiences will bring Filipino stories, culture and nature to life in a joyful, memorable and experiential way,” said Sabrina Verhage, Tellart’s technology director. In the pavilion’s AI Booth, visitors can pose and have their face scanned, then choose from various styles of Philippine flora and fauna, and let artificial intelligence turn it into an art piece.
AI. Visitors can have an AI-generated image of themselves wrapped in Philiippine flora in the Philippine Pavilion in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Screenshot from an official video of Carlo Calma Consultancy “More than just a picture, it’s a keepsake of your time at the Philippine Pavilion — a blend of technology, nature, and culture in a spirit of celebration,” a description of the booth reads.
There’s a curved rattan installation on one side of the pavilion where visitors can relax and experience the material. NATIVE. The woven tiles can sway with the wind, and visitors can sit on the curved rattan installation (lower part of photo) in the Philippine Pavilion in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
Photo by Masaki Komatsu/Carlo Calma ConsultancyIt also has a gift shop, a café, and a space where visitors can have experience hilot, the traditional Filipino massage. “The Philippine Pavilion is a tribute to the unparalleled creativity that defines the Filipino spirit and empowers countless lives. Adorned with a façade meticulously handcrafted by generations of artisans, the pavilion serves as a poignant reflection of the Filipino labor of love,” said Calma.
Pavilions expected to generate a lot of visitors, based on some reports, include the US Pavilion, Swiss Pavilion, Australia Pavilion, and Singapore Pavilion. The three-storey, Singapore Pavilion, The Dream Sphere, designed by DP Architects, is made up of around 17,000 recycled aluminum discs and stands 17 meters. The discs are inspired by the Japanese cultural practice of writing wishes or prayers on small pieces of wood and hanging them in shrines.
The pavilion includes an origami campaign where people can share their hopes and dreams in a a Crimson Sunbird (native to Singapore) origami created by Takenao Handa. The grand prize winner gets two free round-trip tickets to Osaka and tickets to the expo. The World Expo 2025 Domestic Pavilion includes the Japan Pavilion, Women’s Pavilion, Osaka Healthcare Pavilion, Kansai Pavilion, and 13 Pavilions for Japan’s private sector.
There’s also a Future City pavilion by the Expo Association with 15 attractions, and eight “>Signature Pavilions. Play VideoJapan hosted Asia’s first World Expo, also in Osaka, in 1970 or 55 years ago. It attracted over 64 million vistors and is the “most visited Expo” of the 20th century, according to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the organization in charge of world expos and other international exhibitions.
The World Expo 2025 has a reported construction cost of around $1.64 billion shared by the central government of Japan, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City, and the private sector. As of writing, at least 9 million tickets have been sold since ticket sales were opened in November 2023.
The first world expo was held in London in 1851, and the most recent one was held in Dubai from October 2021 to March 2022. World Expos, says the BIE, “are a global gathering of nations dedicated to finding solutions to pressing challenges of our time by offering a journey inside a universal theme through engaging and immersive activities.” – Rappler.
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