Osaka World Expo

I honestly don't know where to start for this post: Osaka Expo. Wow. 

Gundam Pavilion

We were there pretty late in the season; with only a month to go so many people were lining up to get in. We had booked tickets for a 9am entry slot, and were there in the line at 8:30. We could also see people there at 8:30 lining up for their 10am entry, and the 11am as well. Inconceivable! Lots of Japanese people were well prepared with portable seats they could use when they were in lines so they didn't have to stand as they waited. 

So many of the pavilions had a booking system so they could control the number of people coming through, while others just had lines out front. Some had a mix, like the Nordic Circle Pavilion, which opened a "walk in" slot at 2:30 as we happened to be passing by. Lucky I guess, but then we were pretty underwhelmed with what we saw there. 

Lanterns in the Vietnam Pavilion

What we could see everywhere else though, was fascinating and cool. Amazing to see the number of countries represented, the architecture of the site as well as all the buildings. Because we had the 9am entry, we did manage to enter a number of pavilions early on, but after about 10:30, it was lines of an hour or more, if you were lucky. 

Tree of Harmony in the Malaysian Pavilion

We knew it was going to be pretty busy, so we didn't mind it. Instead we just took our time walking around and seeing what we could from the outside. I guess I don't know what to write for this post because mostly, the photos speak for themselves. 

Expo grand ring on the right - huge!

There were several Commons buildings which housed a number of smaller countries. Walking through these was actually a highlight for me, because each country had so much culture and handicraft on display. Amazing to see! 

Resting space

Expo from on top of the grand ring

I also loved seeing so many countries of people that I now knew, thanks to the seven week long training course I'd done back in July. How great when all these countries can come together for something. That we are all unique and individual, but our differences can be celebrated and used to help each other. Oh how that is my prayer for our world today. 

I got my last round of takoyaki (octopus balls) there, which were delicious. Myaku Myaku, the Osaka Expo Mascot is possibly the weirdest thing that Japan has ever come up with. We also saw people dressed in Myaku Myaku inspired outfits through out the day, including a lady in kimono with Mayku Myaku on her obi. 

We spent some of the day making sure we spun all the Pokestops at Expo, and got the stamps for each. This was a bonus Pokemon Go feature for everyone playing at Expo which was pretty cool. 

Pokemon themed displays that were the Pokestops. Fun!

I haven't talked much about the stamp culture, but in Japan, most train station and loads of tourist sites (like the castles) have an old school ink stamp you can get when you are there. Rachel had been collecting all sorts of stamps during our stay and was so excited to get the Expo ones for each country. She was a bit bummed she didn't have an actual stamp book, but we used what we had, which was her train stamp book from Tokyo. 

Anyway, we managed to last pretty well until about six, when we decided to split up. Sophie was so tired from late nights and early mornings that she needed to go home. Rachel was keen to stay with Steve and see the drone/lights show that happened between seven and eight. 

From on top of the grand ring at night. 

When Steve was leaving with Rachel, he noticed they had the number of atendees projected onto the train station building outside. Over 240 000 people had visited just that day. When he told me I said it's no wonder there was a line for the loos. Japanese public transport still remains so superior to the rest of the world, because there was no wait for the train home and Steve and Rachel even had seats on this super cute deer theme train. 

I have to say, my expectations for expo had been pretty low, especially since my parents had been the week before and told me it was so busy and crowded and hot that they were unable to get into anything. But, we were so pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed what we did see. Hooray!

Sumo!

We were pretty keen on going to see sumo while we were in Japan. This national sport is so iconic and different that it just seemed like a must do. Unfortunately, the tournament in Tokyo only lasts three weeks and the locations in other cities (Nagoya and Osaka) didn't match our time line. We did our research and attempted to get tickets, but they sold out in about an hour of opening. 

You could get resale tickets from sites like Klook, but they were easily four times the price, and for a back row seat, it just didn't seem worth it. It seemed like our chance was over and we just had to be content with the sumo we saw back in May at a local festival. By chance, my friend David travelled around to Osaka and told me about a sumo show he saw there. 

The Sumo Hall Hirakuza Oaska put on a sumo show experience that was as good as we were going to get. We only had two and a bit days in Osaka before we flew home, but I was pretty determined to fit it in. We booked a night session that included a bento dinner to enjoy while you watched. 

The show had an introduction section (explaining the rituals and history), sumo training and a match. The training was impressive, since the sumo are so flexible. Then they had people from the audience "fight" the sumo. The whole thing was very staged, but it was oh so fun. When they announced at the start that people from the audience could sign up for the raffle to fight the sumo, Sophie leapt up immediately and joined the line of men who were putting their names down. 

We enjoyed the show thinking it was pretty unlikely Sophie would be chosen, but lo and behold, her number was drawn from the box! It was hilarious! 

Sumo getting ready for their match.

They took her and three other guys back stage to get ready (into ridiculous, puffy sumo suits) and then the competition began. The three men went first, each choosing a sumo to fight and before being thrown to the ground. When the second guy went down, I turned to Steve and said: "Sophie's going to win this." 

Sophie got up and they asked her name and where she was from. The cheer from the crowd when they heard Australia was huge. She was quite cautious at the start of the match, but the sumo she fought was so fun and great with her and the crowd was cheering so much, soon she was pushing away to try to knock him down. You can watch the video here. 

Rachel's reaction when the match ended was pretty fabulous. 

We were pretty proud of our Sophie for getting up and giving it a go. What a way to finish up our time in Japan! 

This is the story she tells everyone when they ask how was Japan and what was the highlight. 

Got to say, it was a pretty big highlight for me too. So fun!