Expo '70 [Asahi newsreel]
The 1970 World's Fair -- a.k.a. Expo '70 -- opened in Osaka 40 years ago this week. A total of 77 countries attended the event and the number of visitors surpassed 64 million people, making it one of the largest and best attended expositions in history. This was the first World's Fair to be held in Japan, a nation that had experienced an extremely rapid period of development in the 1960s. The theme of the Expo was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind," and the aim was to showcase the possibilities of modern technology to create a foundation for a high quality of life and peace throughout the world. Here are some photos and videos from the event.
Tower of the Sun [petespix75]
Toshibia-IHI Pavilion [m-louis]
Expo Tower [Anton Rauben Weiss]
Switzerland Pavilion [m-louis]
Netherlands Pavilion [nyclondonguy]
Gamera vs. Monster X (battle at the Expo)
[Gamera vs. Monster X trailer (and more)]
Japan Telecommunications Pavilion // Sumitomo Fairy Tale Pavilion [Anton Rauben Weiss]
Bulgaria Pavilion [Dimiter Dimitrov]
Gas Pavilion [rbdx]
Italy Pavilion [nyclondonguy]
Fountain designed by Isamu Noguchi [petespix75]
Barbie goes to Expo '70 [eizzily]
Takara Beautilion Pavilion [Anton Rauben Weiss]
US Pavilion [More]
Furukawa Pavilion [m-louis]
USSR Pavilion [petespix75]
Korea Pavilion // Takara Beautilion Pavilion [m-louis]
Expo '70 sign on Osaka street [Thomas Abercrombie via a girl named Steve]
Wacoal-Riccar Pavilion [rbdx]
Expo ropeway [Anton Rauben Weiss]
Expo '70 scenery [petespix75]
Furukawa Pavilion [nyclondonguy]
Brochures for USSR and Belgium [More]
West Germany Pavilion [Stockhausen]
Textiles Pavilion [m-louis]
The Tower of the Sun [m-louis]
Netherlands Pavilion [petespix75]
Expo '70 monorail [petespix75]
Fountains by Isamu Noguchi [Anton Rauben Weiss]
Aerial view of Green Pavilion [Stellavista]
JamesS
Why no mention of the Pepsi Pavilion? This was arguably one of the most technologically innovative pavilions in the entire Expo.
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/pepsi-pavillon/images/2/
[]Verythrax
Very nice to see it after reading 20th Century Boys :D
How much of it still exists there? For what it's being used now?
[]Jegg
Fascinating. Of course, given the time required to design and construct, this really represents what was in people's head between 1965 and 1968 (two years minimum seems reasonable).
[]spiraltime
Loved the video. I was given a package of picture cards that are in mint condition ;)
[]Nakore
Awesome, timely post. Expo '70 has always intrigued me, and I feel the Chinese have an opportunity this year to replicate the grandeur of Osaka's World Fair.
[]HP
As a kid who grew up in the 70s in the midwestern USA, I hated everything about the society and culture. Now, I would sacrifice everything I own to travel back in time and dance in the streets of Osaka to Noh-rock fusion with Soviet spokesmodels and Canadian Mounties.
I am weeping as I type this. How sad is that?
[]Patricia
They don't do stuff like this anymore or anywhere do they?
[]mexist
hey i have a complete box set of the souvenir booklets from this expo, with a ton of photos not shown here, very nice
[]Sean
Hello,
[]I was wondering if you would be so kind as to help me with some research I am undertaking on the Belgian pavillion at the Osaka 70 expo. Do you have a copy of the original brochure for the Belgian pavilion ? Does it include photos of the exterior and interior ? Does it mention the name Christophe Gevers ?
Any information you could send me on the Belgian pavilion would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance for your kind help.
Kind regards,
Sean Bentley
Mandy
hi im mandy,
and im studying expo 70 as well and im doing research on the sanyo pavilion about its structure and its building mainly. i was wondering if u have any leaflet that can help me?
any help is much apreicated.
Mandy
[]Miguel
So nice this video!! I arrived to your website because I was looking for pictures of Expo '70, because I live 10 min from there now!! I am a Graduate student at Osaka University, I am from Paraguay. Because I really haven't enter there yet, I don't know exactly what is remaining from that time, but now it is mainly a park, and they call it Expo '70 Conmemorative Park. But I should say that it seems like almost every building has already disappeared, because I see the park from the Monorail. It looks so different compared with the images in this video!! I am 28 years old, but I don't know why I feel like nostalgic when watching old videos from 70's and 80's. It seems like I wanted to live in those years. The Tower of the Sun is still there, but only the tower, I didn't know how it looked in 70s until I saw this video, and I am surprised!! And for example, the stadium is now the official stadium of Gamba Osaka, which is a very important soccer team in Japan. If you have more pictures and videos from these Expo, please show us!! Thank you!! Regards!!
[]Jimi Hendrickx
The photo's of Expo 70 here are great visual memories...thank you!
[]I and friends from USN Atsugi, Japan, were a few of the lucky one's to experience Expo 70. We hitched rides with Japanese truck drivers on the Tomeh highway. They stopped at truck stops, fed us and got us a ride with another driver who was headed to Osaka. Japanese Truck Driver's are 'itchi-bon.' It was a long ride. There was a total of four of us, as we traveled in pairs. We arrived just before sunrise, slept a bit on a bluff facing a main entrance.
Met up with our buddies at the main entrance and went in together. We all dropped a hit of acid as we entered, and well it was an experience to treasure as I still remember today. We didn't have enough extra money to get in the next day, so found an out-of-the-way place, covered ourelves with newspapers and slept inside the Expo park overnight. Had breakfast, bathed in rest rooms, swam in the large water area and had a ball. Yaht-tatza-baaybeee! :-) We had made so many Japanese friends, they also jumped into the water after seeing us - adults, teenagers, kids, everyone. We were U.S. Navy Sailor's in tie-dyed hippi dress. Hey, I am 61 as of 2010. Old enough to know better, but young enough to do it again. Nihon-skih-desk, nay, Nihon-skih-desk...doxon des-shoh. (sorry, don't know how to write the Japanese words. I still love Japan, and have so many great memories of living there with the People! Peace and Love conquers all...Jimi
Robert Ontiveros
Beautiful photos and great videos! My band played at Expo 70 during a week in August at the rock concert produced by Watanabe Prods. Headlining was ARRIVAL from the UK, THE TIGERS from Japan, THE D'SWOONERS from the Phillipines, ALLAN MERRILL & THE ROCK PILOTS, and my band, MOTHER SUPERIOR, I can't remember anyone else, sorry. We had two shows a day and didn't get much time to walk around so I really enjoyed seeing these photos and videos. Thanks for uploading!
[]Donald
My dad was in the navy and stationed in Yokosuka at the navy base. We lived in Japan for 3 years. A visit to Expo 70 was one of the last things we did before returning to the US. Its something I will never forget for as long as I live. Im 49 now, and seeing these pictures brought back ALOT of memories. I vividly remember the British Columbia building with its towering stairstep log construction...the US pavilion with its giant white roof and the russian pavilion with the capsule Yuri Gagarin rode into space on April 12, 1961..the very day I was born.
[]jjaacccc
20th Century Boys FTW.
[]Randy
I had the pleasure of attending Expo 70 and will never forget my visit.
[]Christine Dann
In case anyone is still interested in Expo '70 .... you can see the New Zealand film made about it - 'This is Expo' here -
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/this-is-expo-1971
As well as general Expo footage it (naturally) features the NZ paviliion and especially its extremely popular and technologically innovative film 'This is New Zealand'
(excerpts from it are here - http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/this-is-new-zealand-1970)
Both films were directed by Hugh Macdomnald for the NZ National Film Unit.
[]