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The curtain may have closed on the Osaka Expo, but Yumeshima Island’s transformation is just getting started. A release of new architectural documents has revealed the ambitious scale of the plans for the artificial island as part of MGM Osaka – Japan’s first casino resort.
Scheduled to open in 2030, the ¥1.27 trillion ($8.5 billion) development is a full-scale bet on transforming the reputation Yumeshima gained from its short-lived pavilions into a permanent international destination for poker tables. And the house, in this case, is thinking long-term.
The recently published plans reveal that the centrepiece of the MGM will be a 27-storey, 126-metre tower, arced like the Bellagio in Las Vegas and housing two hotels with around 1,840 rooms, as well as a casino and a theatre.
Beyond the main tower, major sections include a massive facility for international conferences and exhibitions. Theatres, restaurants, retail venues and facilities for traditional Japanese arts, crafts, food and cultural activities are also slated to accompany the bigger buildings.
Although the development will almost completely transform Yumeshima, not everything from the Expo will disappear. A 200-metre section of the iconic 2-kilometre wooden Grand Ring is being permanently preserved as part of a future municipal memorial park on the site's northeastern side.
Key for Osaka is how this development doesn’t exist in isolation. Universal Studios Japan sits just across the water, while Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the world's largest aquariums, is just minutes away. With the addition of a resort offering more hotel rooms than many small cities, Yumeshima and its surrounding bay area is looking to become a tourism corridor that could keep visitors in Osaka for days rather than hours.
The Expo brought significant momentum to the city and MGM Osaka looks set to capitalise on it, continuing Yumeshima's evolution to what developers hope will be a major tourism and business hub. With infrastructure already in place and visitor numbers still strong, it looks like a solid bet for Osaka’s future.
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