The Osaka World Expo in 1970 was the first world’s fair to be held in Asia and it turned out to be a great success. The event took place in the hills of Senri outside of the city of Osaka and featured 77 countries and regions, with more than 64 million people visiting during its six-month run. Today, the Expo site is preserved as Expo ’70 Commemorative Park, where you can explore the legacy and history of the event as well as visit museums such as the Japan Folk Crafts Museum and the National Museum of Ethnology.
One of the highlights is the Tower of the Sun, an installation by the avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto. About 70m tall, it was built as part of the theme pavilion for the 1970 Expo and was open to visitors during the event, after which it was closed for renovations. However, it reopened in 2018 and you can now enter the tower on tours (priority for those with advance reservations; ¥720, ¥310 for children of elementary and junior high school age, in addition to the park entrance fee of ¥260/¥80). Inside, you can see the 41m-tall ‘Tree of Life’ installation, which was designed by Okamoto and tells the story of evolution.
The park also encompasses an expansive Japanese garden and the Rose Garden for Peace.