In 1970 and the site of Senri Hills in Suita, Osaka had been transformed into Japan’s first world fair, Expo ’70 or known locally as Osaka Banpaku. From March to September of that year almost 65 million people would visit the Expo, making it the largest world fair ever at the time, only surpassed once, 40 years later by Shanghai in 2010.
The theme of Expo ’70 was “Progress and Harmony for Mankind.” This expo saw early mobile phones, moon rocks, LAN technology and the first IMAX film on display. Fifty years on and the area is now home Expo ’70 Commemorative Park or Banpaku Koen. While the pavilions have disappeared, this large park has plenty to offer with beautiful gardens, museums, sports and recreation facilities and one of the famous symbols of the ’70s expo remain, the Tower of Sun.
As Osaka looks to the future, it will host its second world expo in 2025 (although at a different location). The city is pushing ahead with technological advances as they hope to “wow” the world again with the Expo 2025 theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives“.
I was lucky enough to be invited to experience an autonomous bus guide around the Japanese garden inside Expo Park.
5 years in the Future: The Virtually-Guided Autonomous Bus
The new autonomous bus is set to be introduced during Expo 2025. The bus sat 6 people, had large windows and Panasonic’s very cool futuristic transparent OLED TV.
The bus guided us around the park’s Japanese Garden with the journey taking 25 minutes. The virtual guide described the parks features as we travelled along at speeds between 5~10km/h. Not ripping speeds but comfortable enough to enjoy the sites out the window.
For most part it was a smooth experience, however there were some hiccups on the way with the automatic breaking system a little too sensitive. Falling leaves, it’s that time of the year, causing it to suddenly stop a handful of times.
The bus is designed by Navya, a French company with investment by SoftBank Corp. These buses are being trialed and tested at a number of cities round the world including Oslo, Singapore and Las Vegas.
While you can’t enjoy the autonomous bus for yourself just yet you can still enjoy the beauty of the park with gorgeous autumn colors and maple leaves this season (November). Expo Park is also one of the most popular spots for cherry blossoms in the spring. Check out the park’s website for more info.
Access to Expo Park From Kobe
You can get to the park by train in just over on hour from Kobe. There are a couple of routes you can take, with your final destination Bampakukinenkoen Station on the Osaka Monorail.
From JR Sannomiya Station catch the train to Shin-Osaka, transfer to the Midosuji Line and head to Senrichuo. From here, transfer to the Osaka-Monorail line and head to Bampakukinenkoen Station.
By Hankyu Kobe-Sannomiya board the train towards Juso. Transfer here for the Hankyu-Kyoto Line Semi-Express train and get off at Minami-Ibaraki. Transfer to the monorail and six minutes later you’ll arrive at Bampakukinenkoen Station.
Driving is also an option with a large car parking facilities inside the park. You can also enjoy shopping at the neighbouring Expo City shopping centre.
