The Osaka Expo, held on the man-made island of Yumeshima in Osaka, Japan, attracted over 140,000 people to queue for entry on its opening day. The network at the entrance almost crashed, adding to the wait time to enter, and resulting in visitors being unable to smoothly book entry to the pavilions, with queue times exceeding 2 hours. Even the restrooms had long lines.
Within the venue, the conveyor belt sushi chain restaurant "Kura Sushi," which boasts the world's longest conveyor belt, had an astonishing wait time of 8 hours to get seated. Walking from the venue to the nearest subway station took 2 hours, yet it didn't deter the endless stream of visitors.
Entrance Packed with People Waiting to Enter
The Osaka Expo was officially opened for visits on Sunday morning. Despite the unfavorable weather, the east and west entrances were already packed with people waiting to get in. The path from the Yumesaki subway station to the venue entrance was crowded, with police and staff busy maintaining order. It’s estimated that the number of visitors reached as high as 140,000.
Although the organizers claimed this Expo would be queue-free, at the entrance, apart from scanning the ticket QR code, visitors also had to stop for security checks before entering. This didn’t speed up the process much. Nearby base stations struggled to cope with the large influx of people, and the official app even advised people not to watch videos due to poor mobile connections at the entrance.
By noon, "Kura Sushi" was filled with diners, and anyone wanting a seat at noon had to wait until 8 PM; another restaurant, "Sushiro," showed "279 groups waiting."
Cashless Transactions Cause Inconvenience
Additionally, the Expo promoted "cashless transactions" within the venue, but it resulted in many needing to load cash onto a "Suica" card to make purchases, causing inconvenience. The convenience store on-site was similarly crowded with people.
Around 3 PM, some people started leaving, with social media posts indicating that the east entrance was packed, unable to move. Complaints could be heard near the subway station about how it took 2 hours from the start of the line to entering the station entrance, with the rain and cold making it hard to board the train.