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The World's Fair and Exposition
Information and Reference Guide

1970 Osaka, Japan

  

Statistics,  Facts and Trivia, Photos

    

  • 63 facts and trivia nuggets with 26 links to more resources.

  • The World's Fair and Exposition Information and Reference Guide is now on CD.
    11,216 facts and 1,362 web links covering 24 World's Fairs and Expositions.
    Further information can be found here.

  • To Convert Dollar Amounts to the Year 2003: divide the amount by .230

 

 

The following are included on the CD
 
High Resolution Images (11) Bonus: Timeline 1970 (38)

 

  

Statistics

  

 

  • Theme: Progress and Harmony  for Mankind

  • Dates: March 15 - September 13, 1970 (183 Days).

  • Location: Senri Hills, Osaka, Japan.

  • Type of Exhibition: Category One.

  • Area: 815 acres.

  • Total Country Represented: 80.

  • Total International Pavilions: 95.

  • Total Japanese Pavilions: 32.

  • Total Paid Visitors: 64,000,000.

  • Net Profit: $30,000,000.

  • The Expo had 5 Entrances and Parking for 20,000 Cars and 1500 Tour Buses. As well as:   18 Information Boards, 5 Types of Female Guides (in color coordinated uniforms), 110 Clocks, 19 Post Boxes, 29 Guard Stations, 100 Guard Boxes, 214 Restaurants and Snack Bars, 15 Food Inspectors, 400 Wheel Chairs, 70,000 copies of a Special Guide Book for those using wheel chairs with another 10,000 copies in Braille, 50 Closed-circuit Remote-control TV Cameras, 1400 Baby Strollers, 10,000 Umbrellas, 100 Emergency Phones, 7000 Telephones, 1200 Special Expo Guard Corpsmen, and Free Dental Clinic and First Aid Stations.

  • Exposition in Japanese is "Hakurankai".

  • Japan's first participation in an Exposition was in London, 1861. The first official Japanese Pavilion was displayed at the Paris Expo in 1867. The first participation of the Meiji government of Japan in an International Exposition was at Vienna in 1873.

  • Japan had initially submitted for an Exposition in 1940 to commemorate the 2600th anniversary of the country's foundation. But war broke out.

  • Japan became the third nation to hold a Category One exposition since WWII.

  • Exposition plans were finalized by 13 architects in January, 1968. The layout resembled a tree in bloom with a central Symbol Area as the trunk. The monorail, moving sidewalks and seven sub-plazas (painted white) symbolized the "boughs". And the colorful pavilions represented blossoms. One big cherry blossom tree (or bush).

  • This was the first International Exposition to be held in Asia.

  • Intra-Expo transportation included: Monorail, Electric Family Cars, an Aerial Cableway and Moving Walks.

  

Facts and Trivia

  

 

  • The Official emblem was patterned after the cherry blossom with 5 petals symbolizing the five major continents and the central circle symbolizing Japan. The gathering of people from across the globe is the over all concept.

  • The Symbol Area was 1000 meters long and 150 meters wide and covered 118,000 square meters.

  • Festival Plaza (Symbol Area) was covered by the world's largest translucent roof. It was 30 meters tall, 108 meters by 292 meters in size, supported by six pillars, and weighed 6000 tons.

  • The "Tree of Life" (Tower of the Sun) illustrated the story of evolution. It was 45 meters tall and carried visitors by escalator past 300+ man-made models.

  • The 70 meter tall Tower of the Sun had three faces, the "Black Sun", the "Golden Sun" and a unnamed larger image facing the main Gate.

  • Sammy Davis Jr performed in Expo Hall (Festival Plaza) as well as: Sergio Mendes, Andy Williams, Gilbert Becaud, Mary Hopkin and the Fifth Dimension.

  • The moving sidewalks were covered and air conditioned.

  • The Expo Museum of Fine Arts had works by Salvador Dali, Picasso, Gauguin, Renoir, Rubens, Van Gogh and Cézanne.

  • The Expo Tower was 120 meters tall and sat on a hill 70 meters high. It had a 75 meter observation platform and contained a wireless relay station.

  • The Expo Rose Gardens had over 50 varieties of roses.

  • Among the items displayed in the United States Pavilion was a moon rock from the Apollo 11 lunar mission and baseball memorabilia from Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and Joe DiMaggio.

 

 

  • The USSR Pavilion featured a piano that once belonged to Tschaikovski and a huge screen that displayed 10 films at the same time. It also had a section that peaked at 110 meters, making it the tallest building.

  • Switzerland's Pavilion had the "Radiant Structure". A, 21 meter high, 55 meter tall, structure resembling a tree and decked in aluminum with 32,000 glass spheres.

  • The Australian Pavilion was a 10 story sloped cantilever tower. From which hung a 260 ton, free hanging circular roof structure.

  • Turkey displayed an enlarged version of the Kadesh Peace Treaty, the first international treaty known in the world.

  • The Laotian Pavilion was an exact replica of the Vat Sisaket Library.

  • The Czechoslovakian Pavilion featured a cylindrical movie theatre.

  • The Ceylon Pavilion had a large bronze replica of the Bo-tree. A sapling of the Bo-tree was brought to Ceylon and is considered to be the oldest historical tree with religious significance.

  • Tanzania displayed a replica of the skull of the oldest man on earth (known at that time). It was discovered by Dr Leakey in 1959.

  • The Vatican displayed a replica of the Vatican Greek Codex 1209.

  • The World's Largest Emerald was displayed in the Colombian Pavilion.

  • The Hong Kong Pavilion was surrounded by water. And twice a day 13 large bat-winged sails were raised in ceremony, reminiscent of Chinese fishing junks.

 

 

  • The World's Tallest Wooden Structure was the British Columbia Pavilion. It was comprised of 300, 50 meter high Douglas Firs. The exhibit also contained two waterfalls and numerous carved wooden doors supported by totem poles made by British Columbian Indians.

  • The Ontario Pavilion occupied 31,000 square feet and contained a 36 foot by 90 foot, 120 degree parabolic curved movie screen.

  • The Hawaiian Pavilion resembled a 25 foot high volcanic cylinder cone.

  • The American Park displayed the plane Charles Lindbergh flew to Japan 40 years earlier.

  • The Kodak Pavilion was a six sided, four story, golden glass lined structure with an outer ramp encircling it. The ramp provided an observation platform for picture taking.

  • The Telecommunications Pavilion contained three "Eidophor's" (large screen TVs) that continuously broadcast live telecasts from Tokyo, Kyoto and Tanegashima Island through all 183 days of the Exposition.

  • In the Gas Pavilion, everything was powered by gas including the projectors. The theme for this pavilion ... "World of Laughter".

  • The theme for the Sumitomo Pavilion was "Familiar Fairy Tales of the World". Over 50 different tales were represented along with live performances by the Takeda Marionettes.

  • The Fuji Group Pavilion was made of sixteen vinyl-nylon tubes joined together, each 4 meters in diameter and 80 meters long. Making it the World's Largest Pneumatic Structure.

  • The Suntory Pavilion was created by a whiskey distiller (Suntory Limited) and resembled a large bamboo stalk. The theme for this exhibit ... "Water of Life".

  • The Japan Folk Crafts Museum became a permanent museum at the close of Expo 70.

 

 

  • The Hitachi Group Pavilion resembled a flying saucer, complete with a 40 foot escalator ramp and the largest laser beam system of it's type in the world.

  • The Ricoh Pavilion was easy to find. It was underneath a balloon, 55 meters in the air and 25 meters in diameter. During the day it resembled a huge reflective eye. At night the balloon became a screen using "Float Vision", "Space Vision" and " Intro Vision".

  • In the Automotive Pavilion car engines zoomed around the room on special rails with sound transmitted by speakers ... creating engine music.

  • The Fujipan Robot Pavilion featured, well, robots. And lots of them. Robots making robots, taking pictures, singing, dancing, playing music and juggling.

  • A time capsule with 2,068 items was on display in the Matsushita Pavilion. It was eventually buried on the grounds of Osaka castle ... to be opened in 6790 AD.

  • In the Parking Areas, loop coils were placed underground at entrance's and exit's to detect traffic. Data would be transmitted to a central computer where "vehicle guiding boards" would be signaled to guide motorists to available parking.

  • The Lost and Found and Lost Children System utilized "TV-telephones". You could browse lost articles or communicate audio visually when your child was located.

  • You could register with the Rendezvous Information Service and send messages to separated family members using push-button telephones. But you had to read Japanese.

  • Computers not only were used in informational systems but also in lighting, moving walks, parking, human traffic, and the water and sewage systems.

  • 70 Electric Cars were available for rent. It held 5 passengers plus driver. And cost only 200 Yen for ten minutes.

  • The Roller Coaster in Expoland was really five rides in one. All five started and ended at the same time.

    

International Pavilions

  

 

  • The following nations had individual pavilions at Expo 70. 

  • Abu-Dhabi, Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Ceylon, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Mexico, Monaco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Soviet Union, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia.  

Links, Online Resources

  

 

   

Books, Sources

  

  • Expo '70 Official Guide. Japan Exposition for the 1970 World Exposition. 1970.

  • Seeing Expo '70, Guide to Japan World Exposition. Mainichi Publications. Japan Airlines. 1970.

   

Footnote

 

  • The photographs are part of my personal collection and are in bad condition. Over 24 hours of photo-editing was required to get them in their present state. About a third of them are out-of-focus. I cleaned them up as best as I could and put them on the web (and CD). It is extremely difficult to find good amateur pictures and even harder to find them for this Expo.
  • All photographs and images are copyrighted property of Stan Daniloski.
   
 

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