Osaka Expo Experience Sharing

First of all, if you plan to go to the Expo, try to buy tickets and enter the lottery as early as possible, preferably at least a month in advance. Here is a summary of my experience this time:
1. Ticket Booking and Lottery:
After booking your ticket, remember to select the date and entry time slot (choose the earliest one), and also select whether to enter from the East Gate or West Gate, which I will explain later.
The lottery (for popular pavilions or events) is divided into four stages:
The first stage is one month before, the second stage is from one month to one week before. In these two stages, you select five preferences and you will either get one or none. The third stage is three days before; check daily to see if there are any available spots to grab tickets. I failed in the third stage, so I don’t know any tricks. Finally, on the day of entry, after using all your reservations, you can continue to apply, but I didn’t get any either! Also, remember to click the submit button after selecting your preferences in the lottery, or you won’t participate.
2. Transportation and East/West Gates:
The East Gate is directly accessible from the subway and is said to be more crowded, so you might want to arrive early to line up. I won’t talk much about this as I haven’t experienced it myself.
The West Gate is said to have fewer people, but when I went, it was still quite crowded. Also, you cannot walk from the East Gate to the West Gate outside. The most common way is to take a shuttle bus (from Sakurajima Station, 350 yen) or a taxi.
For the shuttle bus, you need to book through Kansai mass (available on the official website, no app download needed). It is divided into time slots, and it’s best to get the 8:00 AM slot (I didn’t get it). I didn’t buy a ticket in advance; I arrived at Sakurajima Station at 7:00 AM and the staff still allowed us to buy tickets online. I bought the 9:00 AM slot, which was queued separately from the 8:00 AM slot. I finally boarded the bus around 8:45 AM, and when I arrived at the West Gate, there were many people and a queue to enter. I entered around 9:40 AM.
If you can’t get the 8:00 AM shuttle bus, it’s recommended to share a taxi with a few people or choose the East Gate and line up early (I’m not sure what time is best to line up).
3. Pavilions:
The advantage of entering early is that you can queue directly for some popular pavilions without reservations. If you come later without reservations, you won’t be able to enter.
If you participate in the lottery in the first two stages and arrive early, you should be able to visit at least three popular pavilions!

This is my experience sharing this time. I hope it helps everyone. If you have related experiences, please feel free to add or give feedback.

Post by 張淯竣 | May 23, 2025