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Autumn trees in red and orange reflected in Shinji pond in the Japanese garden of Expo '70 Park
Photo: Laitche, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Osaka · park

Expo '70 Commemorative Park

万博記念公園

A park of about 260 hectares on the site of Expo '70 in Osaka, home to Taro Okamoto's Tower of the Sun, which you can go inside, and a vast Japanese garden.

Small thatched tea house surrounded by autumn maples in the park's Japanese garden
Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Rocky stream winding through the Japanese garden at Expo '70 Commemorative Park
Photo: Laitche, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The site of the 1970 Osaka Expo

Expo '70 Commemorative Park is in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. It was laid out on the former site of the Japan World Exposition (Osaka Expo) held in 1970, and covers about 260 hectares.

The park divides broadly into the Natural and Cultural Gardens, where the Tower of the Sun stands, the Japanese Garden, and an area of cultural facilities such as museums plus sports facilities. The National Museum of Ethnology and the Japan Folk Crafts Museum Osaka are also inside the park.

The Tower of the Sun, inside and out

The symbol of the park is the Tower of the Sun (Taiyo no To), designed by the artist Taro Okamoto. It was built as part of the Expo's theme pavilion and stands about 71m tall. The Golden Face at the top represents the future, the Face of the Sun on the front the present, and the Black Sun on the back the past. On 27 August 2025 it was designated a national Important Cultural Property (as a structure).

Inside the tower rises the Tree of Life (Seimei no Ki), about 41m tall, fitted with 292 models tracing the evolution of life, from primitive amoeba-like creatures all the way to humans. The interior was closed for about 50 years after the Expo, but has been open to the public again since March 2018.

A Japanese garden that walks you through history

The Japanese Garden was created for the Expo as the government's exhibit. It covers 26 hectares and stretches about 1,300m from east to west. Following a stream that flows from west to east, it sets out garden styles from four eras in order: ancient, medieval, early modern and modern.

The medieval section has a karesansui (dry landscape garden), where stones and sand stand for flowing water, and the early modern section is a stroll garden laid out around a shinji-ike, a pond shaped like the kanji character for "heart" (心). In the Natural and Cultural Gardens, cherry blossoms and other seasonal flowers bloom, and flower events are held in autumn.

Getting there

From Banpaku-kinen-koen Station on the Osaka Monorail, it is about a 10-minute walk to the Tower of the Sun. For the Japanese Garden, Koen-higashiguchi Station is also convenient.

Opening hours and admission fees can change, so check the official website.

Tips

  • Tours inside the Tower of the Sun give priority to reservations, which you can make on the official website up to the day before. Same-day tickets are sold if there is space, but not on days when bookings fill every slot, so booking ahead is the safe option.
  • On the day of your tower visit you also need an admission ticket for the Natural and Cultural Gardens, separate from the tower's own entry fee.
  • Cosmos and kochia events are planned for October 2026.

Sources

Updated 30 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

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