Experience Sharing from Osaka Expo

If you're planning to visit the Expo, it's best to buy tickets and enter the lottery as early as possible, ideally a month in advance. Here's a summary of my experience: 1. Ticket Booking and Lottery: After booking your ticket, remember to select the date and entry time slot (choose the earliest one), as well as the entrance (East or West). I'll explain this later. The lottery for popular pavilions or activities has four stages: - Stage 1: One month before the event. - Stage 2: From one month to one week before the event. In these two stages, you can select five preferences, and you might win one or none. - Stage 3: Three days before the event. Check daily for available slots to grab tickets. Personally, I failed at this stage, so I can't offer any tips. - Stage 4: On the day of entry, after using up your reservations, you can continue applying. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to secure any tickets here either. Also, remember to click the "Submit" button when selecting your preferences for the lottery; otherwise, you won't be entered. 2. Transportation and Entrance (East vs. West): - East Entrance: Directly accessible from the subway. It's said to be more crowded, so you might need to queue early. I didn't experience this myself, so I won't elaborate. - West Entrance: Reportedly less crowded, but during my visit, it was still quite busy. Note that you can't walk from the East Entrance to the West Entrance outside the venue. The most common options are taking a shuttle bus (from Sakurajima Station, costing 350 yen) or a taxi. For the shuttle bus, you need to book via Kansai Mass (available on the official website, no app download required). The bus operates in time slots, and it's best to secure the 8 AM slot (I couldn't get it). Since I didn't buy a ticket, I arrived at Sakurajima Station at 7 AM, and staff allowed us to purchase tickets online. I bought the 9 AM slot, which queues separately from the 8 AM slot. Eventually, I boarded the bus around 8:45 AM, reached the West Entrance, and found a large crowd. After queuing, I entered the venue around 9:40 AM. If you can't get the 8 AM bus slot, consider gathering a group to share a taxi or opt for the East Entrance and queue early (though I'm unsure of the ideal time). 3. Pavilions: Entering early allows you to visit some popular pavilions without reservations, as you can directly queue. Otherwise, later in the day, entry without reservations becomes impossible. If you participate in the lottery during the first two stages and arrive early, you should be able to visit at least three popular pavilions. This is my experience sharing. I hope it helps! If you have related experiences, feel free to supplement or provide feedback.