【Dating at Expo City】 One-day date plan in Osaka

In Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, there is a large complex called EXPO CITY, one of the largest in Japan.

It opened in 2015 at the site of the Amusement Park of Expo Land which was built with the Japan World Exposition held in 1970.The expo has more than 300 “Lalaport Expo” shops, an aquarium to enjoy the five senses “NIFREL”, a movie theater “109 Cinemas”, a Pokemon EXIPO Gym and a Ferris wheel. We also have IMAX and 4DX here “109 Cinemas Osaka Expo City”.At another building of LaLaport, there is a popular shop “RHC Ron Herman” and “RHC Ron Hermann Café” on the second floor.

Today we will introduce a one-day date plan at this expo city.
I hope they will use it as a reference for your date.

11:00 Arrive at Expo CITY

By car

There are 3 multistory parking lots and, 1 underground parking lot, and the entrance is different. It is divided by the route to go.
It is not so crowded on weekdays. It is expected to be crowded until around 11:00-17:00 on Sunday. It may be better to take a train if you want to avoid crowds.

By train

The nearest station is the Osaka Monorail “Banpaku Kinen Kouen(Expo Commemoration Park)” station. It’s very close to Expo City.

11:15 Banpaku Kinen Kouen(Expo Memorial Park) and Hanami(Cherry-blossom viewing)

At first, you must visit “Expo Memorial Park”.
Admission fee;Adult 250 yen · Elementary and Middle school student 70 yen. “The sun’s tower” will welcome you when entering the central entrance. It is the symbol of “Osaka World Exposition” held in 1970. Designed by Taro Okamoto, a famous artist. At the top of the tower, there are three faces, “golden face” which symbolizes the future, “face of the sun” on the front symbolizing the present, and “black sun” on the back which symbolizes the past. The inside has a hollow and, during the Expo that was an exhibition space. And for the first time in 48 years since March 2018, the entire inside of the tower has been open to the public. You can see the situation at that time!(Reservation required)
That was around the beginning of April when we visited. “Sakura Festival” was also held because it was the cherry blossom season. There were many stalls too. Cherry blossoms are blooming beautifully like tunnels.
Let’s enjoy having a cycle boat? If you enjoyed rowing together, going here and there, the gap between you will be bridged.
Fee:900 yen(two-seater) for 20 minutes

Festival plaza holds the variable events such as flea market, B-grade cuisine restaurants. Please check the web site what kind of events are held at the Expo Memorial Park!
There is the part of the huge roof left at the end of the festival square, which was on the Tower of the Sun of the Osaka World Expo held in 1970. It is really huge. This is only a part, please look at the Tower of the Sun from here. There is quite a distance.
You will be surprised that this roof was used to go on to such a distant place. There are facilities in the park where you can see the materials and images of the “EXPO’70 Pavilion” at the World Exposition.

And look at see the interesting manhole in the Expo Memorial Park!
Please pay attention to the lid and the center of manhole! It is the symbol of “EXPO ’70”. It seems to be fun of the two to search with saying, “I found it here!” “I found it over there!

13:00 Lunch at Lalaport Expo City

Moving from Expo Memorial Park to LaLaport Expo City. The transit time is around 5 minutes. Lunch time at LaLaport in the food court on the third floor. It was crowded at the lunch time. But it was wide enough to find the place to sit down if we search.
There are 15 restaurants in the food court, all of which seem to be nice. What shall we choose?
We had the set of the fried chicken and the bowl of rice with chicken and eggs at “Chicken Sanwa”. It has a delicious taste of soft egg-drop soup. Free big Umeboshi(Japanese salt plums). It was a nice dish for those who like Umeboshi.

14:30 Riding the Ferris Wheel

It was REDHORSE OSAKA WHEEL which started running in 2016 one year after the Expo City was opened. It is a large Ferris wheel with the height of 123m and the biggest wheel in Japan. The Ferris wheel is the first base isolation structure in the world.
Opening hours:10:00-23:00
Admission:1000 yen per person(Tax included),Free for children under 3 years old
The riding capacity of 1 gondola is 6 people, and 1 lap takes about 18 minutes.

We were in line a little before riding. We almost ride. Actually, I do not like the Ferris wheel very much. My heart was beating fast.
You can enjoy the view with your heat beating because the floor of the gondola is see-through. However, as mats are laid recently, the bottom can be seen in partly. You will be a little relieved. If you wear a skirt, be careful with the see-through floor. The ceiling is also see-through so you will be peeked from below. If you are afraid of heights, you must be careful!
It is cloudy and rainy today. It would be more beautiful if it was sunny. You can see Umeda, Osaka city in the distance.
The position of the wheel gradually became high as you can see the above photo. People who are afraid of heights can not move. Sometimes it was stopping a bit with an announcement saying “We are stopping for safety”. It is slightly shaking to terrify us. We suppose they stop the wheel on the ground at the time of getting on and off for safety.

15:00 Walking around the LaLaport Expo City

Shopping time at LaLaport Expo City. LaLaport of 3 story building is very large!

15:50 Coffee breaks at the café

You will get thirsty if you walk around. Your feet will also hurt. There are several restaurants in addition to the food court inside LaLaport.

J.S.BURGERS CAFE

This is the café on the first floor.
We were thirsty, so we drank it a little before taking a picture. Mango smoothie was delicious.

Ron Herman Café

It is in another building of LaLaport. It is on the right side from the station. Ron Herman is a select shop that is developing the various items such as high brands and mode brands from original brand items, boasting tremendous popularity among fashionable men and women. It is also known that many fashion leaders such as overseas celebrities and Japanese celebrities love it.
There is an entrance on the first floor.
You can see the stair leading up to the café at the back of the store. The second floor has Ron Herman Cafe.

The shop has a high ceiling and is spacious. You can go smoothly with a stroller. There are also sofa seats, so it is safe for children. It has also an elevator.
Latte art is nice.

Tully’s Coffee

Tully’s coffee in front of the food court on the third floor.
They have the power outlets.
Under the sofa
As the photos above, they have the power outlets at the large table.

16:30 Walking in the LaLaport Expo City

There are many shops that we have not visit yet. There are stores for kids and juniors on the third floor. It seems that the second floor has the shops for the young people. They have also some fashion shops on the first floor. The famous shop such as LOFT, MUJI and TSUTAYA are in LaLaport.

18:00 A little break

We took a break again. The soft cream of the Machimura noujyou(Machimura farm). Very tasty with a rich soft cream!

18:30 Walking around the LaLaport Expo City

It is the third for walking around. Because it has three stories, we walked three times.

19:15 Dinner at Expo Kitchen(Restaurant Street)

Each of the vicinity of the entrance of LaLaport on 1F and 2F has the restaurants. We went to ROU-MAN-LUA KITCHEN of LaLaport Expo City. It is a Chinese restaurant which has its head office in Toyonaka City, Osaka.
The dish containing fried rice has an asymmetric shape and was fashionable. The taste was very good and it seemed to be loved by women.
When the sun goes down, the Ferris wheel lights up. The biggest Ferris wheel in Japan sparkles beautifully. There is no doubt that you will say “How beautiful!” with pleasure. You can see it from the restaurant area on the first floor. The color changes depending on the season. This color seems to represent the cherry blossoms.

20:00 Getting back to the parking and going home

The parking fee is different depending on the amount of shopping. Also, the discount fee changes even if you use other facilities such as watching a movie.

Summery

Will our article be helpful with your date plan?
It is the spot where you can date here all day, enjoying the nature, shopping and eating.

If it is rain, let’s change the plan of Expo Memorial Park into the aquarium “NIFREL” or the theater “109 Cinemas.” It is very popular among the Families. The aquarium “NIFREL” is especially recommended for children. We recommend Expo City for families.
“109 Cinema” in Osaka Expo City” has IMAX and 4DX. We recommend watching your favorite movie on either facility.

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