Expo '75

EXPO Okinawa 1975
Expo '75 logo
Overview
BIE-class	Specialized exposition
Name	Expo '75
Motto	The sea we would like to see
Building	Aquapolis
Area	101.17 hectares (250.0 acres)
Visitors	3,485,750
Participant(s)
Countries	33
Location
Country	Japan
City	Okinawa
Coordinates	26°41′30″N 127°52′30″E / 26.69167°N 127.87500°E / 26.69167; 127.87500
Timeline
Opening	July 20, 1975 (1975-07-20)
Closure	January 18, 1976 (1976-01-18)
Specialized expositions
Previous	Expo '74 in Spokane
Next	Expo 81 in Plovdiv
Universal expositions
Previous	Expo '70 in Osaka
Next	Seville Expo '92 in Seville
Horticultural expositions
Previous	Wiener Internationale Gartenschau 74 in Vienna
Next	Floralies de Montréal in Montreal

Expo '75 (Japanese: 沖縄国際海洋博覧会, Okinawa kokusai kaiyou hakurankai) was a World's Fair held on the island of Okinawa in Japan from July 20, 1975 to January 18, 1976.

History

Japanese commemorative coin, 100 yen, issued in 1975. Shuri-mon, a historic site in Okinawa, is shown on the reverse.

Expo 75 was conceived, in part, to commemorate the American handover of Okinawa to Japan in 1972. The theme of the exposition was the oceans, and focused on oceanographic technologies, marine life, and oceanic cultures. The motto was “The sea we would like to see" (Japanese: 海－その望ましい未来, Umi - sono nozomashii mirai).

The event was located on the western end of the Motobu Peninsula, with a site area of 1,000,000 square metres (including sea areas). Thirty-seven nations participated, along with eight domestic and three international organizations. The keynote speaker on opening day was American author James A. Michener.

The exposition is the given reason for the construction of the Nakagusuku Hotel.

Expo 75 site

The site was divided into four “Clusters” in which there were pavilions and exhibits:

Fish Cluster

Iran Pavilion
Sumitomo Pavilion
Aquarium
Dolphin Land
Expo Future Car (C.V.S.)

Peoples and History Cluster

International Pavilion No. 1
Okinawa Pavilion
EXPO Hall
Hitachi Pavilion
Oceanic Culture Museum — Audio-visual hall, planetarium and exhibition hall displaying ships, carvings, and other cultural items from the Pacific Ocean area.
Mitsubishi Pavilion — Ride featuring underwater technologies
International Pavilion No. 2

Science and Technology Cluster

World Ocean Systems (W.O.S) — Whale-shaped theater.
Mistui Children’s Pavilion
Fuyo Group Pavilion — Featuring oceanic robotics and aerial garden.
U.S.A. Pavilion
Aquapolis — Centerpiece floating city.
Canada Pavilion
Australia Pavilion
Italy Pavilion
U.S.S.R Pavilion
Expo New City Car (K.R.T.)

Ships Cluster

International Pavilion No. 3
Midori/Icearama Pavilion – Iceberg-shaped building displaying a 3,000-year-old ice core, and a 12,000-year-old ice core.
EXPO Port
Guest House

There was also EXPO Port, EXPO Beach, and an amusement park named EXPO Land.

Highlights

The centerpiece of Expo 75 was the Aquapolis a floating city designed by Japanese architect Kiyonori Kikutake. It was envisioned as a concept of how humans could live harmoniously on the ocean, and a prototype for marine communities. The Aquapolis was constructed at a shipyard in Hiroshima, Japan, and then towed to the Expo site. The facility was funded by the Japanese government, and cost 13 billion yen. It was thirty-two meters high, and had a one-hundred square meter deck.

The Expo Transit System featured two types of automated, electric transport vehicles: The "Expo New City Cars" (KRT) ran on a 3.7 km track almost the whole length of the site, there were three stations. The Expo Future Cars (CVS) track was at the north end and connected the Fish Cluster with Expo Land via five stations.

Post-Exposition

After the Expo was over, the site became Okinawa Commemorative National Government Park (国営沖縄記念公園), also known as Ocean Expo Park. Most of the exhibits were removed, although the Aquapolis was retained as an attraction and eventually hosted four million visitors. As years passed, the number of visitors to the Aquapolis declined and it was closed in 1993. In October 2000, the Aquapolis was towed away to Shanghai to be scrapped.

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium and Tropical & Subtropical Arboretum were later constructed on the site.

External links

List of world expositions

Retrospectively
recognized
Expositions

BIE recognized
Universal
Expositions

BIE recognized
Specialized
Expositions

BIE recognized
horticultural
Exhibitions (AIPH)

Canceled

Rome 1942
Chicago 1992
Vienna & Budapest 1995
Metro Manila 2002
Seine Saint Denis 2004

Not BIE recognized

Asia	Nanyang 1910 Hangzhou 1929 Nagoya 1937 Shenyang 2006

Oceania	Melbourne 1866 Sydney 1870 Melbourne 1875 Brisbane 1876 Sydney 1879 Dunedin 1889 Christchurch 1906 Auckland 1913–14 Dunedin 1925 Wellington 1939–40

Europe	London 1756 Dublin 1853 Manchester 1857 Porto 1865 London 1871–74 Vienna 1873 Amsterdam 1883 Liverpool 1886 London 1886 Copenhagen 1888 Glasgow 1888 Frankfurt 1891 Prague 1891 Lyon 1894 Oporto 1894 Berlin 1896 Glasgow 1901 Cork 1902 Hanoi 1902 London 1905 London 1906 Marseille 1906 Dublin 1907 London 1908 Zaragoza 1908 London 1910 Dresden 1911 London 1911 London 1912 Lyon 1914 Cologne 1914 London 1914 Kristiania 1914 Malmö 1914 Semarang 1914 London 1921 Marseille 1922 British Empire Exhibition (1924–25) Antwerp 1930 Stockholm 1930 Paris 1931 Porto 1934 Glasgow 1938

North America	New York City 1826–1897 Bryant Park, New York City 1853 Atlanta 1881 Louisville 1883–87 New Orleans 1884 Atlanta 1887 San Francisco 1894 Atlanta 1895 Nashville 1897 Omaha 1898 Buffalo 1901 Charleston 1901–02 Portland, Oregon 1905 Jamestown 1907 Seattle 1909 Knoxville 1913 San Diego 1915–17 Bronx 1918 Philadelphia 1926 San Diego 1935–36 Dallas 1936 Cleveland 1936–37 Dallas 1937 San Francisco 1939–40 New York City 1964–65

South America	Buenos Aires 1910 Rio de Janeiro 1922

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