Welcome to the world of the 1970 Osaka Expo! I’m Tatsuro Shirai, an Osaka Expo collector. It’s been sixty years since I was just a grade schooler obsessed with Expo ‘70. I’ve now collected over ten thousand items from the expo, and some of the ones that are particularly special will be displayed. I’ve mentioned some of the recommended goods that you should keep your eye on, and now I’ll hand it off to your audio guide for this journey. Please enjoy this experience!

Shirai is such an avid Osaka Expo collector that he’s relocated what used to be in the Uruguay Pavilion to his own home. So what is the charm of these goods? Shirai says that back then, there weren’t many regulations, so there was a great variety between all the goods. For example, a pot company could sell “Expo pots” as long as they properly applied. This kind of free thinking enabled all sorts of unique designs.

From a collector like Shirai’s point of view, you never really know what you’re going to find and where. Every time he pops in to recycle shops and asks if they have any Expo goods, he’s surprised to find something new that he’s never seen before. Plus, this treasure hunting adventure never ends. Since there’s no catalogue that covers all the goods, that means that there are still treasures waiting to be found across all of Japan.
For you today, we have six recommended goods from Shirai’s own personal collection. Try imagining the vision they had of the future back then while listening to the story of these goods..