If only I had more annual leave so I could go myself.
>This time around, the project faced opposition from the start. The cost of constructing the park where the expo is being held doubled from the initial estimate to ¥235bn ($1.5bn). Many Japanese believe the area’s development is a pretext for building Japan’s first casino, a controversial venture that is set to open on the same patch of land by 2030.
>Not long before the expo opened, a poll by *Mainichi Shimbun,* a national newspaper, found that only 16% of respondents wanted to visit. And in the first days of operation a clunky online registration system, lengthy queues and expensive food boosted the doubters. The café at the British pavilion got particular stick for its poorly presented, overpriced afternoon tea. (At least that was authentic, some said.)
>Since then the mood has brightened. Some 160 countries have created a pavilion or are maintaining some other kind of presence at the show. From its opening in April to late June, it welcomed more than 10m visitors. Officials say that on some days it draws more guests than Tokyo’s Disneyland. The hope is that it will have attracted around 28m by the time its six-month run ends in October. Myakumyaku-kun, the Expo’s deeply puzzling official mascot (pictured), has proved an unlikely hit. Youngsters, in particular, are snapping up merchandise featuring the unsettling creature. During a visit to the White House earlier this year Akazawa Ryosei, Japan’s chief tariffs negotiator, swapped a gold-plated money box featuring Myakumyaku-kun for a MAGA hat.
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What in the great Cthulhu’s name is that mascot?
If only I had more annual leave so I could go myself.
>This time around, the project faced opposition from the start. The cost of constructing the park where the expo is being held doubled from the initial estimate to ¥235bn ($1.5bn). Many Japanese believe the area’s development is a pretext for building Japan’s first casino, a controversial venture that is set to open on the same patch of land by 2030.
>Not long before the expo opened, a poll by *Mainichi Shimbun,* a national newspaper, found that only 16% of respondents wanted to visit. And in the first days of operation a clunky online registration system, lengthy queues and expensive food boosted the doubters. The café at the British pavilion got particular stick for its poorly presented, overpriced afternoon tea. (At least that was authentic, some said.)
>Since then the mood has brightened. Some 160 countries have created a pavilion or are maintaining some other kind of presence at the show. From its opening in April to late June, it welcomed more than 10m visitors. Officials say that on some days it draws more guests than Tokyo’s Disneyland. The hope is that it will have attracted around 28m by the time its six-month run ends in October. Myakumyaku-kun, the Expo’s deeply puzzling official mascot (pictured), has proved an unlikely hit. Youngsters, in particular, are snapping up merchandise featuring the unsettling creature. During a visit to the White House earlier this year Akazawa Ryosei, Japan’s chief tariffs negotiator, swapped a gold-plated money box featuring Myakumyaku-kun for a MAGA hat.
[Link](https://archive.is/Ge0TK#selection-1251.0-1267.5) for the global poor