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1975 Okinawa
1975 Okinawa
	Expo '75 logo
Overview
BIE-class	Specialized exposition
Name	Expo '75
Motto	The sea we would like to see
Building(s)	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
Timeline
Awarded	May 25, 1972
Opening	July 20, 1975
Closure	January 18, 1976
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 Internationales de Montréal in Montreal

Expo '75 (Japanese: 沖縄国際海洋博覧会, romanized: 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

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" (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. It was later sold for scrap in 2000.

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 main tank of the aquarium facility that was opened at Expo was the largest indoor aquarium in the world at that time with a water volume of 1,100,000 litres (291,000 US gal). After that, we continued to use the Aquarium facility used in Expo'75 and opened it as the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium. The Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium was closed in 2002 due to aging and then reopened as Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

The Tropical & Subtropical Arboretum were later constructed on the site.