They are not for the faint of heart or wallet.

In my previous reviews of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo, I came to the basic conclusion that it’s a pretty good time as long as you don’t focus on more than one of the major pavilions and explore the more open areas with an equally open mind. I also found it to be busy but not overly congested, save for one exception: the souvenir stores.

There are a few gift shops around the venue and each one is operated by a different company. Near the West Entrance, you’ll find one run by Kintetsu Railway and another right next to it by JR West.

Meanwhile, by the East Entrance, there’s one managed by bookstore chain Maruzen Junkudo and another by Daimaru department stores.

▼ Inside the Daimaru Expo store

They all have a slightly different array of goods, with almost everything bearing the likeness of Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku, but one thing they have in common is that they’re insanely busy and crammed with people.

▼ This Myaku-Myaku doll display is very symbolic of the overall situation.

The whole experience and all the elbows to the ribcage involved in it took me right back to the many mosh pits I found myself in during the ’90s.

Here’s a look at some of the goods available, and I apologize for the photos which are not up to my usual standards as I was getting shoved around and could barely get glimpses of the shelves in the scant moments people weren’t picking them clean.

Often in articles like these, we like to ask the staff what the most popular items are. However, at the Kintetsu store the staff were insanely busy and it didn’t matter anyway because I could see swarms of people buying stuff in real time to tell you what the hot items were.

When I was there, people were going after the plush toys featuring Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty, dressed up as Myaku-Myaku. Despite being steeply priced at 13,200 yen (US$92) for the large ones and 6,930 yen for the small ones, the staff were literally struggling to keep the shelves stocked with them.

The plush key chains provided a much cheaper alternative, with the elongated Nobi Myaku-Myaku ones only 880 yen each. Students seemed to be going for these ones mostly due to their price and ability to accentuate a school bag. Some were dressed up as comedians or Osaka obachan.

I admit I scoffed at these when I first wrote about them, but the Myaku-Myaku piggy banks for 8,800 yen were getting very low on stock when I was there. Perhaps it’s how they marketed it?

The JR West store was also a madhouse, but slightly less so and I was able to quickly ask a clerk what the biggest seller was. She told me it was the Myaku-Myaku Assorted Sweets for 2,499 yen.

For the most part, food items were more sanely priced. However, the stores seemed to know when they had something interesting and priced accordingly. Case in point was the Myakumen instant ramen for 2,116 yen.

JR West also had some Myaku-Myaku crossovers with dolls of the ICOCA card platypus mascot dressed as the Expo mascot.

There were also some Myaku-Myaku-Minion items, showing that Universal Studios Japan and the Osaka-Kansai Expo were partners rather than rivals.

Over on the other side of the venue, the Maruzen store had a diverse range of Myaku-Myaku items, such as different-colored dolls, super balls, and omamori lucky charms.

Items that didn’t have Myaku-Myaku were few and far between but some interesting ones here were wall hangings and displays featuring artwork from Dragon Ball or Ranma 1/2.

Prior to coming here, I had planned to try my hand at the Myaku-Myaku capsule machine in the Daimaru shop. It sold Myaku-Myaku figurines with a rare chance to get a silver or gold one. However, it had already sold out by the time I got there.

There were also some Myaku-Myaku Tamagotchi at one point but those had sold out by the time I got there too. Considering it was only a couple weeks into this six-month event and stuff was already selling out, hopefully they’ll either get some more stock prepared or are planning the next wave of different items.

▼ Myaku-Myaku Hi-Chews were also pretty popular but luckily they were well stocked with those.

It’s hard to recommend browsing one of these shops unless there’s something you really want to get or you’re into full-contact sports. Luckily, for more casual purchases there were smaller satellite souvenir stalls set up elsewhere in the venue. The selection is more limited but there also weren’t as many people.

Thankfully, getting something to eat isn’t as much of a physical ordeal for the most part. There are some major chains like Sushiro and Kurazushi there, but they’re about as popular as the major pavilions there. Because it’s possible to book a table at Kurazushi using their app, I gave it a shot two weeks in advance, but still couldn’t get a seat.

▼ Sushiro to the Future: Expo Edition

▼ Maneki ekisoba restaurant

But aside from those, there are several food-court-style places to eat, and they never seemed too busy that I couldn’t get a seat, even around lunch and dinner time. However, as I mentioned in a previous article, the pricing is rather severe.

I opted for this food court in the northeast part of the venue because it had a gorgeous Aomori-style paper lantern float by the entrance.

Even the different food vendors there had lantern-style signs up.

I decided to get some Takoyaki from the stall run by Kukuru, a popular octopus-ball shop in Dotonbori. It seemed like an appropriate thing to get at the Osaka-Kansai Expo and they had a cool robot that slathered on the Takoyaki sauce and mayo.

This paper cup of beer and tray of takoyaki set me back 1,900 yen, a price that I believe would get you arrested for trying to charge in Osaka proper. It was good though, and the cuts of octopus inside were much larger than your typical takoyaki at least.

For more budget-conscious nourishment, the three big convenience store chains, Family Mart, 7-Eleven, and Lawson also have locations inside the venue.

The bottom line is that you should probably go into the Expo expecting to drop a fair bit of money, much like you would at any theme park. Another thing to note is that most places don’t take cash here, which shouldn’t bother visitors from overseas but is still a little strange for Japan.

There is a limited range of lower priced items so you can still walk away with something though, even when on a budget. I tried to make a game of it by finding something cheap without Myaku-Myaku and came up with this box of T.M. Revolution cakes for just 1,404 yen. It still had Myaku-Myaku but it was the best I could do.

I hadn’t been sure if Myaku-Myaku was all that popular until actually going to the Expo and seeing people gobble up items with its likeness. It kind of makes me wonder if that gooey creature will still be around in Japan once the event has finished.

Photos © SoraNews24
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