Originally Posted by
evergrn
This seems idiotic to ask but I will ask anyways. So it now sound like I have to buy umbrellas (first time buying one in my life) if I'm gonna go to the World Expo, I guess one for each person. When I'm out and about on a really hot summer day in Jpn, I will have water bottle in one hand that I'm constantly drinking out of, those little portable fan in another. Trying to imagine how you would handle carrying an umbro since I don't have a third arm.
I didn't use a fan most of the time (though most Japanese visitors did), I only later realized a fan would have made my life easier and bought one. I had a small backpack with me to store my stuff (you have to put it somewhere anyway e.g. when inside a pavilion). The fan I bought has a loop attached (not all fans have this I think), so I can hang it around my neck and it will blow air onto my face.
So for me, umbrella in one hand, the rest of my stuff in the backpack, the other hand is free to use smartphone, or to drink from the bottle etc. The umbrella went into the backpack when I was in shade or the sun was behind the clouds etc.
So if you had to choose between fan and the umbrella, which one would be the more important in combatting heat and exhaustion at the Expo?
Umbrella for me. It cancels the direct heat from the sun, which is a lot. Avoid dark umbrellas (they heat up a lot and will still radiate some heat onto you). White umbrellas were sold out at convenience stores in the city, but were available (at a premium) at the official stores at the Expo site.
Couple of food-related questions... do you ever queue up to enter food courts? And the food places inside some of the pavilions (eg, USA, Netherlands)... do you have to enter the pavilion first in order to eat there, or are the cafes/restaurants totally separate and you don't have to wait in line for them?
I tried to avoid food courts you had to queue for. I did queue up for food in the Malaysian pavilion. Most food places in pavilions can be entered without queuing for and going through the exhibition (just ask the staff) - some still have lines though! Also note some food places expect you to buy your food and then eat outside (without aircon) - I avoided those too!
I used
this food court near the West gate a lot. It's air conditioned, there is no line on entry, there are plenty of affordable food options inside, there is cold beer and soft serve ice cream inside. The food isn't exactly gourmet food, but I did enjoy it (on different days, I had a sashimi combo meal, cold ramen noodles, takoyaki octopus balls). The soft serve ice cream machine producing perfect cones is worth watching.
Finally, if you're going to try to run to the Jpn Pavilion to beat the crowd right after you enter, then selecting the East gate would be a no-brainer correct?
Probably yes. I used the West gate (the walking time to the Jpn Pavilion was 10 minutes), but I simply didn't have the balls to try the East gate in the morning due to all the negative stuff written about the crowds there. I used the East gate on my very last day at the Expo and didn't find the crowds worse than at the West gate.
Originally Posted by
evergrn
If we decide to try to do the pavilions and ring walking before 10.30a and after 5.30pm, and then mostly just chill out somewhere where there's AC, then what would be a feasible option?
Less popular pavilions with decent exhibitions (e. g. Peru) can be entered with little waiting time after 10:30am too. You can enter one of the Commons with little queuing time and spend time there. You can spend time inside an official souvenir shop (they are huge). You can have a slow meal indoors. My routine was to walk around and visit pavilions until the heat becomes unbearable and I no longer enjoy the Expo, then go for a long lunch.
On one especially hot sunny day, I simply left the Expo site at noon and came back in the evening. You need to go through the "re-entry" lane when leaving (it's the leftmost lane seen from the inside the Expo), you get an invisible stamp on your hand, then you re-enter by showing this stamp. On other days, I found something to do on site in air conditioned places during the midday heat.
It also depends on the weather. On a cloudy or rainy day, the Expo site would be bearable the whole day. On a sunny day, the time between 1pm and 4pm outside is hell.