Expo '70 Commemorative Park — Tower of the Sun & Gardens

**Tower of the Sun interior:** The reservation-only interior visit (¥720, 30 minutes) ascends through the tower via the Tree of Life — a vertical installation with primitive organisms at bottom evolving to humans at top. The installation combines 1970s psychedelic aesthetics with biological evolution diagram — bizarre but captivating. The space is cramped (groups of 20 ascend narrow passages) and photography prohibited. Book online 1+ months advance for weekends; weekdays have better availability 1–2 weeks out. The exterior alone (free to view in park) is worthwhile if interior is sold out. **Japanese Garden:** The park's Japanese Garden (日本庭園, included in ¥260 entry) spans 26 hectares with four garden styles: pond garden, stream garden, dry landscape, and tea garden. The garden was designed for the 1970 Expo to showcase traditional Japanese landscape architecture to international visitors. Peak seasons: cherry blossoms (early April), autumn maples (mid-November). The garden is less famous than Kyoto's but larger and far less crowded — excellent for peaceful walking without tourist density. **Expo nostalgia:** The 1970 Expo drew 64 million visitors (record for World's Fair until Shanghai 2010) and symbolized Japan's recovery from WWII and emergence as economic power. The Expo introduced moving walkways, IMAX films, and wireless telephones to public consciousness. Walking the park reveals remnants of that optimism — retrofuturistic architecture, the Tower's avant-garde design, and exhibits about technological progress. For history enthusiasts, the park is pilgrimage to Japan's moment of peak post-war confidence.