Find the “real” Future Society on Awaji Island
Table of Contents
What’s the Expo all about?
At last, the Osaka Kansai 2025 expo is here! The theme this time is “Designing future society for our lives.” More than 158 countries, 9 international organizations and countless companies are set to show the world their visions for what lies ahead, from a “living” heart of iPS stem cells to flying operating rooms and much more! Hungry minds are sure to find infinite inspiration.
Whether your interests lie in entertainment, enlightenment, or the environment, after coming all the way to this part of the planet, don’t miss the real “future society” being born right across the bay on Awaji Island.
Getting here
Just 1 transfer lands you in a different world. From Osaka station, take the JR Kobe line train to Sannomiya and catch the Kita-awaji Nishi-kaigan Line bus to Awaji. Ferry service is also being planned for direct voyage from Osaka to Awaji Island. Stay tuned for updates about this launch.
Why visit Awaji?
Across the glimmering Seto Sea, Japan’s mythical “first island,” Awaji, offers the chance to experience a “real” utopia being built today. But be prepared, because the future might surprise you. Instead of the gleaming towers, robots or flying cars we might see at the Expo, think a return to nature, humanity and a quest for true wellbeing.
As countries ban SNS and microplastics flood our bloodstream, the new society on Awaji Island seeks to answer the question: what good is technology if it leads to human misery? Amid the rolling hills of the island’s natural splendor, get a glimpse of a future that harnesses technology to nurture the best within our human selves.
The Cradle of Nature: Haru San San Restaurant & Resort
Looking for a “farm-to-table” experience? Well, at Haru San San, your table is in the farm. Delight in top class cuisine featuring fruit and vegetables grown and harvested literally steps away. Enjoy the view of cutting edge agriculture as you savor some of Japan’s most prized produce.
The farmhouse restaurant is built from columns of paper tubes coated in resin. This groundbreaking repurposing of basic biodegradeable materials is a hallmark of Pritzker-prize winning architect Shigeru Ban. Modeled on Japan’s ancient “kayabuki” design, the thatched-roof farmhouse embodies the ideals of Awaji society, as ancient wisdom strikes a balance with advanced technique, beauty, function, sustainability and tradition.
| Name | Farmer’s Restaurant – Haru San San |
|---|---|
| Address | 1510-4 Nojima-tokiwa Aza Genpachi, Awaji City, Hyogo Pref. 656-1726 |
| Tel | 0799-70-9082 |
| Operation Hours | 11:00-18:00（L.O.17:00） |
| Closed | Wednesdays |
| Website | https://www.awaji-nlr.com/harusansan |
| Reservations | https://www.tablecheck.com/en/shops/noukarestaurant-haru-sansan/reserve |
Click here for details of Haru San San
Simple Pleasures & Super-foods: West Coast Dining
Like the coastal road that circles the island, the evolution of society may bring us back to our beginnings. After reveling in a century of processed foods and chemical flavors, we return to the basics. As food writer Michael Pollan advises us: “Eat local, healthy food that your great-grandmother would have recognized.”
The culture that has held the record for longest lifespans year after year, decade after decade, may have a thing or two to teach us about eating well. “Washoku,” meaning Japanese cuisine, has deepened the world’s understanding of green tea, koji, omega-3 fats, fermented ingredients and myriad other delights known today as “superfoods.”
Awaji Island’s west coast is an ideal place to explore Japan’s culinary arts. Choose from sirloin steaks of Awaji Beef at Ocean Terrace, tempura and sushi made from fish caught steps away at Aonoya, the fermented elixirs of vintage sake at Koshunoya or countless other palate pleasing pleasures at Chef Garden and Ladybird Road. All of this on the western shores of the island overlooking one of Japan’s “top 100 sunsets” is a recipe for physical, mental and spiritual health.
| Location | Seikaiha |
|---|---|
| Address | 70 Nojima-okawa, Awaji City, Hyogo Pref. 656-1723 |
| Phone Number | 0799-70-9020 |
| Website | https://awaji-seikaiha.com/ |
| Reservations | https://www.tablecheck.com/en/shops/awaji-seikaiha/reserve |
| Access | 10 minutes by car from Awaji IC on Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway. 15 minutes by car from Hokudan IC. |
| Parking | 50 spaces |
Click here for details of SEIKAIHA
| Name | Ocean Terrace |
|---|---|
| Address | 816 Nojimahikinoura, Awaji City, Hyogo Pref. 656-1721 |
| Tel | 0799-82-1907 |
| Website | https://ocean-terrace-awaji.jp/ |
| Reservations | https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1022838-d17354212-Reviews-Ocean_Terrace-Awaji_Awaji_shima_Hyogo_Prefecture_Kinki.html |
| Operation Hours | Lunch 11:30~15:00 (L.O.14:00) / Dinner 17:00~21:00 (L.O.20:00) |
Click here for details of Ocean Terrace
Inner Peace, Wellbeing and Enlightenment: Zenbo Seinei
Tired of trying to meditate to a soundtrack of police sirens, shouting neighbors or screaming babies? Zenbo Seinei is the answer, the cure, the path to enlightenment. Find the inner peace we all seek, and step barefoot onto the 100 meter deck seeming to stretch to infinity beyond the horizon.
Slip into a meditation chair, close your eyes and lose yourself in the songs of birds and the rustle of wind in the trees as world-class instructors guide you gently through various types of healing sessions. After meditation or yoga, savor “zenbo cuisine” produced by Japan’s “Prince of Fermentation,” Nobuaki Fushiki. The moment of bliss offered here is at once decadent yet guilt-free, the pleasure of not self-indulgence but self-awareness. After the Expo sets your mind ablaze, this is the perfect spot to digest it all in quiet contemplation.
| Name | Zenbo Seinei |
|---|---|
| Address | 2594-5 Aza-Banaka, Kusumoto, Awaji City, Hyogo Pref. 656-2301 |
| Tel | 0799-70-9087 |
| Website | https://www.zenbo-seinei.com/en/ |
| Program Reservations | https://zenbo-seinei.urkt.in/direct/offices/587/courses |
| Hotel Reservation | https://rsv.temanasi.jp/29/room/search |
| Operation Hours | Mon: 9:00 am～5:00 pm / Tues～Sun: 11:00 am～6:30 pm Closed: Varies depending on a month. Please inquire. |
Click here for details of ZEN Wellness SEINEI
Sustainable Tourism: a Locovore’s Paradise
The Sustainable Development Goals of the UN are some of the guiding principles of the Expo this year. As international travelers, how can we support this movement? As they say, “think globally, act locally!”
One point that sets Awaji apart from many other resort island getaways is the abundance of top-class ingredients grown and raised locally. “Chi-san chi-sho” is Japanese for the ideal of “local production for local consumption” – a task easier said than done.
From Hawaii to the Carribbean, many idyllic destinations import over 90% of all food and drink. Their carbon footprint is big enough to crush good times and stain our vacation with pangs of guilt. After expanding our awareness of SDG’s at the Expo, the bliss of ignorance is set to be shattered. Where can a 21st century globetrotter go for a slice of heaven that doesn’t destroy the earth?
The answer is right across the bay. Awaji Island’s fertile land and mineral rich waters produce an astounding wealth of ingredients. This special feature earned it the imperial designation “Miketsukuni” (Land of Food), chosen by the emperor to produce ingredients for Japan’s nobility for centuries.
The taste of local ingredients on Awaji is the flavor of “agriculture for aristocrats,” honed and polished over not centuries but millennia. From the island’s famous onions, to mouthwatering sushi and unbelievably juicy lemons and mikan oranges, locovores need look no further: this is paradise!
The End & the Beginning
The world is full of wonders, and a visit to the expo is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the most wondrous ideas of our lifetime. Past expos have seen the debut of all kinds of inventions, from touchscreens to ice cream cones. If you are lucky enough to have the chance to visit, it is sure to be a life-changing, mind-altering, consciousness-raising experience not to be missed.
The proximity of the site to Awaji Island is too tempting to ignore. Whether intellectual, environmental, social, medical, gastronomical or inspirational, the overlap of themes between the expo ideals and the Awaji society right next door is a pairing of pure synergy. After exploring the cutting edge concepts of the Expo, come experience the harmony of technology, history, culture and humanity on Awaji Island.
