Virtual Japan Pavilion

Concept

Founded on the theme of “Between Lives,” the Virtual Japan Pavilion represents the “circulation” of life as cultivated by Japanese culture across the eras. The virtual exhibition is focused on a vision for a sustainable future.

At the physical Japan Pavilion, visitors will witness the cycle of life as observers, but in the Virtual Japan Pavilion, visitors become participants to experience circulation “From waste to water,” “From water to materials,” and “From materials to products.”

Three entrances appear upon entering the virtual site – a different story awaits depending on the entrance you choose.

A little life, it speaks

Experience the cycle of life from “waste” to “water.” Virtual visitors are transformed into raw garbage and transported to a methane fermentation tank on a conveyor belt. Then, through the power of microorganisms, they join the process of decomposition into materials and energy.

The unseen, connected

Join the cycle of life from “water” to “materials.” Passing through a water tunnel with countless algae, visitors arrive at a photobioreactor filled with light. Here, visitors also become algae, and can challenge themselves in a game collecting CO₂ produced from garbage and sunlight.

Breakable, it is born

Enter the cycle of life from “materials” to “products.” Travel to a factory that processes materials into diverse products, and then to a “town built through soft craftsmanship” that employs “craftsmanship wisdom” handed down across generations in Japan. Here visitors will gain a deeper understanding of the craftsmanship and ingenuity that shapes our daily lives.

Virtual Japan Pavilion special items

Those who complete the Virtual Japan Pavilion will receive the official Expo 2025 items “Japan Pavilion Suit” and “Japan Pavilion Hat.” These items are proof that by examining what can be found “Between Lives,” visitors have also joined the greater cycle of life.
Visitors can also acquire the “Garbage Bag” and “Garbage Grabber” items that allow them to roleplay as garbage collectors in the virtual site.