Yesterday my husband and I went to the Osaka Expo again. We wanted to return sooner, but the extremely hot and humid weather had kept us away. Even though It was still 35 °C (95°F), we decided to go.

At the entrance, I spotted a very cool graphite artwork of the Expo mascot, Myakumyaku. It wasn't there when we visited last time.

Another graphite has also become a photo spot.

We came across two of police officers with a German Shepard. I felt very sorry for the dog because of the temperature and humidity. It must be a terrible job for it. Even though it was a police dog, I couldn't stop but help feel that the officers were being a bit harsh by making him work in those conditions.

The first pavilion we visited was Malaysia. Long time ago ( more than thirty years ago) my husband and I visited the country once, so it brought back memories.

The pavilion showed the food culture in different regions. I thought it was interesting because many countries are just like this. For example, in Japan, the food culture in west and east are different. I've experienced in the U.S. the food culture in north and south are also different, and in Italy too.

Our next visit was Philippines, and I have to say that the pavilion was one of the best!

The pavilion displayed beautiful handmade textiles by artisans.

There was a video display that green monster-like figures mimicked our body movements, which was fun to watch.

The remarkable thing was a performance by three dancers. Each of them put a glass with liquid on their head or arm and danced with incredible speed and movement. It was so amazing! Everybody kept saying, "Wow!" I wondered the glasses might be stuck to their bodies, but at the end of the performance, they drunk up from them. How could they move so fast and the glasses never felt down? Their costumes and music reminded me of Mexico. I guess once Philippines was colonized by Spain, so this dance was influenced by the country. Either way, it's definitely worth to watch!

After Philippines, We entered the Mozambique Pavilion.

The pavilion featured an instrument, timbila.

Two people were playing it. The beat sounded unique.

I also recommend the pavilion of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan. You can look at a breathtakingly beautiful globe made by lacquer. Last year, the prefecture was hit by a big earthquake and received a huge damage. Ishikawa is famous for traditional crafts just like Kyoto, and the industry was received a huge damage as well. So, I guess the Japanese government has supported it by showcasing their work at the Expo.

When you enter the pavilion, you can learn about wajima-nuri (a type of lacquerware) via a video.

Then, you can see a big globe made by the wahima-nuri and maki-e (a gold-decorated lacquer technique ). Since I'd never seen anything like it before, it was truly impressive.

Some famous cities' panels made by wajima-nuri and maki-e were hung on the wall as well. The first map was Beijing.

London

New York

Tokyo

Some of famous Japanese traditional crafts were also displayed.

I think dedicating a pavilion to Ishikawa is a wonderful way to support their recovery and promote their crafts to the world. I really hope they'll keep creating their wonderful crafts.

As for the photo below, I'm not sure how it relates to the Expo, but I love cats, so I took it anyway.

Last time, my husband and I had dinner at the Expo venue and learned everything was quite expensive. So, this time we ate outside.

On the way back home, we stopped by our favorite Thai restaurant. We thought eating outside of the venue was much cheaper.

We are planning on going back to the Expo this week again. So, stay tuned!

If you are curious about my previous posts about the Expo, here are the links: Part 1 and Part 2

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