How Far In Advance to Plan for 2025 World Expo in Osaka
How Far In Advance to Plan for 2025 World Expo in Osaka
I have always wanted to travel to Japan. In 2025, I’ll be turning 50 years old. In 2025, Osaka will be hosting the World Expo. Having been to the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN, USA, I have decided to make 2025 the year I go to Japan.
Knowing that World Expos can bring in huge crowds, I know accessible hotel rooms can fill up quickly. How far in advance should I start planning my 2025 travel to Osaka? (I’d like to also visit Tokyo.)
- 6 Replies
Hello Carlos,
I’m going to assume you know the dates of the event. How far out you want to rent will first depend on the website or booking agency, many sites I’ve seen go only about 6-months in advance. However, you can find up to a year away (and occasionally longer), usually if you’re booking directly through a hotel or some of the major travel companies. The typical advice is book between 3-6 months for the best deal, however I haven’t seen a huge difference in price, and usually just the very-very-last minute deals can be cheap but limited in selection (like no accessible rooms). Nevertheless if everyone is also following this typically advice, that means 3-6 months out may fill up that much quicker due to the event. So, you may want to rent as far out as you can if you find something reasonable that meets your needs.
Secondly the type of stay, if you need an accessible room, then booking as far out as you can is probably best. Because it will be a huge event this will probably be even more necessary to ensure you get what you need before it’s filled up. As it is, you may find it difficult to find an accessible room open in the next couple months in general, so waiting until 2-months out from the event may be impossible to find anything at all.
Lastly is the length of stay, if you’re looking for an extended stay and can’t afford to eat out every day, then you may be looking for an apartment rental like a Weekly Mansion. A week or two shouldn’t be difficult to find if you’re willing to pay hotel prices. If you’re thinking longer, well for foreigners some of these can be hard to find at prices below hotel costs. I think this too would benefit from renting as far out as you can.
In any case, if you are worried about a price change or finding something better later, you may want to book with a place that has a full-refund policy for canceling early. Some of them do have charges when you approach the date, I’d just set myself a reminder before any full-refund expires to check around if you do change your mind. In my opinion, booking a refundable place super-early will give you the most flexibility in planning other parts of your trip.
I hope that helps.
-Justin
First, yes, I know the dates (April 13-October 13, 2025). If I go during my actual birthday, that would put me there in the summer. But, I don’t want to be there when it’s hot and muggy. I’ve been to humid places in the summer not by choice and I refuse to do that again! So, I’m open to other dates. But, it would also depend on whoever goes with me to assist me and their schedule.
I don’t know yet how many days I want to stay in each city. I figured Tokyo Disney would be 3-4 days. I can skip Universal Studios Japan in Osaka since I live in Los Angeles and can go to Universal here.
I just wanted to get some idea of a planning timeline because I’m going to have to fundraise to afford it. Thanks for the tips!
A little embarrassing but I didn’t realize it was on that long!
Like anywhere else in the world, everyone here will likely be interested in going near the beginning (“finally, it started!”) and near the end (“better go while I have a chance!”), so May-September will likely be good.
A few other times to consider avoiding:
- Rainy: mid-June to mid-July
- Muggy: mid-July to mid-September
- Golden Week: April 29 – May 5
- Obon: mid-August (varies by city)
While new hotels will likely be built, you may want to start getting in touch now with potential place to see if their facilities work for your needs, and also ask them about when you can book.
No need to be embarrassed. Here in the States, nothing has been said yet. If I hadn’t gone in ’82, I wouldn’t have known World Expos even exist.
Thanks for the dates to avoid. I don’t want to go during Opening Week, as I want to go when all the glitches are fixed. Closing Week could have some good bargains, as vendors want to get rid of stock so they don’t have to transport it back.
I’ll have to see when the accompanying friend can go. I do have a friend in mind, as he’s helped me on a few past trips and he lived in Shinjuku for a few years. He even started an LGBT square dance club in Tokyo that is still going on years after he left.
That sounds great! Keep us updated!
Excellent advice from Justin.
Currently, only 0.4% of all the rooms (not hotels) in Japan are classified as accessible. The law only requires hotels with more than 50 rooms to have an accessible room. Before the Olympics and Paralympics they were only required to have one accessible room, now it is 1% (ie 1 accessible for 50-199 rooms, 2 accessible for 200-299 rooms and so on.). All this to say, accessible rooms are in high demand.
Unfortunately, they also often don’t show up in online booking services and require you to call or email (if they have an email).
Also, with big events, tour package providers often buy out entire hotels…
It may be best to get an on-the-ground travel agent to at least help with accommodation booking.
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