Towards the back of the Plaza was the 'Information Corner', a set of five interactive monitors, whereby pushing a few simple buttons, one could ask questions about Japanese culture, history, tourism and soon....all accessed by laser disc - quite advanced for 1988 - and quite popular in a quiet corner of the Pavilion. Turning your back to the corner one could see the main plaza of the pavilion, the 'Communication Plaza'.

With three central High Definition projection TV screens (first debut in Australia) surrounded by 18 slide projection screens, the central plaza's multi-media presentations spanned some 5 metres in height and 21 metres in length - virtually the full length and height of the pavilion. With plenty of room to stand or sit, audiences would be entertained by a variety of performances, from live violin concertos by the local 'Suzuki' method school; to the magic of the 'chromakey' corner whereby with the use of a convenient blue background screen, participating guests could choose a destination in Japan and with the help of a bit of camera technology, be 'transported' there on the big screen; to competing Nintendo 'car rallies' on the central high-definition TV screens (this was always a popular hit with the kids - and even those of the 'larger' variety...!); to the hourly performances of one of the most sought-out after dance shows of the Exposition - "Dance Beat Japan" - a high-energy packed contemporary female song and dance troupe from Osaka that to the beats of many different types of drums performed popular renditions of Japanese and Australian folk-songs - from "Sakura, Sakura" to "Waltzing Matilda" and more, with a spectacular 'streamer' in the air finish. All these activities were timed to take place every twenty minutes or so, so the "Plaza" area was always a hive of activity or of much needed rest to guests who wanted to sit down for a few minutes or so.
 

Visiting Japan at the Communication Plaza, Japan Pavilion, World Expo '88
The centre three screens are High-Definition television screens - the surrounding screens are slide projector screens
Image Courtesy and © Russell Stokes

The central highlight of the "Communication Plaza" entertainment was a thirteen-minute documentary of contemporary Japan, highlighting the beautiful changes in the Japanese seasons and aspects of Japanese culture, with some beautifully orchestrated music and cleverly edited pieces in between. (One image that remains in my mind is a shot of an artist painstakingly painting minute detail on a porcelain bowl, which then pans to another image of a robot finishing off the final soldering detail on a silicon micro-chip). Of course, the big number in all of these displays was the central High-Definition TV screens - heralding a means of communication that has only become commercially viable in the early 2000s.

The Plaza also featured two other displays, representing the latest in leisure and technology - a pair of personal hydro-foil jet-skis from Yamaha, and the much maligned (because of the line) "Wonder-Vehicle", a gently 'tilting and rocking' 10-seater 3-D simulator, where it's occupants wore 3-D goggles and were taken on a 8-minute ride through mystical parts of the Japan countryside and outerspace.

At the exit of the "Communication Plaza", we come to the Japanese Gift Shop on the left, selling all types of paraphenalia related to Japan from kites to traditional Geisha dolls to origami paper and mobiles (staffed by shop staff - not attendants), and one of the penultimate displays, the Expo '88 "Symbol Display", whereby a large silver coloured tube with flashing lights and space-like music would open up to a fan-fare revealing a plastic model of the Expo '88 logo with green laser beams emanating from it writing on it's background screen the words "Together", "Happiness" and "Peace".

Last but not least, on the other side of the final part of the pavilion was the ever-popular "Stamp Robot", who at some 6ft in height and considerable width, would press down on your expo passport at the touch of a button and wish you "Have a nice stay!". No doubt, as the mania with expos and expo passports go, this was one of the most popular parts of the pavilion, with many eagerly asking at the entrance, before they even got in, "Where is the stamp robot????". It was actually quite funny in the last days seeing people run just to the end of the pavilion, or try to enter through the exit just to get that ubiquitous but ever-elusive "Japan Pavilion" expo stamp.

The last two sections of the Pavilion featured a regularly updated "Regional Culture Introduction" corner, which changed every few weeks or so, with displays from the Japanese National Tourism Association, the cities of Yokohama, Shizuoka, Okayama, and Nagoya to name a few, as well as special coverage of "Nature and Environmental Management" in Japan at the end of the fair, tying in with the then upcoming 1990 Exposition - the 'Flower Expo' or "Hana-haku" as it was called in Japanese - a BIE-sanctioned six-month international 'Garden Exposition', which took place in Osaka, Japan, in 1990. Enticing guests to visit Expo '90, the 'Hana-haku' exhibit featured several fan-shaped mirrors - reflecting from hidden tv screens the beautiful colours of the seasonal Japan, and introducing the logos and scope of the exposition.

Some Japan Pavilion Trivia

Now, some statistics....The expo was a great success, and for statistics' purposes  we also took daily counts of visitors to the pavilion, and the records show that the Japan Pavilion was one of the most popular, and most visited, of all the Pavilions at the fair. Opening Day attendance (these figures include personnel as visitors) - Saturday April 30, 1988 - the day the Exposition was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II  - the Expo site received 77,260 visitors, and the Japan Pavilion 23,000 (roughly a quarter). Highest day of attendance - October 29, 1988 - penultimate day of the exposition - a staggering 182,762 persons with the Japan Pavilion recording 33,000. Highest day of attendance for the Japan Pavilion, 'Japan Day', Friday July 8, 1988, with 52, 000 visitors! ('Japan Week' extended from Wednesday July 6, 1988 to Tuesday July 12, 1988). The first day of 'Japan Week', the 6th of July (also a Wednesday) was a close-second with 43,000 visitors.

On the last day of the exposition, Sunday 30 October 1988, the expo site received 91,137 visitors, with 14,000 to the Japan Pavilion. Final statistics for the six-months for the expo - 18, 574, 476 visitors (more than the total population of Australia at the time!), and for the Japan Pavilion, 4,061,000 (roughly a quarter of all visitors). Average daily visitor numbers to the Expo - 100,948 - to the Japan Pavilion, 22,071 (approximately a fifth).

The Post-Expo Japan Pavilion

What more??? Well, what happened to the Pavilion after Expo '88 finished? I was asked to take part in the somewhat envious task (and some would say depressing) of helping man the 'de-fabrication' of the Pavilion, from 1 November 1988 to 7 November 1988.

Of course I remember seeing the walls being demolished, the "Symbol Display" being torn apart, the Japanese Garden Pagoda being 'lifted' into the air by a crane - what else? The Shishimai - without their 'clothes' and headpiece - silent, not moving, like two out-of-operation car-manufacture robots would be....The money from the pond  was collected and given to a local charity; and the rest of the pavilion, devoid of what objects that had already been auctioned off amongst staff, slowly but surely just disappeared....

The garden (plants, pagoda, display 'hut', and welcome gate including the calligraphy tablet by former Prime Minister Takeshita) was moved to the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, some 7km from the city centre, as a permanent reminder of Japan's participation at World Expo '88 and as a symbol of good will between Australia and Japan. Now there is a Bonsai Garden as well.

The 'Yakatabune' pleasure boat sadly met with a worse fate....and was relegated to the Queensland Maritime Museum (also located on the former expo site) where it was apparently beyond repair (worms in the river), and was salvaged, only the front part, to adjoin the entrance to a pavilion outside in the museum grounds...No more will there be the quiet contemplation of 'haiku' with the imbibing of sake on the Brisbane River....

And, the people, the attendants, the staff - a combined Australian-Japanese workforce - are the lasting legacy of the Expo - the memories, the happiness, and the sadness....many thanks indeed must go to the hard workers that made it happen and made the Japan Pavilion at World Expo '88 Brisbane the happy and ideal world that it was.

Three Cheers for the Japan Pavilion World Expo '88!

Written by Founder and Foundation Executive Director John McGregor
Pavilion Attendant, The Japan Pavilion, World Expo '88