By Akiko Minami and Kohei Yamauchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

1:00 JST, May 23, 2025

OSAKA — Local governments are taking advantage of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo’s popularity by proactively promoting attractions and specialties in their localities to boost tourism to regional areas.

The Expo, which is expected to attract 28.2 million visitors, showcases the distinctive allure of the Kansai region, but concerns persist about how far beyond Osaka the event’s economic advantages will extend and whether there will be a widespread positive impact.

The Kansai Pavilion has participants from several prefectures, including all seven prefectures in the Union of Kansai Governments, as well as Fukui and Mie prefectures.

The Tottori Prefecture zone in the Kansai Pavilion welcomes visitors with three statues of popular manga characters linked to the region: Kitaro, the titular character from “GeGeGe no Kitaro” by author Shigeru Mizuki; Conan from “Detective Conan” by Gosho Aoyama; and Hiroshi Nakahara, the protagonist of “A Distant Neighborhood” by Jiro Taniguchi.

The highlight of the zone is a mirrored room that recreates the Tottori Sand Dunes. Inside, vibrant lines and specks of light dance across the sand-covered floor........

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