As previously mentioned, Expo 70’s total attendance was over 64 million visits over its
six months of operation. According to the Japan World Exposition Official Report the average
daily attendance on the site on peak days was 641,000 people and the attendance figure of the
peak day of the Exposition was 835,000 visits. The Japan World Exposition Official Report
provides some interesting statistics from a visitor study conducted at the time of the expo
concerning the movements and experience of visitors. For example, 97.3% of all visits to Expo
70 were made by Japanese nationals, with foreign visitation accounting for only 2.7%. The
exposition attracted Japanese nationals from all parts of the country: 48.1% from within 100km
radius, 30.2% within 101 to 500km, and 21.7% from areas further away than 501km. By social
group, 31.1% visited as an organized group (i.e. a group from work or a tour group), 29.7%
visited as a family group, 30.8% visited with friends or acquaintances, and 8.3% as individuals.
The report provides a description of the “average visitors” experience – average time
spent on site was 6.5 hours; average time spent in pavilions was 2.5 hours; average number of
pavilions visited was 8; average time spent in pavilions was 15-20 minutes; and the average
distance covered by foot was 15 to 20km.
Forty-six percent (45.5%) of visitors surveyed indicated that they had pre-planned or
decided on what to see prior to their visit to Expo. Interestingly, the report indicates that 40.9%
of Japanese visitors covered by the survey “were most anxious to see various structures and
facilities [buildings] rather than to see the exhibitions inside, while 34.9% answered that the
exhibits were what they were most eager to see”. Vol 2, pp374. The report speculates that this
was probably due to the fact that “widely varied images of many different pavilions had been
well publicized to the Japanese people through various mass media.” Vol 2, pp374.