Expo '70 Commemorative Park — Tower of the Sun & Gardens

Expo '70 Commemorative Park preserves the 1970 World's Fair site in northern Osaka. The centerpiece is Taro Okamoto's Tower of the Sun (太陽の塔) — a 70-meter surrealist sculpture with three faces (golden future face, present sun face, black past face) representing humanity's evolution. The tower's interior (reopened 2018 after 48-year closure) contains a 'Tree of Life' installation with 183 biological evolution models climbing the tower's core.

The 260-hectare park includes Japanese garden, natural forest, cycling paths, and museums (National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka Museum of Natural History). The site represents Japan's post-war optimism and the 1970 Expo's theme 'Progress and Harmony for Mankind.' The tower's psychedelic aesthetic contrasts sharply with modern Japan's minimalism.