Sixty-two years ago, in 1962, an exposition was held to commemorate the opening of the Wakato Bridge. A total of 1.4 million people visited the exposition sites in Wakamatsu and Tobata, which had a population of approximately 200,000 during the period from September 28 to November 25, attracting many tourists from all over Japan.

The Tobata venue was themed around the world’s space development. The Wakamatsu venue featured an amusement park and sightseeing attractions for parents and children, as well as cultural exhibits full of local flavor. Each venue had its own unique flavor, and a variety of events were held during the festival, including local filming of popular movies, stage productions featuring famous singers, and the Miss Wakatohaku Contest.

In addition, the “Dream Plan” contest held by newspapers and TV stations introduced some interesting ideas, such as the invitation of an international airport to the Hibikinada reclaimed land area.

 

－ Expositions that Fueled the Five-City Merger

As Japan’s economy entered a period of rapid growth, the Kitakyushu area also hosted a series of large-scale expositions. In the spring of 1958, the Moji Tunnel Expo was held to celebrate the opening of the Kanmon National Highway Tunnel, and in the spring of 1960, the Kokura Expo was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the city’s incorporation. In Wakamatsu and Tobata, plans to hold expositions at the time of the opening of the Wakato Ohashi Bridge began to take shape.

 

 

With a total budget of 650 million yen (at the time), two exhibition sites were planned in Tobata and Wakamatsu: the Tobata site was to be located on the Tobata side of the Wakato Ohashi Bridge and the Wakamatsu site was to be located in Takatoyama Park (47,000 square meters).

On September 28, 1962, two days after the Wakato Bridge opened, the opening ceremony was held at the Tobata City Cultural Hall, attended by more than 2,000 people, including guests from Japan and abroad.

 

－ Lively and elaborate exposition halls

At the Tobata Expo site, special events focused on space-related materials from the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and a variety of exhibits at seven pavilions and two facilities attracted much attention.

The U.S. Pavilion, the largest of the space-related exhibition pavilions, was a popular pavilion with a full-scale bunker rocket, a model of the internal structure of a multi-stage rocket, a satellite ship tracking situation at a space base, and a capsule recovery experiment.

 

 

A 25-meter-high model of a five-stage manned rocket was set up in front of the entrance gate, and the process leading up to the launch was shown with actual recordings from the U.S. space station, the sound of the explosion during the launch, and the plume of white smoke, just as it would have been on site.

In the Soviet Pavilion, the current state of Soviet space science was exhibited, including the orbital description of Vostok 1, the orbit of the backside of the moon, Lunik 3, Sputnik 2 and 3, etc. The Electric Science Pavilion and Modern Industry Pavilion, which introduced the advanced technology of the time, pavilions of major local companies and tourist products were popular.

The Wakamatsu venue, on the other hand, took advantage of the unique features of the Mt. Takatoyama venue, which offers a view of the factories around Dokai Bay and the Wakato Bridge, to create an exhibition space that families can enjoy as a recreational amusement park.

 

 

The pavilions introducing local companies and the ropeway leading to the Mt. Takato-yama Observation Deck drew long lines of visitors. Kodomo no Kuni, which boasts the largest amusement facility in western Japan and a Ferris wheel, became a popular spot for families.

 

 

 

－ A variety of entertainment that brought excitement to the exposition

The previous year, nearly 2,000 entries were received for the “Wakato Ohashi no Uta” (Wakato Bridge Song) project, a nationwide publicity song for the Wakato Expo.

In November, during the latter half of the exposition, a film crew visited both sites to shoot a movie set on the Wakato Ohashi Bridge and the Wakato Expo, and a collaborative project with the “Miss Wakato Expo Contest” drew a lot of attention to the expo site.

The filming of the popular Toho film series “President’s Mangyu-ki,” in which the winners of the Miss Wakato Expo appeared, featured the observation center and ropeway at the Wakamatsu site and the space-related facilities at the Tobata site.