Outline of Yumeshima development emerges

Thursday 24th of January 2019

From a variety of public and private sources, the basic outline of what Yumeshima will look like in 2025 is now beginning to emerge. In that year the manmade island in Osaka Bay is expected to host both a new IR and the World Expo.

At the center of the island will be the 55-story tower that houses Yumeshima Station, the entry point for most visitors. This will be developed by Osaka Metro, and should be linked in two directions: the Metro Chuo Line running southeast to Sakishima and the JR Yumeshima Line running northeast to Maishima. Two other railway companies, Keihan and Kintetsu, may have trains running on these same tracks with direct connections to Kyoto and Nara.

Yumeshima Station Tower is expected to stand over 250 meters tall and have construction costs above JPY100 billion (about $910 million). It will host hotels, entertainment facilities, and business offices, and with an observation deck on the top floor.

The zone marked out for the international IR operators lay along the north shore, facing across a roughly 400-meter waterway from Maishima Ryokuchi Park.

Naturally, no one knows the design of the IR space yet as multiple operators will be bidding, each with their own unique concepts and proposals. Nevertheless, aside from the casino, large-scale MICE facilities and luxury hotels can be expected.

Next to the IR on the northwest corner of the island will be solar power facility.

Taking up about half of Yumeshima on the southwest will be the various zones related to the World Expo, which will be open to the public from May 3 to November 3, 2025, and is expected to draw in about 28 million visitors during that six-month period.

Nearest Yumeshima Station Tower will be “Pavilion World” which will contain most of the central exhibits of the event and will be notable for its multi-sided buildings laid out in complex patterns.

Beyond that on the far west of the island will be “Green World,” an elaborate park-like development suitable for rest and relaxation.

The remaining part of the World Expo, in the far south, will be “Water World” which, among other things, will include many accommodation facilities.

Finally, east of Yumeshima Station Tower will be the container terminal which already exists in that location. Tourists and the vast majority of visitors will likely be directed to the western exits of the Yumeshima Station and will have little occasion to see the eastern side, which will lay outside the many entertainment zones.

Overall, Yumeshima’s development in the next six years promises to be nearly miraculous, with billions of dollars and cutting-edge technology poured into this small manmade island that has lay undeveloped since its creation in the late 1970s, and had long been known as an economic victim of the collapse of the Bubble Economy.