- On 9 October Meiji Holdings opened a special site for its GREEN×EXPO 2027 shop. The shop is a “theme shop” in the Farm & Food Village, named ORAGA VILLAGE (Mirai no Furusato, “the hometown of the future”). It follows the March 23 plan to build the satoyama countryside where Karl Ojisan, the character of Meiji’s Karl snack, lives.
- The entrance is a giant Karl Ojisan, and visitors enter through his mouth. Meiji also made a new logo from his straw hat and moustache, and says logo goods will be introduced in stages.
- Inside are four parts: projection mapping featuring Karl Ojisan (a light-hearted look at climate change and regenerative farming), an exhibit on cacao, raw milk and microbes, a shop selling mainly upcycled goods made from Meiji’s ingredients and packaging, and a food truck serving drinks made with Meiji products.
- Outside, Meiji plans to plant a “Nanjamonja tree” (Chionanthus retusus, the fringe tree from the Oraga Village story) as the symbol tree, plus persimmon trees and corn. In the exterior image the fringe tree stands to the left of the entrance and the corn to the right.
- Admission, reservations, show times and the goods and menu are not given on the site or in the release.
- English names here are this site’s renderings; Meiji has not published official English names.
Our take
The site says when each of the three plants around the entrance is at its best. The fringe tree has white flowers in spring. The corn starts as small seedlings, grows to about 1.5–1.8 m, and may be harvested as early as July. The persimmons start to fruit around June and turn orange in autumn.
The Expo runs from 19 March to 26 September, so both the spring flowers and a July corn harvest fall inside it. The site does not say when the corn will be planted, so how tall the gate will be on opening day is not known. Whether the persimmons colour before the 26 September closing is not clear either; the site only says “autumn”. The same shop will greet you with a different entrance depending on the month.
The second point is the link to the yogurt cup collection Meiji and TOPPAN announced on 30 September. The two companies said the collected cups would become goods sold at this shop, but did not say what kind of shop it was. The new site says the goods shop will sell mainly upcycled items made from Meiji’s ingredients and packaging. Neither announcement says the cup goods will be sold in this shop, but of the four parts of ORAGA VILLAGE it is the only one described as selling items remade from packaging. What the goods will be, and their prices, have not been announced.
Tips for visitors
- Meiji’s shop is in the Farm & Food Village. Other exhibitors in the same Village are listed in our guide to all the pavilions.
- The paper cup collection runs until 30 November at 13 AEON and other stores in Yokohama. The products and store list are in our news on the yogurt cup collection.
- The special site counts down to opening day, and Meiji says the logo goods will be introduced there in stages.
Our take
Visitors will walk in through the mouth of a giant Karl Ojisan. The corn planted beside the entrance may be harvested as early as July, so the entrance will look different depending on the month you go. Admission and reservations have not been announced.