'Expo lady' completes full circuit of Osaka pavilions on 46th consecutive visit
Tomiyo Yamada, 76, also known by the nickname "Banpaku obaachan," or "Expo lady," completed the feat on May 28. Twenty years ago, Yamada visited the Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan, which was held in her home prefecture, every day it was open. From then on, she became famous for visiting Expo events on every opening day, including those in Shanghai and Yeosu, South Korea.
Yamada smiled as she visited the Netherlands Pavilion, which was, by her count, the 219th place she had been to at the Expo. She commented, "I feel it is important to keep going. I'm so happy to have made it to today." There, she met Dutch Consul-General at the Osaka Consulate-General Marc Kuipers and others. During a commemorative ceremony held after the tour, a pinatalike "kusudama" exploded in celebration, and she was given a specially made plushie of the character "Miffy."
As she aims to visit the Expo on all 184 days until the final day on Oct. 13, Yamada, her husband and son moved to an apartment block in nearby Suminoe Ward from their home in the Aichi Prefecture city of Seto last December. Yamada shared her aspirations as she completes a second go-around of the pavilions, saying, "From now on, I want to convey the splendor of Japanese culture to visitors from overseas."
(Japanese original by Makiko Nagao, Student Newspapers Editorial Department)
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