The Expo Comes to Dotonbori: Myakumyaku Monument Lands on the Shopping Street
On July 6, 2026, a 3.85-meter Myakumyaku monument was unveiled in front of Kani Doraku's Dotonbori Honten, the crab-fronted restaurant on the corner of Dotonbori 1-chome. It is the same Myakumyaku statue that stood inside the Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai site, and it now stands on the former footprint of the "genkotsu" (clenched-fist) object that Osaka used as its Expo bid symbol. The installation is scheduled to remain through August 31, with a permanent new host to be chosen by public recruitment afterward.
The monument is part of Osaka Prefecture's post-Expo legacy program. After the Expo closed in October 2025, the prefecture began touring the Myakumyaku monuments around the prefecture as a way of spreading the visitor traffic that had concentrated on Yumeshima back across Osaka. The monuments travel as a set of figures with different poses, each installed at a different location. The one in Dotonbori is the "Irasshai" (welcome) pose, which was chosen for the shopping street specifically because it greets visitors.
Why Dotonbori, and why that exact spot
Osaka Prefecture ran a public recruitment for the first installation site of the Irasshai monument. The Dotonbori Shopping Street Association applied, and the prefecture selected the location. The stated reasons, published by the prefecture on June 27, were the visibility of Dotonbori as a tourist landmark and the symbolic value of placing the monument on the exact site where the genkotsu object used to stand. The genkotsu was a large raised-fist sculpture installed in 2018 as part of Osaka's Expo bid; it was removed after the Expo was awarded. Putting Myakumyaku there closes a loop, linking the bid to the legacy.
The Kani Doraku Dotonbori Honten front is the single most photographed building in the Minami area. The giant moving crab sign above the entrance has been a Dotonbori meeting point since 1962, and the corner gets a steady stream of passersby from Namba, Shinsaibashi, and the Tombori Riverwalk. Placing a 3.85-meter Myakumyaku in that corner essentially guarantees a new photo spot for every tourist walking the canal-side strip.
The wider monument tour
The Dotonbori installation is one of two Myakumyaku monuments currently touring the prefecture. A second figure, the "Wakuwaku" (excitement) pose, was installed at SENNAN LONG PARK (the Sennan Rinku Park) on June 6 and also runs through August 31. Before Dotonbori, the Irasshai monument had been at the Expo Commemorative Park in Suita until June 28. The prefecture has said the next destinations after the Dotonbori run will be chosen through another round of public recruitment, expected to open around May for the September-to-November slot.
The touring program is funded by Osaka Prefecture as part of its Expo legacy plan. The aim is to push visitor traffic out of the former Expo site and into the surrounding municipalities, particularly those that did not see the same visitor surge during the Expo run. Each installation is accompanied by a small panel and goods display, set up in a "photo house" format. The Dotonbori installation is operated by the Dotonbori Shopping Association, which manages the surrounding pedestrian area.
What it is like to visit
The monument is street-level and free to view, with no fence or ticket. It sits on the pedestrian pavement directly in front of Kani Doraku, so you can walk up to it at any hour. The most crowded window is from around 18:00 to 21:00, when the dinner rush overlaps with the canal-side lantern crowd from the Mantosai festival. If you want a photo without a queue of people in the frame, the early morning hours between 07:00 and 09:00, when the shopping street is quiet, are the most reliable.
The monument's placement next to the giant crab sign also means it is a short walk from the Ebisubashi bridge and the Glico Running Man sign, so it slots into the standard Dotonbori photo circuit without requiring a detour. Plan for about five minutes if you just want to photograph it; longer if you want to combine it with a meal at one of the canal-side restaurants.
Practical Details
- Installed: July 6, 2026
- End of current run: August 31, 2026 (scheduled)
- Monument: Myakumyaku "Irasshai" (welcome) pose, height 3.85m
- Venue: Dotonbori Shopping Street, in front of Kani Doraku Dotonbori Honten, 1-8 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka
- Nearest station: Namba Station (Nankai / Metro Midōsuji / Sennichimae), about 5 minutes on foot
- Price: Free, street-level, no reservation
- Operator: Dotonbori Shopping Association, as part of Osaka Prefecture's Expo legacy program
- Website: Osaka Meguru Myakumyaku Monument (Osaka Prefecture)