- Three uniquely themed outlets, based on the Corporate Slogan “Sustained by nature and water” -
Suntory Holdings Ltd. has decided to open food and beverage outlets at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. The three outlets will be located inside the Water Plaza West building, a commercial building in the Water Plaza area that is open to the sea and sky.
To serve a wide range of dining needs, the outlets will each have a unique theme. There will be a park-like cafeteria where people can casually drop in and refresh their minds and bodies, a restaurant where they can enjoy the fresh air and water of the Japanese highlands, and a restaurant specializing in farmed fish that connects the blessings of the sea to the future.
Suntory will collaborate with Daikin Industries, Ltd. and Kindai University on the opening of the outlets, relying on their expertise to create them. The menus and interior designs will incorporate Japanese styles and cutting-edge technologies so visitors can enjoy the space and conversation, as well as their food and beverages.
At the Japan World Exposition Osaka 1970 (Expo ’70), Suntory gave visitors a rich food and beverage experience born of nature’s blessings, including original Expo cocktails and an “On The Rocks with Alaska Ice*1” served at the bar inside the Pavilion. As we intended then, we hope again that memorable experiences of food and beverages at the Expo will instill new feelings that connect us to a better future for humankind and nature.
*1 At Expo ’70, Suntory sponsored the “Suntory Hall” pavilion with the theme “Water of Life,” where whisky and orange juice was served to visitors during the Expo using glacial ice flown in from Alaska.
■Overview of Outlets
Outlet Name | Seating | Area |
---|---|---|
SUNTORY PARK CAFE | Approx. 150 seats | Approx. 420 m2 |
SUIKUU | Approx. 190 seats | Approx. 750 m2 |
Kindai University Aquaculture Research Institute Restaurant at the Water Plaza, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan | Approx. 110 seats | Approx. 300 m2 |
Hours: 10 am to 9 pm (tentative)
Location: 1st and 2nd floors in the West Building of the Water Plaza
■Unique Features of Each Outlet
1.SUNTORY PARK CAFE (1F)
The cafeteria resembles a park-like space where people can casually drop by, talk, and refresh their minds and bodies. With furnishings throughout the facility to encourage toasts (“Cheers!”) that naturally bring people closer, the space is designed for comfortable and relaxed communication. A lineup of familiar Suntory products will be served in an “Expo version,” including premium shaved ice made with Suntory Tennensui, a natural mineral water nurtured over decades in the majestic mountains, and a special edition of BOSS available only at the Expo venue.
For its tableware, the cafeteria will use Ikurinzai*2 produced from Suntory Natural Water Sanctuaries, Suntory’s forest-maintenance activities that seek to improve water-source recharge capacity and biodiversity. This gives visitors the opportunity to reflect on the blessings of nature and their sustainability through an enjoyable and delicious dining experience. The cafeteria offers a vibrant, open space that resonates with humankind and nature, where a person can refresh both their mind and body.
*2 Ikurinzai (timber from cultivated forests) is the term used by Suntory Group to refer to the timber produced through activities that nurture sustainable water and forests.
2.SUIKUU (2F)
This restaurant is a collaboration with Daikin Industries, the joint sponsor with Suntory of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan show “A Spectacle of Air and Water—Under the Midnight Rainbow.” The interior of the restaurant reproduces the flow of clear water, lush greenery, and fresh air, creating an experience similar to dining at a restaurant on the Japanese highlands, despite its location on the Expo waterfront. Daikin Industries’ advanced technology optimizes temperature, humidity, and airflow to create cool, refreshing air throughout the restaurant.
The menu offers drinks with original presentations of whisky, beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages from Suntory, nurtured by the richness and repetition of the seasons, as well as set course meals made with ingredients sourced in Japan.
Additionally, the tables in the restaurant use “Suntory Taru Monogatari*3” furniture, made from barrel staves that have nurtured whisky for many years and served their purpose. This gives visitors a sense of the passage of time in the aging process as they enjoy a relaxing meal. Our hope is that visitors will want the enjoyable meal they experience here to be something that continues to exist into the future.
*3 Since 1998, Suntory has run a business that recycles whisky barrels for use in furniture and interior furnishings that are sold under the label Suntory Taru Monogatari (“Suntory Barrel Story”).
3.Kindai University Aquaculture Research Institute Restaurant at the Water Plaza, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (2F)
This restaurant specializing in farmed fish is an industry-academia collaboration with Kindai University, an institution that has for many years conducted research on sustainable aquaculture that does not rely on natural marine resources and has little impact on the natural world.
Visitors can enjoy not only “Kindai Tuna” that was fully farm raised with success for the first time in the world by Kindai University, and other safe, sound, and delicious farmed fish, but also seafood dishes made with “thoroughbred-fish*4” a fish created using Kindai University technology that crosses two varieties of fish to take advantage of the specific strengths of each.
The interior of the restaurant is a phantasmal space that evokes the floor of the ocean using video, light, and sound. There is also an area where visitors can directly see and experience the commitment to a sustainable future by observing farmed Japanese eels swimming in a tank.
“Come Meet The Fish You Will Eat for the First Time Ever in Your Life” will be a special first-hand experience offered to the many visitors to Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan who come from all around the world.
*4 “Thoroughbred-fish” is a term coined by Kindai University to succinctly describe their concept. Academically, these are referred to as “hybrid fish.”
■About Suntory’s Corporate Slogan “Sustained by nature and water”
“Sustained by nature and water” is Suntory Group’s corporate slogan, as well as our basic concept for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Suntory will also present a water and air-themed spectacular at the Water Plaza every day during the Expo period (see News Release No. 14510). Suntory believes it is the group’s responsibility to show respect and gratitude toward nature for the water it produces, and to carry that legacy into the future alongside our abundant lifestyle culture. Suntory’s hope is that the water spectacular and these enticing food and beverage experiences will encourage an even greater number of people to share in our vision.
▽ For customer inquiries regarding this announcement, contact:
Suntory Customer Center https://www.suntory.co.jp/customer/