Meiji Group "ORAGA VILLAGE — Hometown of the Future"

“ORAGA VILLAGE — Hometown of the Future” (ORAGA VILLAGE Mirai no Furusato) is the outlet Meiji Group (Meiji Holdings) will run in the Farm & Food Village at GREEN×EXPO 2027. It is one of the Expo Association’s four themed commercial outlets. Its theme is “Regeneration,” and it is modeled on the satoyama village where Karl Ojisan, the character of Meiji’s Karl snacks, lives. Through exhibits and hands-on experiences, it introduces efforts to regenerate farming, nature, raw materials and packaging. Its tagline is “The hometown of the future is here.”

Highlights and exhibits

According to Meiji Holdings’ news release of March 23, 2026, the space will evoke the satoyama, Japan’s traditional rural landscape, and offer immersive content on themes such as regenerative dairy farming and agroforestry in cacao-growing regions.

JAcom, the agricultural cooperative newspaper, reported on March 24 that the booth will open by showing how climate change affects farming, such as feed shortages for dairy farming caused by floods in Thailand and drought damage to cacao in Brazil. It will then present regenerative dairy farming by the Hokkaido “Doto Carbon Farming Study Group” and cacao agroforestry as an immersive video experience, along with the recycling of Meiji’s milk and yogurt cartons and its shift to 100% recycled PET bottles for Meiji Probio Yogurt R-1.

Food and goods

The same report says the outlet will sell dairy products made with milk from regenerative farming and chocolate made with agroforestry cacao, along with apparel and goods made from recycled milk and yogurt cartons, cacao husks and surplus skim milk powder.

On September 30, 2026, Meiji and TOPPAN announced that they will collect cups of Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt LB81 (400 g, four varieties) at 13 AEON, AEON Style and AEON Food Style stores in Yokohama from October 1 to November 30, 2026. The washed cups will be upcycled into original goods to be sold at ORAGA VILLAGE. Product line-ups and prices, including whether any Karl products will be sold, had not been announced as of October 2026.

About the exhibitor

Meiji Group’s business depends on nature’s gifts such as raw milk, cacao, lactic acid bacteria and other microbes. The group issued its Nature Positive Declaration in March 2024, and says it will use the Expo to share its idea of “health for all,” covering society and the global environment as well as people. Karl snacks are currently sold only in western Japan, according to Meiji’s product information.

Timeline

• March 19, 2025: Meiji is provisionally selected as a themed commercial outlet in the Farm & Food Village (Meiji Holdings and Association releases)
• March 19, 2026: The Expo Association publishes the outline and a rendering
• March 23, 2026: Meiji Holdings unveils the concept, modeled on Karl Ojisan’s village, with “Regeneration” as the theme
• September 8, 2026: The Asahi Shimbun opens registration for the Asahi World Forum 2026, including an online special lecture on Meiji’s themed commercial outlet by its sustainability department head, to stream from November 2
• September 30, 2026: Meiji and TOPPAN announce the yogurt cup collection and the plan to sell upcycled goods at the outlet

On social media

On X (formerly Twitter), many posts look forward to Karl Ojisan’s appearance at the Expo. Several note that Karl snacks are currently sold only in western Japan and talk about Karl Ojisan coming to Yokohama. Posts sharing the yogurt cup collection news can also be seen (as of October 2026).

Before you go

• Location: Farm & Food Village. On the Association’s venue map (June 1, 2026 edition) it sits just south of the Farm & Food Village label.
• Reservations: The Association has not yet announced which exhibits will use same-day viewing reservations (as of October 2026).
• Admission: The Association’s guidelines for themed commercial outlets prohibit charging admission for the outlet area. Food and goods are paid for separately.
• Preview: The outlet will be introduced in an online special lecture at the Asahi World Forum 2026 from November 2, 2026 (free, registration required).
• Join in now: Yogurt cups are being collected at 13 stores in Yokohama from October 1 to November 30, 2026.
• Not yet announced: Menus and prices, activities for children and accessibility details.

Sources

• Meiji Holdings news release, March 23, 2026 (PDF, Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Meiji Holdings news release, March 19, 2025 (PDF, Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Meiji Holdings topics: attending the two-years-to-go press conference (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• JAcom report on Meiji’s outlet, March 24, 2026 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• TOPPAN Holdings (PR TIMES): Meiji and TOPPAN to collect Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt cups, September 30, 2026 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Meiji Co., Ltd. (Kyodo News PR Wire): the same release, September 30, 2026 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Asahi World Forum 2026 program (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• The Asahi Shimbun (PR TIMES): Asahi World Forum 2026 registration opens, September 8, 2026 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Meiji product information: Karl Cheese (sold in western Japan only, Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association: Village and themed commercial outlets, with venue map (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association press release, March 19, 2025 (corrected March 21, Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association press release, March 19, 2026 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association: Recruitment guidelines for themed commercial outlets, updated December 26, 2024 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association press release on visit-date and viewing reservations, August 27, 2026 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)

*Exhibit details and highlights will be updated as official announcements are made.