Sumitomo Forestry Village Exhibition, 100 Forests (住友林業館「ひゃくの森」)

The Sumitomo Forestry Village Exhibition, 100 Forests (Japanese name: 住友林業館「ひゃくの森」, Hyaku no Mori) is Sumitomo Forestry’s pavilion in the Craft Village. Its concept, “100 EYES, 100 FORESTS”, expresses the idea that a forest changes depending on who is looking — a child, a scientist, or someone with a cultural, economic or urban point of view. For Sumitomo Forestry, which has built its business around wood since its founding in 1691, this is the first world expo it is taking part in independently.

What to see

According to the visitor experience description released on September 15, 2026, the route runs as follows.

1. Tunnel: just past the entrance, a tunnel leads toward the forest. The journey begins with a seemingly contradictory question: how can we protect forests while growing and logging trees?
2. Theater and museum: visitors discover forests as a treasure trove of life for countless creatures, and learn how trees are planted, cultivated and turned into wood for everyday life. Beyond that are the future possibilities of wood in areas such as energy and biotechnology.
3. Second-floor deck: the tour ends on the deck, where visitors look at trees from a bird’s-eye view instead of looking up at them.

The special site promises a story that expands as you go deeper, with each visitor becoming one of the “hundred” perspectives. Natural materials are used generously inside and out so that visitors can sense the scent and texture of wood.

Building and design

• Second-floor deck: the deck connecting the spaces overlooks the surrounding planting and the symbolic trees at the center of the building.
• Construction status: at a press preview on September 29, 2026, the exterior work was reported to be nearly finished, with interior work under way. Reports also said trees are planted in the central area surrounded by the buildings and that the deck looks out over the venue.
• “KIBLO” back-office building: the pavilion’s back-office building uses KIBLO (tentative name), a timber unit system developed by Sumitomo Forestry. Units of about 10 m² are made in a factory and joined on site; 18 units form a two-storey building of about 180 m². After the foundations were finished, the units were installed in three days and the carpentry took another three. The building serves as the site office during construction and as an operations office and guest space during the Expo, and is planned to be dismantled and reused elsewhere afterwards. Sumitomo Forestry plans to offer KIBLO as a product from 2027.

About the exhibitor

Sumitomo Forestry has kept forest management at the core of its business since 1691 and now works across timber and building materials, custom homes, medium- and large-scale wooden buildings, real estate and wood biomass power. The pavilion showcases its “Wood Cycle” value chain — growing forests, using wood and growing forests again — and its long-term vision “Mission TREEING 2030”. At GREEN×EXPO 2027, Sumitomo Forestry is also designing and building a timber facility for the UK exhibition area, and group company Sumitomo Forestry Landscaping is taking part in the flower and greenery exhibitions.

Announcements so far

• March 21, 2025: selected as a Village exhibitor, announced for the Craft Village.
• October 29, 2025: the Expo Association published the exhibit overview.
• March 19, 2026: the name and concept were finalized and the special site opened (the name was then written 「100（ひゃく）の森」; later announcements use 「ひゃくの森」).
• May 11, 2026: recruitment of about 34 pavilion attendants (working mid-February to the end of September 2027) began; it has since closed.
• September 15, 2026: the visitor experience description and latest renderings were unveiled.
• September 18, 2026: announced the timber facility for the UK exhibition area.
• September 29, 2026: the exterior and second-floor deck under construction were shown to the press, and the KIBLO timber unit system was announced the same day.

Reactions on social media

The pavilion has no dedicated social media account (Sumitomo Forestry’s official account list as of September 2026); news appears on the special site and in press releases. On X, many posts share the September 15 experience description and the September 29 press preview, and several say the forest-themed experience reminds them of the Sumitomo Pavilion at Expo 2025 (as of October 2026). That pavilion was exhibited by the Sumitomo EXPO2025 Promotion Committee with its “UNKNOWN FOREST” experience; 100 Forests is a separate, independent exhibit by Sumitomo Forestry.

Before you go

• Location: Craft Village.
• Reservations: whether it will be covered by the same-day viewing reservation system has not been announced (as of October 2026).
• Guidance: attendants are planned to guide visitors and explain the exhibits.
• Access to the second-floor deck and accessibility information: not yet announced.

Sources (all checked 2026-10-04):

• Expo Association: Village Exhibitions
• Sumitomo Forestry: GREEN×EXPO 2027 Craft Village special site (English)
• Sumitomo Forestry: 100 Forests visitor experience description unveiled (2026-09-15, English)
• Sumitomo Forestry: Village exhibition name and concept finalized (2026-03-19, English)
• Sumitomo Forestry: attendant recruitment (2026-05-11, Japanese)
• Sumitomo Forestry news release: KIBLO relocatable timber unit system (2026-09-29, Japanese)
• Sumitomo Forestry news release: selected as a Village exhibitor (2025-03-21, Japanese)
• Sumitomo Forestry release: timber facility for the UK exhibition area (2026-09-18, Japanese)
• Sumitomo Forestry: official social media account list (as of September 2026, Japanese)
• JAcom: Sumitomo Forestry pavilion shown at the venue (2026-09, Japanese)
• Travel Watch: exterior and second-floor deck unveiled (2026-09-29, Japanese)
• Expo Association press release: 500 days to go (2025-10-29, Japanese)
• Expo Association: one-year-to-go materials (2026-03-19, Japanese)
• Sumitomo EXPO2025 Promotion Committee: Sumitomo Pavilion “UNKNOWN FOREST” (2025-03-27, Japanese)

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