Yasashiku Naritai STUDIO (やさしくなりたい。STUDIO) by Toho-Leo

Yasashiku Naritai STUDIO (“I want to be kind” STUDIO) is Toho-Leo’s pavilion in the Urban GX Village. It reuses the facade, lighting and other equipment of Panasonic’s “The Land of NOMO” pavilion from Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, carrying on that pavilion’s concept of circulation. The Expo Association introduces it with the theme “8-year-old adults” and the message that both adults and children want to become kinder.

What to see

Specific in-pavilion experiences have not yet been announced (as of October 2026). What is known so far:

• A pavilion reborn: The Land of NOMO was built around the theme of circulation. Toho-Leo says the point is to inherit not only the materials but also the ideas behind them.
• Linked to “Yasashiku Naritai”: the STUDIO shares its philosophy with the AERA “Yasashiku Naritai” project, which grew from a message the magazine AERA (Asahi Shimbun Publications) put forward in 2014. Broadcast writer Kundo Koyama has been the project’s special organizer since 2025. The aim is to present kindness not as something to look at, but as actions and relationships toward the planet, communities, others and the future.
• Hops as a symbol: the pavilion’s symbolic plant is the hop. For the May 27, 2026 kick-off event, Toho-Leo announced a ceremony in which speakers would plant hop seedlings.
• Co-creation before the Expo: in May 2026, Toho-Leo, Japan GX Group and the Hosome cross-university research lab launched a program linking regional natural capital to policy, business and citizen participation, with the STUDIO as its base. During the Expo, they plan to present regional projects, dialogues and participatory programs; details will follow.
• A trailer from Mitoyo: on October 3, 2026, the official X account announced that a trailer used as a used-clothing stall at “PORT” on Chichibugahama beach in Mitoyo, Kagawa, is coming to the STUDIO. How it will be used has not been announced.

Building and design

• Reused equipment: according to Toho-Leo, the facade of The Land of NOMO (about 736 steel frames), 40 lights, 12 speakers and the mist system will be reused in Toho-Leo’s area of the Urban GX Village, in collaboration with Panasonic Holdings and Yuko Nagayama & Associates. Panasonic lists this reuse as part of its effort to reach a recycling and reuse rate of over 99% for the pavilion’s building materials.
• Designer: Yuko Nagayama, architect of The Land of NOMO, is also the designer of the STUDIO.
• On the move: on September 15, 2026, the official X account showed the facade frames (which it calls “rings”) leaving a warehouse in the Kansai region for Yokohama.
• Concept imagery: the special site shows a woven framework gradually covered by climbing plants. Note that the site describes itself as a concept site made for design-proposal purposes, so final specifications should be confirmed in future announcements.

About the exhibitor

Toho-Leo, founded in 1965 and headquartered in Osaka, started with green infrastructure for landscape design and expanded into lifestyles, workstyles and community development around “green” in a broad sense. Content development for the STUDIO is led by Yutaka Mita of its GREEN×EXPO 2027 office, who has worked on reusing heritage buildings such as Kudan House, the venue of the kick-off event. When selected in October 2024, Toho-Leo said it planned a Japanese garden; the plan to reuse The Land of NOMO was announced in July 2025.

Announcements so far

• October 1, 2024: selected as a Village exhibitor (then planning a Japanese garden).
• July 29, 2025: decided to reuse The Land of NOMO’s facade, lighting, speakers and mist system.
• October 29, 2025: the Expo Association published the exhibit overview, describing The Land of NOMO being reborn as a “STUDIO”.
• April 16, 2026: featured on the Expo Association’s YouTube program “GREEN×EXPO DiRECT #4”.
• May 8, 2026: announced a kick-off event on May 27 at Kudan House with a hop-planting ceremony and a talk by Kundo Koyama and Yuko Nagayama.
• May 25, 2026: launched the regional co-creation program with Japan GX Group and the Hosome lab.
• September 15 and October 3, 2026: official X posts on moving the facade frames and on the trailer from Mitoyo.

Reactions on social media

The official X account has posted about the frames leaving Kansai, the six-month countdown, the official website and the Mitoyo trailer. On X, several posts single it out together with KAJIMA TREE as a legacy of Expo 2025, and some mention the frames now visible from outside the venue. Some people look forward to hop harvesting or beer, but no harvesting experience or food and drink service has been officially announced (as of October 2026).

Before you go

• Location: Urban GX Village.
• Reservations: whether it will be covered by the same-day viewing reservation system has not been announced (as of October 2026).
• Children: the theme addresses both adults and children, but specific programs have not been announced.
• Accessibility: not yet announced.

Sources (all checked 2026-10-04):

• Expo Association: Village Exhibitions
• Yasashiku Naritai STUDIO special site (Japanese)
• Toho-Leo release: reusing Panasonic’s “The Land of NOMO” (2025-07-29, Japanese)
• Panasonic Holdings press release: The Land of NOMO to exceed 99% recycling rate (2025-09-04)
• Toho-Leo release: kick-off event (2026-05-08, Japanese)
• Kick-off event page (Peatix, organized by Toho-Leo, Japanese)
• Toho-Leo release: regional co-creation program (2026-05-25, Japanese)
• Toho-Leo release: Village exhibitor selection (2024-10-01, Japanese)
• Expo Association press release: 500 days to go (2025-10-29, Japanese)
• Expo Association official YouTube: GREEN×EXPO DiRECT #4 (2026-04-16, Japanese)
• Yasashiku Naritai STUDIO official X

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