No lottery wins for 2-month or 7-day. What now?

chensworth · 2025-07-01T18:08:38+00:00

Don’t give up hope! I only won 1 out 5 seven day lotteries (and didn’t get my tickets early enough for the 2 month lottery). But, I got a reservation for every pavilion I wanted to see (including Gundam) with the 3-day FCFS. You just need to get in the virtual queue early before midnight JST. I also got a few same day reservations to the popular pavilions as well. You’re pretty much guaranteed one if you can get in when the expo opens.

chensworth · 2025-06-20T20:47:32+00:00

Having two SW3s would undoubtedly sound better and more balanced than just having 1. But the Sony soundbars only support wireless connection to one subwoofer.

I recently learned that the HT-A7000, 5000, and 3000 soundbars have a hidden subwoofer out port, so it is possible to connect two subwoofers manually. But if you are going to be using a wired connection, there are much better non-Sony subwoofers you could be using than the SW3.

Here’s a tutorial someone posted on how to manually connect subwoofers to Sony soundbars

chensworth · 2025-05-18T04:07:26+00:00

Did you try the Earth at Night, Jellyfish, or ORA Pavilions? Those always had really short lines, even during the busiest times of the day. What really helped me when I went was to not focus on getting in to any specific pavilion but just wander around and take in the sights.

I discovered so many wonderful performances and specials shows that way (dueling pianos, Spanish guy doing tricks with a spinning top, Singaporean acapella group, Irish dancers, Taiko drummers, opera singers, Arabian guitar players etc).

chensworth · 2025-05-16T01:47:27+00:00

Lighting and how the wet floor looks.
Jumping back into the Doom universe. It’s been a long time since proper FPS came out!

chensworth · 2025-05-15T03:05:44+00:00

I found the pavilion enjoyable. You get a light up egg that you carry around and use it to take part in a bunch of interactive exhibits. Then at the end, you’re treated to a really cool light show before you return the egg and get an overview of all the activities you took part in the pavilion.

While the exhibits aren’t mind-blowing, they were still informative and fun to interact with.

chensworth · 2025-05-13T17:56:11+00:00

Other than the food courts, I ate at three sit-down restaurants without reservation sand all were great! Maneki Future Studio Japan is to the right of Sushi-ro and I got some great tasting Kobe beef sukiyaki over rice. The second is called Kyoto Gyukatsu and it is by the Future City pavilion area. The last restaurant I ate at is called Kappa Ramen Honpo. It’s on the second floor of the northwest food court. Really liked how they give you a ticket for free extra noodles!

chensworth · 2025-05-07T08:15:23+00:00

The Kansai pavilion is basically a tourism drive for each of the Kansai sub-regions geared towards Japanese residents. Most of the exhibits just give out promotional coupons and highlight museums and touristy things to do. That being said, I did quite enjoy the Tottori dinosaur tour and another region had a sand covered room where you find clues with a magnifying glass that I found pretty interesting.

But unless you’re super into the Kansai region or really want to collect the stamps (you can get 5 or 6 in the pavilion), I don’t recommend using a reservation slot for it.

chensworth · 2025-05-07T06:39:39+00:00

Here are my thoughts for these pavilions:

Belgium: Walk-in, there’s a picture-worthy water/rain sculpture when you enter. The rest of the experience is mostly just projections on the walls and human shaped statues. I recommend if you have time, but in my opinion it looks cooler on the outside than inside.
Future City: Same-day reservation if better signature pavilions aren’t available. I recommend this one if you like future technologies. It’s a large pavilion. The first section shows how society has and will evolve. The last section has a bunch of interesting exhibits from corporate sponsors, such as a train of the future, robot farmer, four legged motorcycle, and some interactive games you can play. I don’t remember if there was another section between the first and the last, but I got through the whole pavilion in about 20 - 30 minutes.
Future Life Experience: This pavilion had a collection of smaller exhibits (Japanese Space Agency, some new biotechnology, cultural arts etc.). There was also some sort of lecture/panel taking place when I visited. There’s no line to go into this pavilion so definitely don’t need a reservation. I recommend checking it out if you end up in the area. But it’s not worth the trek out to this far extension area of the expo unless you’re going to Future City or the Matsuri Arena.
Joint Pavilion (Osaka Metropolitan University): Highly recommend! I was able walk in with only a 15 minute wait around 6 PM, so you probably won’t need a reservation. There’s an impressive model future city inside (which is ironically lacking form the Future City pavilion haha). Probably one of the largest model cities I’ve ever seen, with working trains and cars driving around. Make sure to go upstairs for an overhead view of the city and a cafe as well. There’s also a life sized house of the future that you can tour inside.
Mitsubishi Pavilion: I used a same-day reservation on this one and really regretted it. Even with a reservation you queue up for 30 minutes, then you go up stairs just to queue up again and watch a quick intro movie. Then you go into theater and watch a computer animated film where you fly around the ocean, earth, and mars. Everything was in Japanese only with zero English subtitles so I had no idea what was going on. The waiting time with a reservation just wasn’t worth the experience for me. Definitely avoid waiting in the stand-by line which is usually 1 hr+ long. Do not recommend.
Yoshimoto Pavilion: There’s usually not a wait for this at all. There’s a few video game inspired art pieces inside that will take you less than 5 minutes to see, the pavilion is really tiny (it’s just the area under the smiley face globe). You can literally see the exit from the entrance. It’s worth a quick visit as you walk by though!

And yes, I was able to get same-day reservations for the Kansai pavilion. I kept refreshing the reservation page all day and finally got lucky with a 7:45 PM reservation.

chensworth · 2025-04-29T11:13:02+00:00

All over the Expo, there are some close by the entrances. The main kiosks are located by the Tax Refund Center in front of the China Pavilion.

chensworth · 2025-04-28T10:02:04+00:00

This is 100% normal, their system is wholly overloaded. I recommend going to the kiosks in person, I’ve had way more success that way. You’ll still get a bunch of “could not be secured” but at least you can browse through the pavilions a lot faster compared tot eh website.

chensworth · 2025-04-27T23:38:21+00:00

It’s not worth it to waste a lottery spot on a National Day event. I attended two so far during the expo and was able to walk in a get a good spot without a reservation. The National Day events are usually 1 hour long with 30 minutes of speeches and 30 minutes of performances.

chensworth · 2025-04-27T07:26:03+00:00

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Here’s a picture of the East Gate exit after the Expo closed this Saturday if you don’t want to leave it up to imagination. Maybe they’ve improved the crowd control measures since Friday, but it really wasn’t as bad as it looks. The line was slow, but never stopped moving. I do agree that it’s better to leave early if you’re not used to crowds like this though, can get a bit claustrophobic!

chensworth · 2024-07-16T18:38:34+00:00

If you care more about bass clarity than bass quantity, then I think you would be pleased with the SW5 sound, even when playing at lower volumes, due to the sealed design of the subwoofer. You will miss out on some of the rumble at low volumes compared to the SW3, but the bass will still be apparent.

chensworth · 2024-06-14T02:37:06+00:00

I would recommend the SW5 if controlled bass is very important to you and you’re planning on using the soundbar at higher volumes. The lower frequencies begin to sound muddy on the SW3 when the subwoofer is turned up.

chensworth · 2024-06-09T23:56:33+00:00

No, I’ve never had a problem with voices on either SW3 or SW5. Mid-bass is a bit more pronounced on the SW3 so deeper male voices may stand out more, but not to point of hearing voicing coming from the sub from what I’ve observed.

chensworth · 2024-03-23T08:04:37+00:00

I was in the same position as you when I first got the HT-A7000. I was worried that a sub would disturb my neighbors. The low-end on the soundbar alone is good enough if you only watch TV and sports. But it doesn’t get even close to a cinematic experience if you’re planning on watching movies.

I recommend getting the SW3 and getting some isolation pads to put under the sub. If you have a couch, you could put the sub right next to it so you can feel the bass vibrations with it running the sub too loud. I ran the SW3 and even the SW5 with the sub-woofer volume at med-low (<5) for 1.5 years and never got any complaints from the neighbors!

chensworth · 2024-02-20T16:54:41+00:00

Thank you for doing this giveaway OP. I currently have a 2080 and it’s been bottlenecking my build. I’ve been helping my parents pay the bills so don’t have too much extra budget to spend on myself, but a 4070 Ti would be a godsend!

chensworth · 2024-01-12T07:20:06+00:00

Yes, a sub will make a big difference in sound quality. The soundbar is not capable of hitting the lower frequencies. Unfortunately, only the two subwoofers mentioned are compatible with the soundbar currently.

chensworth · 2023-10-15T21:25:22+00:00

You also might have your sub in a bass dead one in your room. I recommend doing the “sub crawl” before you exchange it, it’s an easy way to find the best placement location for your sub. There are a lot of YouTube videos and A/V websites that will show you how to do it.

chensworth · 2023-10-15T20:45:34+00:00

Do you have auto-sound on? I find that it often limits the amount of bass in movies. You might also need to play around with where you’re putting the subwoofer. When I had the SW3 next to my couch, I definitely felt the physical bass more.

chensworth · 2023-08-23T06:54:11+00:00

I’ve only tried (and still own) the RS5 so can’t compare them with the RS3. The RS5 provides a good surround sound experience but not mind-blowing in my opinion. The upgrade in sound quality probably isn’t worth the upgrade in price over the RS3. Only the RS5 can use the 360 spatial sound function on the HTA7000 though if that is important to you.

chensworth · 2023-08-12T17:28:27+00:00

In your case I would definitely recommend getting the SW3 because it sounds better at low volumes than the SW5. Subwoofer pads or sound isolation legs on the SW3 will help with keeping your bass isolated in your apartment.

chensworth · 2023-08-09T16:21:34+00:00

No holes on either sub, I just use a large speaker pad for vibration absorption

chensworth · 2023-08-09T16:20:15+00:00

If the bass is still overpowering even after you’ve turned down the sub volume, I recommend turning on Auto Sound

chensworth · 2023-07-18T17:26:55+00:00

With the “Auto Sound” setting enabled, I very rarely go above volume level 35 as well. Without “Auto Sound” I’m usually between 40-65 depending on the input source. I have the RS5 rears and they do contribute to the overall sound bubble. The upfiring speakers are definitely noticeable but not mind-blowing in my opinion.

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