One Expo site, the Nagakute Area, is located within the town boundaries of Nagakute, east of Nagoya. The factories of Toyota Motor Corporation are in the neighboring city of Toyota, to the southeast. It takes only about 15 minutes by car from Nagakute to the commercial district of Sakae in central Nagoya, and yet this town in the uplands has plenty of trees. Nagakute began growing around 1960 as a residential community and a good location for universities and other educational institutions. A magnetically levitated linear motor train paralleling a major road will provide access to the Expo site, and transportation routes linking the town to central Nagoya are being made more convenient.

The Toyota Automobile Museum is about 5 minutes by car from the Expo site, to the northwest. The invention of the motor vehicle changed life in the 20th century probably more than anything else, and the 120 models on display give an idea of how motorized transport became closely entwined with daily life. The museum has Toyotas, of course, and other vehicles from different countries and different times, from a replica of the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen to a Ford "Model T" (1909) to futuristic hybrids. Classic car fans may spend a whole day here and still want to come back again.