FabCafe Osaka is coming this spring!
Get ready to mix culture and creativity in the heart of Osaka’s ‘Water City’ alongside the city’s finest distillers

In spring 2025, Loftwork will introduce a new FabCafe location in Osaka’s Minami-Morimachi district. Around the globe and especially in Japan, FabCafes have made their mark with branches in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hida, Nagoya, and Fujiyoshida. Each FabCafe location reflects the unique culture and creativity of its local area while connecting to the global community. What new experiences and character will FabCafe Osaka bring to this vibrant network?

Just one subway stop from the bustling Osaka Station lies the future home of FabCafe Osaka in the vibrant neighborhood of Minami-Morimachi. This area is where tradition meets modern life, centered around the iconic Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, lovingly called ‘Tenma no Tenjin-san.’ With its cozy izakayas, lively streets, and historic charm, Minami-Morimachi offers an inviting, authentically Osaka vibe.

The neighborhood brims with energy from bustling markets, artisan shops, and countless eateries celebrating Osaka’s culinary heritage. Along the peaceful banks of the Okawa River, visitors can immerse themselves in Osaka’s unique blend of old and new. Highlights include the famed Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street, Japan’s longest shopping arcade, and the Tenma Tenjin Hanjotei theater, a treasured venue for Kamigata Rakugo (traditional comic storytelling).

The vision for FabCafe Osaka began to take shape around spring 2022. Over the next two years, we operated from temporary locations, exploring various neighborhoods and properties to find the perfect spot. Finally, we discovered a former auto repair shop in Minami-Morimachi—the ideal place to bring FabCafe Osaka to life.

One of the space’s features is that it has a pit used for automobile maintenance (Left image)
The location is very close to the Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street, where the Tenmangu Shrine, restaurants, and various shops line the street. (Right top, right bottom)

In collaboration with Masahiko Inoue of Marginalio Inc., based in Osaka and known for projects like Public Space β Honmachibashi along the Higashi-Yokobori River, we’re crafting the vision for FabCafe Osaka’s interior and exterior design. Together with our Loftwork colleagues at Hidakuma in Hida City, Gifu, we’re drawing upon the rich resources of Hida’s forests for the interiors. Through spirited team dialogues, the design is taking shape—an evolving space that we look forward to sharing with you upon its opening.

At FabCafe, we’ve been expanding creative horizons by equipping our spaces with cutting-edge tools like 3D printers and laser cutters. Now, as we prepare to open FabCafe Osaka, we’re exploring what unique tools could set it apart—like the possibility of introducing a distiller.

FabCafe Osaka embraces the concept of “UN,” inspired by the art term Informel—a celebration of things without fixed form. Guided by this spirit, we’re drawn to elements yet unrecognized for their value, seeking to foster a future where diversity and creativity thrive through open-ended experimentation.

Once called the “City of Water,” Osaka embodies an Informel essence. Through the distiller—a tool that reimagines water—we aim to spark experimental collaborations with creators, researchers, and companies alike, weaving Osaka’s water culture into both creative projects and our café offerings.

A walkable city: South from the property. View of the Okawa River and Tosabori River. (Left)

FabCafe Osaka members plan to execute experimental programs in distillers with diverse creators (Right)

• Location: 2-2-4 Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
• Site Area: 111.74 m²
• Scheduled Opening: Spring 2025 (Planned)
• Access: 3-minute walk from Minami-Morimachi Station on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line

FabCafe Osaka

FabCafe is a place to accelerate creative serendipity with a nice cup of coffee and collaborative peers. As an open creative platform, FabCafe aims to empower everyone to take the initiative to make anything, turning their ideas into reality and sharing those ideas in a more tangible way with local and global communities.

A single FabCafe can be a creative hub for designers and the local community to share and experiment with innovative ideas. A network of FabCafe communities worldwide can create an ecosystem that kick starts the next mass customization movement from the bottom up!

https://fabcafe.com/

Loftwork is a creative company dedicated to making a positive impact through design with a global community of innovators. Aside from providing innovative design solutions to global clients across various industries, Loftwork also operates a number of owned services and platforms, see more: https://loftwork.com/en/who/ 

Loftwork Inc.