Background animation: thousands of drifting cyan particles, like cells under a microscope, gather into the kanji 未来 — mirai, the future — then scatter into the harbor lights of Kobe at night, on a slow loop.
未来 · Mirai Tech City
The PopUp is $1,200 · application-only · rolling review — Summit tickets $900/weekend · no application — both on Luma
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Mornings for your own work, afternoons for labs and workshops, evenings for the city.
Base cowork + breakfast — Labs KBIC, one monorail stop — City Kobe, across the bridge
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Each week has a job, and each one builds on the last.
Land, find your desk, meet the city. Opening night Oct 4 at the Medtech Innovation Center.
Lab tours through KBIC, Kyoto, and Osaka — Fugaku, CiRA — and BioJapan in Yokohama. The hackathon kicks off.
Hands in the science: DIY bio, cultured meat, gene-therapy workshops. The week ends with Summit I.
Lab to market: PMDA regulatory workshops, pitch practice with Antler, fireworks over the harbor. Then Summit II, Demo Day, and the Frontier Human Fashion Show.
Unprogrammed, on purpose: follow-up meetings, last onsen trips, goodbyes. CellHaus continues to Dec 31.
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All real, dated, optional. Half builds your company; the other half builds you.
Oct 4 · eveOpening networking nightMedtech Innovation Center · month starts hereCommunityResidents, speakers, and the local biotech scene at the Medtech Innovation Center. The month starts here.
Oct 5–16KBIC & Kansai lab toursFugaku · CiRA · Kyoto Research Park · LINK-JScience & LabsSmall guided tours of the region’s labs: Fugaku, CiRA, Kyoto Research Park, LINK-J, Nakanoshima Qross. Weekdays.
Oct 5–18FabLab & maker spaces3D printers · electronics benches · access daysBuildAccess days at the FabLab MakerSpace — 3D printers, electronics benches, and room to prototype.
Oct 7–9BioJapan 2026Yokohama · Asia’s largest biotech partnering eventScience & LabsA field trip to Asia’s largest biotech partnering event — three expos under one Yokohama roof.
Oct 9 →Longevity × Bio HackathonWith Nucleate Japan · pitch investors at Demo DayBuildWith Nucleate Japan: form a team in week two, build all month, pitch investors at Demo Day. Kickoff October 9.
Oct 12–18Minicircle gene-therapy workshopPlasmid cell therapy · with Kobe UniversityScience & LabsPlasmid cell-therapy workshops with the Minicircle team and Kobe University researchers.
Oct 16Shojinmeat DIY-bio workshopOpen-source cultured meat · grow it, taste itScience & LabsOpen-source cultured meat — grow it, understand it, taste it.
Oct 19–23Regulatory pathway workshopsPMDA · CROs · HekaBio · ASAGI LabsRegulatory & GTMThe Japanese approval route with PMDA, CROs, HekaBio, and ASAGI Labs — what a trial here takes. Weekdays.
Oct 19–23Pitch practice with AntlerGTM sessions · pitch day Oct 23Regulatory & GTMGo-to-market sessions and pitch practice to get you ready for Demo Day.
Oct 23Longevity Biotech Fellowship dayCloses under the Kobe Port fireworksInvestmentAn LBF day in the city, closing under the Kobe Port fireworks.
SundaysEcosystem speed-datingKBIC + Kansai · researchers, operators, partnersCommunityRecurring matchmaking with KBIC and the wider Kansai biotech scene — researchers, operators, partners. All month.
WeeklyVibe-coding nightsLaptops open · demos encouraged · just shipBuildA weekly night of building in public — laptops open, demos encouraged, no agenda. Evenings.
Oct → Dec 31CellHaus residency3-month build-in-Japan · lab space · on approvalCommunityA three-month build-in-Japan residency with Kobe University and the MIC — lab space included. On approval.
All monthBring your own programResidents run part of the calendar · propose yoursCommunityResidents run part of the calendar — propose a workshop, a study, or a session: team@miraitech.city.
Oct 5–11Akiya huntingJapan’s vacant homes · Akiya Air + Rokko NomadKobe & CultureExplore Japan’s vacant homes with Akiya Air and Rokko Nomad — how they’re found, bought, and revived.
Oct 10–11Ningen dock screeningJapan’s full-body health screening · book aheadHealthJapan’s famously thorough full-body health screening — a normal thing to do here. Arrive with a baseline; leave with a plan.
Oct 10–11 +Rokko weekend & Arima OnsenHike Rokko, walk down into the onsen townRecoveryHike Rokko with Rokko Nomad, then walk down into one of Japan’s oldest onsen towns, 30 minutes away. Most weekends.
SaturdaysEat Local Kobe farmers marketWhere your Saturdays begin · freeKobe & CultureThe weekly farmers market in central Kobe — where the city buys breakfast, and where your Saturdays begin.
All monthRokko Meets Art 2026Contemporary art festival across Mt. RokkoKobe & CultureA contemporary art festival across Mt. Rokko, running the whole month.
None of it mandatory · propose a workshop, study, or session · team@miraitech.city
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300 residents live the month together. Speakers come through all October.
Also in the city: Marian Goodell (Burning Man Project), Patri Friedman (Pronomos Capital), Sebastian Brunemeier (Healthspan Capital), Mac Davis (Minicircle), Laurence Ion (VitaDAO), Nathan Cheng (Longevity Biotech Fellowship), Eleanor Sheekey (RIKEN Kobe), Yuri Deigin (YouthBio), Rob Claar (HekaBio), and forty more — in the onsen on Sunday, and in the dinner group chat by six.
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Mountains on one side, open harbor on the other — October turns the whole region gold.
Arima Onsen · 30 min — Rokko trails · 20 min — Tokyo · 3 h by shinkansen
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Still have questions? Reach out to us!
A month living inside a popup city: 300 curated residents sharing housing, coworking, labs, programming, and social life on a few blocks of Port Island through October. The summits are its two flagship weekends; the other 27 days are the point.
No. The city runs October 1–31 and the longest stays get the most out of it, but summit tickets stand alone — come for one weekend (Oct 17–18 or Oct 24–25), take both, or apply for the PopUp and stay the month.
The Portopia, our partner hotel, is a short walk from KBIC; community hacker houses — The Sanctuary, Biopunk House, Aevitas, ZuCity Japan — host residents across the city.
Kobe is one of Japan’s more affordable major cities — a good lunch under ¥1,000, transit a few hundred yen. Housing runs from community hacker houses to the Portopia hotel; we match accepted residents to their budget.
There’s a schedule — tours, workshops, and two summit weekends — but nothing is mandatory. Mornings stay protected for deep work, so you can keep your job or your company running while you’re here.
See the daily rhythm: a morning of your own work, an afternoon of labs and workshops, an evening in the city. No two days repeat; most keep that shape.
No — the PopUp, summits, and workshops run in English. Learning to order your ramen in Japanese is optional, and recommended.
Guided tours through KBIC and the Kansai institutes, hands-on workshops with teams like Minicircle and Shojinmeat, regulators and CROs in the room during go-to-market week — and, on approval, lab space through the CellHaus residency with Kobe University.
Summit tickets are on Luma. The month-long PopUp is $1,200 and application-only — we review on a rolling basis, and accepted residents receive next steps by email.
Everything on Luma · Compare what it costs → · Questions: team@miraitech.city
