Just 20 minutes by train from Umeda, Kitakagaya Multi Barthe is a temporary, multi-sensory sauna installation that blends wellness with contemporary art, botanical design and sea views. Created by the team behind the popular Osaka Sauna Desse in Shinsaibashi, the project takes place at Creative Center Osaka in Kitakagaya, a former shipyard turned cultural venue. This sauna pop-up is part of the centre’s 20th anniversary program.
Set within a vast post-industrial space, Multi Barthe is designed to rejuvenate the senses through a combination of steam, water, light, sound and scent, while also inspiring creative engagement through immersive artworks. Here, you move through curated grounds dotted with sauna structures, video installations, sculpture and plant-based environments, all intended to create a holistic experience for both body and mind.
Participating collaborators span disciplines ranging from visual art and architecture to film and carpentry. Highlights include a retrofitted Airstream sauna by Kenji Yanobe, the Japanese artist noted for his series of cat astronauts known as 'Ship’s Cat', one of which is permanently installed at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka. Also featured are a video installation by film director Daiki Kataoka, a herb sauna and garden by landscape designer Toshiki Tanimukai, and specially commissioned sauna benches by woodworker Takatsugu Oki, among other site-specific creations.
On the weekend of September 27–28, Multi Barthe will host Osaka Sound Barthe, a two-day urban sauna, music and art festival held across the site.
