Founder Story
Kenji Kojima, KRW Representative
In 2008, I moved to Tokyo from Saitama Prefecture, aspiring to become a barista.
After two years of training in Tokyo, I went to Oslo, the capital of Norway, to study coffee.
I wanted to spread the coffee widely enjoyed in the Nordics to Japan.
I also wanted to create a community centered around coffee in Japan, so I became the Japan representative for Fuglen, a cafe based in Oslo, when they expanded into Japan.
Together with the Oslo headquarters and Japanese staff, I opened five stores in Tokyo and one in Fukuoka.
I resigned as representative of Fuglen after 12 years and went independent in 2024.
In July of the same year, I opened the cafe "nexpect" in Nihonbashi Kodemmacho.
March 2026
Completed my own roasting brand "KOJIMA roastworks" and resumed roasting.
In the early days of Fuglen in 2014, I used a vintage Probat roaster.
In 2019, with the relocation and expansion of Fuglen's roastery, I switched to a Loring S35 roaster and roasted with a full hot-air system.
And now, with my own roasting brand KRW, I have installed a new Probat 12kg roaster.
I have returned to a semi-hot-air system once again, on a journey to pursue a concentrated liquid that captures the fruitiness of coffee.