Maltese Pavilion’s Famous Ftira Bread Now Available in Osaka; Loaves Became Popular during 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo

By Ryoma Shintani and Ayaka Yamane / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

19:34 JST, February 8, 2026

OSAKA — The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo may be over, but memories of it live on as “After Expo” initiatives enabling people to experience pavilion foods across the region.

At a bakery in Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street in Kita Ward, Osaka, Maltese bread called ftira, which became popular at the Maltese Pavilion during the Expo, is now being sold.

The shop owner who learned how to bake the bread for the Expo and supplied it to the Maltese Pavilion said, “I want to expand the circle of exchanges with Malta.”

Ftira is a traditional bread eaten in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. The flattened sourdough bread is characterized by being baked at a high temperature and eaten with fillings such as tuna and olives.

Ftira was registered in 2020 on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The bread was sold at the Expo’s Maltese Pavilion. Its crispy exterior and springy internal texture proved popular, drawing long lines of people to buy a loaf.

One of the shops that supplied ftira during the Expo was Orange Fields Bread Factory, located in the Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street near JR Tenma Station.

In February 2025, the shop owner, Go Nogami, was asked through the intermediary of an acquaintance to make the bread. The request came from Anthony Scicluna, the restaurant operator at the Maltese Pavilion.

“I had never been to Malta, and I didn’t know what ftira was,” said Nogami, 47. “I wondered whether a local bakery could reproduce a traditional flavor of a foreign country.”

He was anxious at first, but eventually accepted the request as he felt honored to be involved with the Expo.

He learned the recipe and repeatedly practiced baking loaves quickly at 270 C, which is around 30 degrees higher than for ordinary breads, and prepared for the opening of the Expo.

Nogami initially agreed to provide 40 loaves per day. However, shortly after the Expo opened, the Maltese Pavilion began urging him to bake more. By the closing days of the Expo, he was supplying 500 loaves a day.

Nogami had intended not to publicize the fact that his bakery was making ftira. However, some Expo fans saw the bread being cooled inside his bakery and spread the discovery on social media. Then, requests came pouring in for the bakery to start selling it.

On Oct. 20, after the Expo had ended, the Scicluna family came to the bakery and expressed their gratitude to Nogami. They shared recipes for the fillings, with Scicluna saying that they hope Nogami can spread Maltese culture in his bakery, too.

Nogami started selling ftira at his bakery on Nov. 15. Bread with fillings costs ¥880 (tax included), while the plain bread with no fillings sells for ¥330. They frequently sell out, Nogami said.

Makiko Tsujii, a 48-year-old organization employee from Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, who came to the bakery on Dec. 24, said she couldn’t forget the taste she had at the Expo and searched for it on social media. “I thought I could only eat it in Malta,” Tsujii said. “It’s great to be able to enjoy the Expo feeling even after it ended.”

Nogami developed his own filling for ftira in December, making it with bacon and eggs. “While cherishing the Maltese tradition, I want to make bread that will go well with Japanese tastes and make it a specialty of this shopping district,” he said.