The Fab Café is a newly opened coffee shop in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Its main attraction, aside from the usual food and drink selection, is a huge laser cutter that can be rented by visitors (at a pricey $60 or 5,000 yen per half hour). The machines read 2D drawings, cut shapes into materials accordingly and are used to create everything from signage to clothing patterns to architects' models.

It may seem like a very niche idea for a café, but the laser cutter will provide an important service for people who can’t afford to buy an expensive machines (or fit one inside a typically small Japanese apartment). It’s not the first time we’ve seen café concepts such as this either – Sweat Shop in Paris, where you can rent sewing machines by the hour, also allows and encourages people to get crafty without having to fork out for the necessary equipment.