Where to Stay in Osaka
Budget to Luxury

Bell | 16 April 25

Osaka is known for its delicious food, vibrant nightlife and fun vibe and it’s certainly not a city to miss when visiting Japan. If you are planning your trip and are uncertain where to stay, this is the guide for you – from best areas to accommodation recommendations at different price points.

While many travellers breeze through Osaka or even skip it altogether, I started my trip in Japan’s second biggest city and have no regrets. Osaka is a lively mix of culture, nightlife and shopping as well as the starting point for some incredible day trips.

I ended up spending four nights in Osaka which equated to roughly four full days and thought this was the perfect amount of time. Check out my ultimate 4-day itinerary for Osaka here.

Read on for my top tips regarding accommodation in Osaka, from where to stay and why to hostels and hotels for any budget you can think of! Remember to leave a comment with any questions or if you enjoyed this post 🙂

Table of Contents

Where to stay in Osaka for any traveller:

Osaka is a pretty walkable city with a great public transportation network. Some of the best areas to stay in are Namba, Shinsaibashi, Umeda and America-mura as they are central with good transportation links and lots of attractions nearby.

Affordable, central hostels in Osaka

Imano Osaka Shinsaibashi Hostel – great affordable hostel right by America-mura. I stayed here and loved the fact it had a girls-only floor and curtains for all the beds. The hostel is clean and staff is welcoming.

Hotel J-ship Osaka Namba – This hostel offers a capsule style dorm in Namba, meaning you are right at the heart of the hustle and bustle of Osaka. Dorms are designed in the typical Japanese capsule style, giving you lots of privacy and quiet nights.

Namba Guesthouse HIVE – This hostel is again right in central Osaka. Dorms are on the bigger side but have privacy curtains and are beautifully designed. It is known to be a more social hostel so perfect for solo travellers.

Hostel Mitsuwaya – Beautiful dorm rooms including female-only dorms and only a short walk from Namba. The hostel is known for being clean and welcoming.

Hotels at different price points in Osaka:

$ Kaneyoshi Ryokan – extremely centrally located and traditional Japanese style rooms at a great price

$ Hotel Code Shinsaibashi – affordable rooms really close to Dotonbori. Rooms are on the smaller side.

$$ Hotel Keihan Namba Grande – right in central Namba with nice rooms and amenities

$$ Shizutetsu Hotel Prezio Osaka-Shinsaibashi – located in a quieter area of Shinsaibashi, this hotel features beautiful, spacious rooms and delicious breakfast at a very fair price

$$ Miyako City Osaka Hommachi – this hotel is a little on the pricier side but offers stunning rooms in a very central location with some of the highest reviews across Osaka

$$$ Centara Grand Hotel Osaka – this hotel is luxury pure with a stunning view over Osaka and all the amenities you could want.

$$$ Hotel Royal Classic Osaka – more luxury with a direct connection to the subway system and excellent service to make your trip seamless

How to get to Osaka?

Whether you are flying into Osaka or headed there from your previous destination by train/bus, here is exactly how to get to the city center:

Flying into Osaka

There are actually three airports within the vicinity of Osaka: Kansai International Airport, Osaka Itami Airport (Domestic) and Kobe Airport. I am including Kobe airport as the time from it to Osaka city center is just around an hour which is comparable to Kansai Airport.

Itami Airport is only for domestic flights so if you come from say Kyoto, Tokyo or other areas in Japan. I actually flew in from Northern Japan, Sapporo, as I had just finished working my ski season there, however, my flight still went to Kansai Airport.

How to get from the airport to Osaka City Center

This will be different for each airport, but I actually used Google Maps to find the cheapest way to get to my accommodation. I stayed slightly outside the city center so this worked great.

You can either buy single tickets for the train (check Google Maps for the amount it will cost as this is what you need to tell the ticket machine). Otherwise, you can get an IC card. Each major city in Japan has one but they all work across Japan (so you could use Tokyo’s Suica card in Osaka and vice versa). Osaka’s version is called Icoca and you can get it at the vending machines at JR stations.

Kansai Airport:
Kansai Airport has a free shuttle bus connecting terminals. I personally got the local trains into the city centre using Google Maps as this was the cheapest option costing around 970yen ($6.7) to Namba Station and taking 45 minutes. There is also the more luxurious Limited Express Rapi:t train that only takes 34 minutes costing $9.29 or the Airport Limousine Bus that costs around $9.

Itami Airport:
You can get the Itami- Airport Limousine Bus for 730 yen ($5) to Namba Station or the local trains to e.g. Umeda Station (check best route on Google Maps) for just 440 yen ($3). Both will take around 40 minutes.

Kobe Airport:
If you search for the closest airports on Skyscanner for Osaka, you will also get Kobe. You can get to Osaka city center in about an hour for 670 yen ($4.7) by taking the Portliner to Sannomiya Station and then e.g. the Kobe Line to Umeda Station. Google Maps will be your best friend here again.

From Tokyo to Osaka

You have three options to get to Osaka from Tokyo. The quickest is flying and can sometimes even be one of the cheapest, check for flights here.

The second option is the famous Shinkansen which costs around $110 and takes between 2.5 and 3 hours. Make sure to book a seat on the Mt. Fuji side (right side when coming from Toyko and left side when starting in Osaka) for the best views.

The last option is an overnight bus, which saves you a night on accommodation but the standard seats are not that comfortable (speaking from experience). If you book early enough, the sleeper comfort seats can still be cheap though and are well worth it. I personally went with Willer Travel as it is the most well-known, but you can find other options here.

From Kyoto to Osaka

Kyoto and Osaka are actually very close together. A local train takes about 40 minutes and will cost you ~500 yen ($3.5) depending on which station you need to get to. You will likely either get the Hankyu-Kyoto or Tokaido-Sanyo Line.

You can also get the Shinkansen which will only take 12-24 minutes and cost around $11 (for non-reserved seats, double that for reserved).

How many days do you need in Osaka?

I would say you need 4 days if you want to include the most important day trips (Nara and Himeji) and 5 days if you are including Universal Studios on your trip.

You can see the main sights of Osaka in just 2 days, however I would highly recommend adding those extra days for Nara, Himeji Castle and Universal Studios.

What is the best neighborhood to stay in Osaka?

Osaka is a pretty walkable city with a great public transportation network. Some of the best areas to stay in are Namba, Shinsaibashi, Umeda and America-mura as they are central with good transportation links and lots of attractions nearby.

How to get around Osaka using public transport?

Osaka’s public transportation network is extensive and pretty efficient. You can either buy single trip tickets at the ticket machines each time or use an IC card. An IC card is a prepaid card that you can use for transportation or even the convenience stores, lockers and many more things around Japan.

Osaka’s version is called ICOCA but you can also use Tokyo’s Suica card or any other. Prices start at ¥1000 including a 500yen deposit that is refundable at the end of your holiday. The other 500yen are loaded onto the card. You can buy the ICOCA at JR stations or Kansai airport and top it up at any train/subway station and most convenience stores.

I used Google Maps to get around Osaka and navigate the subway system and found it pretty easy. It will tell you where to get on and off and even which exit to best take (stations in Japan have MANY exits so getting the right one will save a lot of time).