APA Hotel Shin Osaka Ekimae

Shin-Osaka is just a short walk away, and there’s a nearby 24-hour Family Mart. The room was very clean and spacious, and there’s a ground-floor lounge where you can have coffee or eat if you don’t want to do that in your room. Reception is open only from 9am to 9pm, but the staff send instructions for getting to your room if you arrive outside those hours.

The room matched the photos and had pretty much everything, including a small kitchen, washing machine, and a nice bathroom. It’s small, cute, clean, and felt like you could live there. I really liked the lounge coffee, and the staff were friendly and spoke English. One tip for finding it: from Shin-osaka station, go straight to the east gate. I nearly got lost the first time. There are two convenience stores on the way, which is a nice extra. I enjoyed my stay!

Our room was huge by Japanese hotel standards, almost like an apartment, and having a washer in the room was great. The lounge stayed clean and the self-serve coffee machine was a nice touch. Shin Osaka Station is about a five-minute walk, and the Haruka train stops near the east gate exit, so the hotel was easy to find. I arrived late and got a detailed email explaining how to enter and reach the room, with no trouble. They even brought my wifi rental envelope into the room. A couple of downsides: the bed was really hard, even for someone like me who sleeps on a firm mattress, and the body soap was so drying that I had to buy my own body wash.

The room was large and clean, and the hotel is in a nice location. Check-in at 16:00 felt very late, and when I asked the staff what to do in Osaka, they just told me to look it up on a map myself. For one night near Shin-Osaka station, it’s fine. I wouldn’t recommend it for a longer stay if you want a friendly place.