Yamatoya Honten

We were in room 511 for four nights. It had a shower, which mattered because some rooms apparently don't, and my friends had to use ours. I’m not sure whether the shower situation is made clear when booking. The room had a distinct smell like diluted rotten eggs that we never managed to get rid of. I think it came from the tatami, and there was a little of that smell in the elevator too. The front desk was open 24/7, which we really appreciated. Check-in was smooth, staff were responsive and helpful, and they even gave us cold matcha. They also sell items at the desk; I got the sauna robe and it’s VERY comfortable. The ryokan is close to activities, so I’d still recommend it and would go back. I’d just make sure to book a room with a shower.

Our room faced town, and we couldn’t hear street noise at all. The futons were comfortable, the price was hard to beat at about $115 total for two nights, and the staff were very accommodating, especially since we booked just an hour before arriving. Still, the rooms show their age and have noticeable wear. The bathroom on the seventh floor smelled of mildew and sweat, and there were mold patches on the shower curtain. We avoided using it except for the toilet. There’s a public bath in the basement as another option, but the in-room bathroom needs a thorough deep clean. The location was great and we enjoyed Osaka, but with that bathroom issue, I’m not sure I’d stay again.

I only had one night here and wished I’d booked longer. The room was comfortable and lovely in traditional Japanese style, and the ryokan sits right across the street from Dotonbori, in the middle of all the action. There’s an on-site public bath, which looked amazing, but my short visit didn’t leave me time to try it. A great spot if you want to stay in a ryokan at the heart of things.

The tatami room was what we wanted, and Male rabbit had specifically searched for a hotel in this style. We were also looking forward to trying Kaiseki and the Japanese-style public bath, since neither was familiar to us. At check-in, the hotel gave us famous cookies and green tea. The man with glasses was good at writing backwards, and two women who spoke Chinese helped us a lot. The paper doors made me nervous about being careful. They left water in a wine bottle, which was pretty cool. Staff made the beds around 5-6 p.m. Maybe tatami rooms are hard to clean, because we found some dirt at night, but I thought that was okay. We didn’t know the right order for the Kaiseki dishes, so we just ate them as they came. I normally avoid beef because of its cow smell, but this time I managed to eat it. It was so soft and delicious. By the end we were too full to eat anything else. At the restaurant, nobody was there when we arrived, though some dishes had already been set out. We felt it would be impolite to start eating, so we waited 5-10 minutes. I slowly went toward the kitchen entrance, which startled the waitress, and I felt bad. Maybe they could have another clerk there who returns to work when customers arrive. Only one waitress was going back and forth to the kitchen, which looked like a tough job. In the women's bath area in B1, there were large lockers for keys and towels. You have to shower before getting into the public bath, and small towels are provided, with a fresh one available after use. I was envious that the men's side had a sauna. For the midnight snack, we could choose orange juice and Sake, rice balls delivered to the room around 5-6 p.m., or a price discount. We chose the rice balls, which hit the spot after the bath when we got hungry. I thought the rice could use more salt. The plums and pickled cucumbers were important for adding a salty taste. Breakfast came as a Bento. They also had fruit vinegar, water, orange juice, miso soup, and Barley tea.