By Kenneth Goh – published 15 Aug 2025
Let’s start with a confession. I’ve never quite liked what I heard about Osaka. Kyoto has the charm. Tokyo the buzz. But Osaka? It sat in my mind as somewhere in between. Efficient, sure. Spirited, definitely. But seductive or romantic? Not quite.
All that changed when I checked into the Waldorf Astoria Osaka. Or more precisely, when I rose into it.
The hotel spans levels 28 to 38 with a new tower directly above JR Osaka Station, its design both floating and grounded, serene yet theatrical. From this height, the Yodo River glistens. On clear days, Osaka Bay peeks just beyond. The city, seen from this vantage, breathes differently.
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Architect André Fu in the famous Peacock Alley bar.
Photo: Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Osaka
Designed by world renowned architect, André Fu, the interiors are a masterclass in duality. Art Deco silhouettes softened with washi panels. Kumiko wood detailing beside soaring bronze columns. Rich lacquer meets calming neutrals. It’s a sensory dialogue between Manhattan glamour and Kansai soul.
The chic confines of the Waldorf Astoria Presidential Suite.
Photo: Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Osaka
My suite came with welcome tea served on a gold-edged tray inspired by the Matsu pine. Shoji lamps cast soft, moving shadows.
Photo: Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Osaka
The bathroom—a spa in disguise—offered Aesop products, deep soaking tubs, and the kind of lighting that flatters even red-eye fatigue. I looked positively radiant standing in front of the mirror sans makeup. That in itself won me over.
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A pagoda in the Katsuoji Temple.
Photo: 123RF
But Waldorf Astoria Osaka isn’t a place that invites laziness. It offers something better—curated immersion in Japanese culture. One morning, I joined a hotel-arranged experience: The Art of the Samurai, a private sword dance performed at Katsuoji Temple. Against the centuries-old temple’s backdrop, dancers from The Last Samurai and Shogun performed with elegance and ferocity.
It was half-ballet, half-battlefield, wholly unforgettable. They even gave me a personal sword fighting lesson, which I was great at play-acting but failed miserably at when it came to killing even a mosquito. I’ll stick to my day job.
That same day, I took a private boat cruise around Nakanoshima. Sipping sake, eating fresh sushi under sakura-lined banks as Osaka’s modern art museums glided past—it felt cinematic, like stepping into an Ozu film, but just with better lighting.
Afternoon tea at Peacock Alley.
Photo: Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Osaka
Late afternoons were for Peacock Alley, the hotel’s signature lounge where triple-height ceilings, chandeliers inspired by Tenjin Matsuri, and caviar-topped macarons made time feel irrelevant.
Speakeasy bar Canes & Tales.
Photo: Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Osaka
Come sundown, I found myself slipping behind velvet curtains into Canes & Tales, a speakeasy bar where every cocktail is based on a Jazz Age short story. My Fitzgerald-inspired drink tasted of blood orange, honey smoke and whispered scandal.
The skilled hands of a sushi chef.
Photo: Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Osaka
Tsukimi, the hotel’s crown jewel, offers omakase with reverence. Purebred Tajima Wagyu aged 36 months. Sushi with a geometry so clean it almost felt mathematical. Everything was served with a theatrical calm that made each bite feel sacred.
The spa that feels like an upmarket ryokan.
Photo: Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Osaka
Back at the hotel, I ended one magical night at the spa. It’s a modern ryokan in the sky. A pitched timber ceiling, soft mud walls, steam curling around crackled glass. There’s a stillness here that feels rare, even in Japan.
Somewhere between a tea ceremony, a sword dance, and a spoonful of red velvet gateau, I realised Osaka wasn’t in-between anything anymore.
With Waldorf Astoria, it has arrived. Fully, finally. And from 38 floors up, it’s never looked better.
Five indulgent things to do in Osaka that pair perfectly with your stay1. Private shopping in Shinsaibashi
With the hotel concierge’s help, you’ll skip the crowds and unlock access to Kyoto woven silks, one-off jewellery pieces, and vintage haori no one else will be wearing back home.
2. A visit to the National Museum of Art, Osaka
This subterranean museum houses Japan’s most provocative contemporary art. It’s quiet, deliberate, and oddly transporting.
3. A helicopter flight over Osaka Bay
For a surreal take on the city, nothing beats seeing its layers unfold from above. The skyline, the water, the mountains—it’s all very Blade Runner, minus the stress.
4. Whisky tasting at Bar Nayuta
Hidden in Kitashinchi, this eight-seat bar is manned by a whisky whisperer who pours by poetry. Ask for something rare and then just… surrender.
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5. Dōtonbori, re-imagined
Bars and restaurants in the narrow streets of Dōtonbori.
Photo: 123RF
Yes, it’s touristy. But not when you explore it with a private guide. Behind the neon lies a deeper Osaka—old izakayas, handwritten menus, secret doors. You just need someone to open them.
AloJapan.com