Weekend business hotels in Osaka reach 20,000 yen; reporters reveal hidden gems.

‘Especially miserable on weekends’ … 1.5 to 1.8 times higher than in ’19!

Hotels are expensive nowadays. Especially on weekends in Tokyo, it is not unusual for a major business hotel chain to charge 20,000 yen per night. This is no longer a problem only in Tokyo, but people from the Tokyo metropolitan area who travel to Osaka, for example, often say, “Hotels in Osaka are also very expensive these days, and I am having trouble.

According to Expedia, a worldwide online travel agency, the average hotel and other accommodation costs in Osaka have risen 1.5 to 1.8 times compared to the pre-COVID-19 crisis period of 1919 and 2012. The top countries from which people made lodging reservations through Expedia or other means were the U.S., South Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, and Taiwan, in that order. *Based on data from Expedia and Hotels.com (Jan-Dec ’19 and Jan-Oct ’24)

We looked at how much the main business hotels in the Umeda area, in the center of Osaka, are now. Then, in addition to the trend of “still cheap on weekdays, very expensive on weekends” regarding the amount of money, we found some different aspects.

Occupancy rate is No. 1 in Japan…Osaka business hotel “rate comparison” reveals

The following are current room rates at major business hotel chains in Osaka City. We compared them on weekdays and weekends. (Wednesday, December 11 / Saturday, December 14, 2011, per night, per room, per person. (Extracted from Expedia/Except as noted, checked on November 20)

Toyoko INN Umeda-Nakatsu 1, 7,965 yen / *No rooms available in all of Osaka Prefecture.
Dormy Inn Osaka Tanimachi 14,529 yen / 26,477 yen
APA Hotel & Resort <Osaka Umeda Station Tower> 11,069 yen / 20,827 yen
VIA INN Umeda 13,538 yen / 27,239 yen
Super Hotel Premier Osaka Honmachi Ekimae: 11,530 yen / 23,903 yen

For business trips, there are basic regulations such as “up to 9,000 yen per night” or “up to 12,000 yen per night” depending on the company. While you can still manage to find a place on a mid-week day, it is much more difficult on weekends.

Toyoko INN is popular, especially among business travelers, because the price does not skyrocket with weekend reservations as it does with other hotels. As a result, reservations at Toyoko INN hotels in urban areas are quite difficult to obtain now, as rooms are fully booked as soon as reservations begin.

Incidentally, the occupancy rate for all lodging facilities, including business hotels, was 76.3% in Osaka, ranking first in Japan, ahead of Tokyo (76.1%), according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2nd preliminary report, July ’24). This is a 1.9% decrease from July ’19, but an 8.9% increase from the previous year’s July ’23, which is also a high growth rate among urban areas. The data also shows Osaka’s popularity.

With only six months to go before Expo ’70, Osaka’s name recognition is rising through domestic and international PR.

There are several reasons why hotels in Osaka are more expensive than those in Tokyo. One of them is the “Osaka-Kansai Expo,” which will open in about six months from now.

The Expo is expected to draw visitors from all over the world. According to the “Specific Policies for Visitor Transport to the Osaka-Kansai Expo” (Action Plan), the number of visitors is expected to be approximately 28.2 million, of which 24.7 million (88%) will come from Japan and 3.5 million (12%) from overseas. Of the domestic visitors, approximately 15.59 million (63%) are expected to come from the Kinki region, and approximately 9.11 million (37%) from outside the Kinki region.

Domestic visitors from outside the Kinki region and from overseas, many of whom will stay overnight in Osaka. In addition to its domestic and international appeal, Osaka is also gaining recognition abroad as “the city that will soon host the World Expo.

An unprecedented rush of hotel openings…but are “business travelers” and “commoners” being left out?

In conjunction with the Expo, hotels are opening one after another, mainly in Osaka City.

Although there is a rush of hotel openings, many of them are quite expensive and foreign-affiliated. For example, a room at THE OSAKA STATION HOTEL, Autograph Collection, a hotel directly connected to Osaka Station that just opened on July 31, costs nearly 70,000 yen per night even on weekdays. It is obvious that the hotels in Osaka that have just and will soon open are targeting the wealthy and inbound travelers, and will not benefit Japanese businesspeople who are now having a hard time finding hotels for their business trips.

Why “business hotels” for Japanese are expensive on weekends

There is another reason why weekdays are cheap and weekends are expensive. Among visitors to Japan, Osaka has a large number of “repeaters.

Osaka is closer to Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong than Tokyo. In South Korea, there are many air flights, mainly by low-cost carriers (LCCs), and there are direct flights to Seoul and Busan, as well as Daegu and Cheongju. With a one- or two-hour flight each way, a trip to Japan feels like a domestic flight.

For Koreans who work during the week and spend weekends in Japan to refresh themselves, it is not at all necessary to stay in a luxury hotel every time, and a business hotel will suffice. In fact, after the Corona, we encountered more and more Korean, Taiwanese, and other visitors to Japan when we stayed at business hotel chains in urban areas in Japan. Perhaps the fact that Japanese business hotels are “cosy” even for foreigners spread quickly through SNS.

Although expensive for Japanese, is 20,000 yen per night still inexpensive from an inbound point of view?

The number of hotels in Osaka that can be booked on weekends is not zero. However, hotels in the Umeda area, for example, cost 20,000 to 30,000 yen per night across the board. On the other hand, inexpensive hotels such as Toyoko INN have no vacancies at all.

Looking again at the above list of prices, it is clear that except for Toyoko INN, the prices on weekends are almost double those of weekdays, making them “aggressively priced.

In addition to the high occupancy rate, the yen is weak and prices are low in Japan from the perspective of foreign countries. In Singapore and Hong Kong, which I recently visited, 3-star hotels in good locations cost 20,000 to 30,000 yen per night, and in Paris and other cities in Europe, especially in western countries, the prices were even higher. For foreign-affiliated hotels, even 20,000 to 30,000 yen per night is probably a fair price, rather than aggressive, when compared to popular cities of Osaka’s size and other foreign cities.

A “hole-in-the-wall” hotel area in Osaka, recommended by a local reporter

The writer was born and raised in Osaka and still lives in the prefecture. From this standpoint, I would like to introduce what I consider to be “hole-in-the-wall” areas in Osaka today.

First, conveniently located hotels are those near stations along the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line, which runs through Umeda, Namba, and Shin-Osaka. All stations on the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line offer the great advantage of no transfers from Shin-Osaka Station on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, making it convenient to go anywhere in the center of Osaka.

Of the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line, Tanimachi Line, Sakaisuji Line, and other lines that run parallel to the Midosuji Line, the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line is the closest to the Midosuji Line. If you stay at a hotel along the Yotsubashi Line, the Midosuji Line station is within walking distance. If you have luggage such as suitcases, it is better to make the walking distance as short as possible. There are several major business hotel chains at HigobashiStation and Yotsubashi Station.

Hotels around Hanshin or JR Amagasaki Station are still cheaper than those in Osaka City, and Osaka Station (Umeda Station) is only one stop away by Shin-Kaisoku (New Express) or limited express, etc. With JR, you can go to Shin-Osaka Station without changing trains, and Kyoto and Kobe are also accessible without changing trains. Amagasaki is in Hyogo Prefecture, but to the locals, the distance is almost the same as that of Osaka City.

It is also possible to expand the area to Sakai, which is a little further away. It takes about 10 minutes from Nankai Namba to Sakai on the Nankai Main Line and about 10 minutes from Sakai Higashi on the Nankai Koya Line. Sakai City is an ordinance-designated city, and there are many domestic hotel chains such as Toyoko INN, Super Hotel, Daiwa Roynet, and Agora.

In today’s Japan, the golden rule for booking a hotel room at a reasonable price in popular urban areas, including Osaka, is to “make a reservation as soon as you have plans,” even if it is only for a short time. Also, unlike resort hotels and city hotels for tourists, business hotels sometimes have rooms available or prices drop a few days in advance. In any case, the best way to find a business trip hotel nowadays is to be persistent in your search. Even hotels near train stations in the suburbs should be considered, although they may be slightly inconvenient.