Osaka is often the butt of jokes for being in the Kinki area of Japan, humorously lost in translation but meaning ‘near the capital’, the former capital of Kyoto. Quite appropriately, the first love hotel to explicitly get its kink on was Hotel Love in Osaka in 1968. Stripped of discretion, short stay establishments soon embraced gaudy exteriors, bright neon signs, fantastical constructions, and suggestive names. Loved by fans and disdained by critics, the love hotel’s staying power remains indisputable, as does Osaka’s comedic reputation. Hence, we go undercover to find out which are the best love hotels in Osaka and how you can get a piece of the action too.
If you’re in the capital, see our guide to Love Hotels in Tokyo.
How to book a love hotel in Osaka
Love hotels, more given to spontaneity, don’t require any kind of reservation. It’s best to just pitch up and score your room. If your hope is to avoid disappointment, you can secure a room through a Japanese portal. Online bookings can be for a short rest (kyukei -休憩), or an overnight stay (shukuhaku- 宿泊) and there are often (ahem!) package deals. Some love hotels listed on popular Japanese search portals don’t accept online reservations though.
If you book online through an English language portal, hotel choice is limited and short stay bookings are not posssible— but opportunities for foreplay abound. It’s also best to only book for one night because, if you book for two, some love hotels may force you to check out of your room during the day for ‘resters’. Love hotels will always be listed as ‘Adults Only’.
Using a Japanese love portal
Couples.jp is the most user-friendly place to search for your own Osaka love nest. It’s only in Japanese but you can search basic city areas in English. Another option is happyhotel.jp.
If you select the map icon [ 地図 ] in the top navigation menu on the front page and check [ 関西.大阪 ] you can easily search for a hotel on an interactive map. Once you click on a hotel, the same icon will display a navigation map to get there.
Alternatively, for any lovel hotel we recommend in Osaka, just copy and paste the Japanese name into the search bar. A convenient QR code link appears to the right. Scroll down and you will find the hotel website if they have one. This is the best way to browse rooms in more detail. There’s also a mobile app for the website, it’s intuitive to use and you can keep favorites.
Getting more love for your money and honey
There are different grades and experiences between and within love hotels. Some love hotels are quite cheap and seedy and you have to wonder how much cleaning hqppens between customers. If that’s your kink, or all you need in the moment, that’s okay.
Other love hotels may have catchy exteriors or hints and innuendo’s about their character, but once inside, they’re really nothing special. There are the ‘special extras’ to help you get your game on, but it feels like you’re just banged up in a dodgy hotel with no windows.
Larger love hotels tend to have a number of different room grades. If you’re looking for a really unique experience, the Royal or Presidential suites are always a more interesting choice. You may want to choose rooms for extras like a sauna or steam room, cosplay, a massive TV or cinema projector, a karaoke machine, or a PlayStation. Such hotels often go under the guise of leisure or amusement hotels.
10 Top ranking love hotels in Osaka
Here’s our pick of 10 of the best love hotels in Osaka to get you in the mood. All places can be found on couples.jp unless otherwise stated, or you can click on the hotel name to go directly to their website. For couples.jp, just copy and paste the Japanese name.
1. Hotel Sala Del Rey, Namba
The place to swank it up in style. The Presidential Suite also has an indoor swimming pool. Rooms have 100 inch (impressive!) projectors, karaoke, mood lit baths, and select rooms a steam sauna. [ ホテル サラ・デル・レイ ]
2. Hotel Rose Lips, Tsuruhashi & Shinsaibashi
Gorgeous and bold color contracts (plus florals), for the ultimate romantic date. You’ll find all the beauty mod cons a girl could desire, select rooms with brand cosmetics, limos to rent, costumes, and with advanced payment (using the machine) you can come and go as you like. [ ローズリップス ]
3. Hotel Fuki, Kyobashi
A rare love hotel in Osaka that maintains its original decor and Japanese themes from yesteryear. They even have a youtube intro video. This hotel is featured on Booking.com. [ ホテル富貴 ]
4. Hotel Goody Goody, Shinosaka
For all the best mod-cons try bathrooms with ultraviolet light and fantastical displays, dry sauna rooms, micro bubble baths, nespressos, foot massage machines, and karaoke. Tastefully done Urban, Asian, and Bali resort themes. They have an in-house burger menu. A 15 min walk from Shinosaka Station or 5 min from Hankyu Minami Kita Station. [ ホテル グディグディ ]
5. Towers Hotel, Sakuranomiya
Popular for their indoor pool suite, a room with billiards, saloon rooms, and funky bathrooms. Their most coveted room includes a subway car mockup. [ タワーズホテル ]
6. Hotel C-Gran, Namba
Mature dark tones with wood paneling. Some rooms have completely luminous light therapy baths, others an aquarium. There is cosplay and sexy lingerie on hand for rent and playstations in every room. This hotel is right in Amemura. [ ホテル・シーグラン ]
7. Myth BS, Namba
– A nice modern decor hotel with plenty of clean white. Suite and royal rooms have light therapy baths. There are rooms with open air baths and quite a few have karaoke. Similar Myth BB and DX hotels are in Higashi Umeda. [ English name ]
8. Maria Teresa, Namba
Quaint 1950’s type decor including the wallpaper and chandeliers. The premium room has a rotenburo or open air bath. It’s near Namba City shopping center. [ マリア・テレジア 難波店 ]
9. Hotel Raffine, Toyonaka
A little out of the way in north Osaka but a 12-minute walk from Hankyu Sone station. The rooms are all original, but mostly smoking. Select rooms have playstations or karaoke. Their SM rooms are well worth the trip out of town. [ ホテルラフィネ ]
10. Hotel Luna, Osaka Itami Airport
They try to pleasure all with select room stuff ranging from an outdoor bath, stone sauna, steam sauna, beer on tap, aquarium, projector, waterbed, darts, and karaoke for all. [ ホテル ルナ池田店 ]
Booking an Osaka love hotel online in English
There are a few online booking portals in English. The properties between them are very similar. You’re more like to find a love hotel around the Osaka station area or the downtown of Shinsaibashi, Namba, Uehonmachi, or Tennoji. If you book with these sites, when you get to the hotel you have to find the buzzer to rustle up the staff if there is no reception desk.
Hotels on these sites are not the most interesting in the sense they don’t really fall into the amusement category. You usually book a room by size, but may have a further pick on arrival depending. Often they allow you to freely leave and return to your room, and some have a breakfast service.
Here are our top 3 recommendations:
Hotel Bali An Resort on the Dotonbori River is a long time favorite for its luxurious tropical theme rooms. It’s more like a regular hotel but with a few game and amusement spaces, and a breakfast buffet.
Hotel Christmas Chapel is a chain group all using a similar theme with a frilly big bed and bright romantic colors. PS2’s and cosplay are for rental, it’s okay to pop out for a bit, but no more than two people per room. They have a hotel in the Higashi Umeda entertainment district.
Hotel Zen is very stylish and luxurious, especially their deluxe and suite rooms. There’s no karaoke or games, and no non-smoking rooms. You can find hotels in Uehonmachi and Nipponbashi.
Things people genuinely ask—love hotel FAQ
Following are some questions (and more) that people seem to have about love hotels. For even more in depth info see our Tokyo Love Hotel FAQ.
1. Are there still love hotels in Japan?
Yes, of course! But, their essential character has changed over the years partly due to government regulation and market forces. They tend not to be as brash as before and many focus more on entertainment value as adult-only ‘amusement’ or ‘leisure’ hotels with things like in-room karaoke, playstations, projector screens, massive TV’s etc.
2. Do love hotels in Japan provide girls?
Strictly speaking, a love hotel is BYO. If you can’t find a girl there are other places in Osaka’s underbelly where girls are included, but we don’t really know anything about that. You may also be able to stay in a love hotel without a girl, but dolls are also not provided. Vibrators, yes.
3. Can foreigners use love hotels in Japan?
Yes. Since many love hotels fall under regulations for entertainment, they are not required to ask foreigners for ID or passport like a usual hotel is. Love doesn’t discriminate.
4. How long can you stay in a love hotel in Japan?
You don’t need to rush, but the longer you take the more it costs. Often, you can’t pop in and out because the room locks you in until you pay for your ‘rest time’. A lot of people do stay overnight at a love hotel, some provide a nice breakfast, but more than a night is an inconvenience to the hotel in terms of room turnover rates. Some may kick you out of your room during the day to keep the love pumping.
5. Do love hotels let in gay or same sex couples?
If you’re wondering about the front door, that kind of depends. By law they can’t really refuse, but reality is another issue. Some hotels are suspicious of two guys (if not accompanied by a girl) since they may be up to criminal and not sexual acts. Many love hotels cater to groups of girls offering packages deals which of course has nothing to do with being lesbian. Some hotels only allow couples.
If you’re a couple of dudes you can try your luck, but sometimes an invisible staff member may suddenly appear from nowhere and say ‘da-me’ (not allowed) in no uncertain terms. You can book a love hotel room overnight through any of the inclusive booking portals like Agoda or Booking.com. If you try without a reservation, they should let you both in and you should be able to enjoy short stay ‘rest time’. Live and let love!
6. Are love hotels pet friendly?
An odd question, but sometimes yes. Hotel One Love in Osaka is a pet friendly love hotel – mainly for dogs. One would presume your dog is just going to watch or curl up somewhere.
