Located in between the Food Street of Dotonbori and the shopping arcade of Shinsaibashi, Cross Hotel Osaka has the best location in town for first time visitors. There is no need to take a train to these two hotspots in Osaka as they are all within walking distances of less than 5 minutes away. The hotel is also located near the Namba station ( about 10 minutes walk) and would bring you to other parks of Osaka with ease. Read about our Osaka family trip here
The Hotel
Cross Hotel is a 4 star rated hotel with a variety of rooms. If you are traveling in a family of 4 with young kids, you could actually find a room to fit all ( provided that one of the child is below 6 years old). In Japan, some of the establishment could be quite strict on the number of people in the room, so do take note of that when you book the hotel.
Check in time was at 3pm. From what we observed , this is implemented rather strictly in Japan. There is a small lobby for you to wait. If you are there much earlier, we do suggest leaving the bags with the concierge while you explore the area around the hotel. Since it is a short walk to either Dotonbori or Shinsabashi Shopping arcade, you can choose eating or shopping to pass the time.
With a family of 4 ( 2 adults and 2 kids ), we managed to book the triple room frombooking.com. The booking was a breeze. The room we had comes with 3 single beds. It is a little bit of a squeeze, but we managed to combine the beds together for more space to sleep.
Each bed size was super single. You can judge the size from the photo below.
Sidenote - The toys you see on the bed... they are mostly from the UFO catchers we had caught during our week-long stay in Osaka!
The Cross hotel washroom even has a bathtub attached. However, there are no specific shower area and it could be a squeeze with the bathtub taking half the space.
Source: Cross Hotel
This is the view we got from the hotel room. If you look closely, you can spot the popular discount chain Don Quijote across the street. If the shopping bug hits you, just walk across the street!
Our bookings came with complimentary breakfast. The buffet breakfast consists mostly of Japanese dish with some international fare. Overall, it was great as they allow you to have one additional special dish off the selected menu.
We chose this hotel due to its strategic location. The main attraction for us would be Dotonbori where famous Osaka street food awaits.
Street Food
With plenty to eat, our food options during our stay were covered in one street.
Check out the video to see what we ate at Dotonbori
Shopping
Looking to shop in Osaka, the Shinshaibasi Shopping Street will have you covered. The popular Japanese cosmetics shops are everywhere with branded goods such as Disney and Zara filling the rest of this long street. Just remember to bring more cash! Be immersed in the nightlife
Dotonbori
When night falls, you must head out to the famed Dotonbori River. The neon lights of Dotonbori will dazzle and makes a perfect backdrop for photos. If time permits, take a cruise there too. You can opt for a single cruise ticket or even get an Osaka Amazing Pass that will cover the cruise and more. Read more about Osaka Amazing Pass here Get Discounted Osaka Amazing Pass here Fun for kids
Kids are not left out in the equation. There are plenty of UFO catchers arcades located within walking distance from the hotel. There is also Round 1 where you could bowl, sing Karaoke, play arcade and more. Great for the kids, especially when it is a rainy day.
Round 1 Sennichimae
Take day trips
The Cross Hotel is the perfect base for day trips. You could plan trips to Kyoto and Nara using the network of subways located near the hotel. We managed to do book and had a fun time exploring beyond Osaka.
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