What Is It Like to Stay at The Four Seasons Hotel in Osaka

There’s no question that the new Four Seasons Hotel Osaka represents stiff competition for the other five-star properties in Japan’s food capital. Just two months after its grand opening,

I stepped into a full house. Many travelers book accommodations based on name alone, but this Four Seasons outpost also offers a distinct concept: a hotel within a hotel. Called Gensui, you’ll find what the brand calls “Osaka’s first modern ryokan experience.”

The Hotel

Because the property features such distinct room types, I spent one night in a Western-style room and another on the Gensui floor. The non-Gensui guest rooms have a classic global luxury aesthetic—all plush carpets and soft lighting in shades of blonde and cream. Sumptuous and elegant, yes, but I also had the distinct feeling that I could be in any luxury hotel in any city around the world.

Jardin restaurant / Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Osaka Japan

The Gensui floor is a parallel universe. Those with key cards are whisked into a contrasting aesthetic, where moody, darkened hallways lead to hushed rooms featuring tatami mat floors, sliding wooden doors and black marble tubs. At Sabo, the exclusive lounge, I was welcomed with tea and yuzu-infused wagashi (a traditional Japanese confection) and enjoyed a complimentary evening sake tasting. Sabo also serves a beautiful bento box breakfast, but I found the lounge’s morning service painfully slow—a problem for business travelers on a schedule.

Food and Beverage

Outside Sabo, the hotel’s food and beverage offerings are decidedly international. The all-day restaurant, Jardin, offers French-style fare, such as croissant eggs Benedict for breakfast and Hokkaido beef tartare at dinner. Farine, a French café and bakery, supplies the hotel’s melt-in-your-mouth turndown treats.

At the signature restaurant on the 37th floor, Jiang Nan Chun, I enjoyed a personalized set course of haute Cantonese cuisine from a long wooden table bookended by sculptural floral displays. Just down the hall, Bar Bota beckoned, and I sipped the bartender’s riff on a Rossini on a corner sofa, so close to the floor-to-ceiling windows that it felt like I was hovering over glittering Osaka from the building’s edge.

Four Seasons Hotel, spa / Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel

Then there’s the 36th-floor wellness area. Schedule a spa treatment, soak in unobstructed city views from the swimming pool, or dip into a scalding-hot ofuro (traditional Japanese bath). For the uninitiated, this ofuro is a great, foreign-friendly place for your first Japanese public bath experience. Spa staff even discreetly mentioned that I could rent bathing attire if I didn’t feel comfortable soaking nude.

Four Seasons’ fourth opening in Japan is well-timed for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka. As is often true with new hotels, there are small wrinkles left to iron out, but I had a lovely stay full of good food, drinks and hints of traditional Japan. It’s a solid addition to the city’s high-end hotel scene. And for travelers craving a distinctly Japanese experience in one of the country’s most cosmopolitan cities, booking a Gensui room should be strongly considered.

Best For

A Japanese-style room cocooned within a recognizable luxury brand. The location—a quiet business district near the river—is also a half-hour Metro ride from Osaka’s Dōtonbori district.

Verdict

The Gensui floor and the bath facilities are where the Four Seasons Hotel Osaka really shines. Panoramic views of the city from the bar and a signature Cantonese restaurant are the cherry on top.
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