New hotel with Osaka Castle view is one of the best places to stay in Japan

Historic views with modern amenities…and an amazing bar and restaurant.

With so many hotels in Japan, finding a place to stay can be an overwhelming task, but if you’re looking for accommodation in Osaka, we have a recommendation that won’t disappoint:

▼ DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle.

Opened on 1 May, this hotel, which has a total of 373 guest rooms, is one of the newest in the city, and it’s been built on the Osaka waterfront, an area undergoing rapid development that’s just a five-minute walk from Temmabashi Station. Located on the 6th to 20th floors of the building, it’s the first DoubleTree by Hilton hotel to open in Osaka, and the seventh of its kind to open in Japan.

Our reporter Yayoi Saginomiya was invited to spend a night at the hotel to find out what it has to offer, and the first thing she noticed when she stepped out into the sixth-floor lobby was how modern and stylish it was.

Osaka was home to a prosperous shipping industry during the Edo period (1603-1868), and a beautiful print of the city from this era is displayed on the wall behind the front desk. The interior design features wave and diamond motifs, inspired by the Higaki Kaisen, a merchant ship that once connected Osaka and Edo (modern-day Tokyo).

The design makes you feel as if you’ve arrived by ship, and the hospitality continues at check-in, when staff hand you a warm chocolate chip cookie in a paper bag as a welcome gift.

The cookie is part of DoubleTree’s “Feel Good Moments” hospitality concept, and it really does put a smile on your face once you take the elevator upstairs and get settled into your room.

▼ Yayoi stayed in the “Castle View King Executive Room“.

These rooms are located on the highest levels, from the 17th to 20th floors, and as the name suggests, you can enjoy a spectacular view of Osaka Castle from the windows.

It’s easy to get a view of Osaka Castle from ground level, but it’s incredibly rare to see it from a vantage point like this one. From here, you can see the full expanse of the castle and its grounds, including the impressive moat, and while it looks beautiful by day…

▼ …it looks absolutely magical by night.

When you’re not gazing out the window and conjuring up images of feudal warriors from the past, you’ll be able to enjoy loads of modern luxuries in the room, including a comfy bed…

▼…a set of cosy pyjamas…

▼ …a widescreen TV…

▼ …coffee-and-tea-making facilities…

▼ …and a swanky bathroom.

▼ The swanky bathroom comes with swanky amenities.

Executive room guests can make use of the Executive Lounge, which has a great view of the castle.

▼ And there’s a modern gym on the premises too.

When it comes to meals, guests can enjoy dinner at Restaurant Sen on the 6th floor of the hotel.

The large windows let in loads of natural light and offer beautiful views of the castle. Guests can enjoy buffet style or a la carte dishes while looking out at the panoramic views.

Hotel restaurant staples like roast beef can be found on the menu, but what’s especially unique is the corner they’ve set up that resembles a street food stall!

This is where you can enjoy local specialties like freshly grilled takoyaki octopus balls, kushikatsu fried skewers, and okonomiyaki.

There’s an area dedicated to udon noodles, served up fresh by a chef, with an array of toppings for guests to customise the bowls to their liking.

With a huge variety of food on offer, there’s something to please everyone, from salad lovers…

▼…right through to sweet tooths.

On the same floor as the restaurant is Lounge and Bar Sen, which serves light meals and afternoon tea during the day, and signature cocktails and craft beers in the evening.

Yayoi says she loved everything about her stay, describing it as having the perfect combination of comfort and an unpretentious, homely atmosphere. It’s a great base for sightseeing in the city, so next time you’re scrolling through all the hotel options in Osaka, perhaps while looking for a place to stay when viewing the new Gundam statue at Expo 2025, remember to park your suitcase here…then sit back and enjoy the views.

Hotel Information

DoubleTree by Hilton Osaka Castle / ダブルツリーbyヒルトン大阪城
Address: Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Chuo-ku Otemae 1-1-1
大阪府大阪市中央区大手前1丁目1番1号
Website

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Unko Museum Tokyo holds a Japanese poo festival in Odaiba

A scat twist on a Japanese festival. 

Back in 2019, a museum dedicated to poop popped up in Yokohama, and it became such a hit with the public that it set up home permanently in Tokyo’s Diver City shopping complex at Odaiba.

With its weird and whacky displays dedicated to excrement, the Unko Museum (literally “Poo Museum”) has been on the itinerary for a lot of visitors to Tokyo, but now there’s one more reason to visit — the Unko Summer Festival!

Known as “Unko no Natsu Matsuri” (“うんこの夏祭り”) in Japanese, this festival is a celebration of “summery” poop that’s “full of freedom”. At the centre of the celebrations is the Unko Volcano, which is where you can experience a Summer Poop Explosion during the festival.

The volcano explodes with “fresh pink poop” after coaxing from onlookers, who are guided into shouts of “Unko” and “Wasshoi” (a common Japanese festival call) from staff. The explosion is made to feel more real than ever before, with projection mapping and a wind machine to blow your hair back during the event.

Other special exclusives at the festival include the chance to hug a “Poop Dinosaur“, which is usually off-limits to visitors.

▼ The Poop Dinosaur lets out a roar when it’s happy.

Anyone who follows the museum on social media and posts a photo of the festival on their accounts with the hashtag #うんこミュージアム (“Unko Museum”) will receive a Summer Unko Fan, so you can “fan away the heat with poop“.

Plus, there’s a whole swag of summer poop goods awaiting you at the museum store.

Stocks are limited so you won’t want to delay your visit to this festival of poo, which is one of the coolest places to hang this summer.

We haven’t been this excited about poop since the poop cherry blossoms bloomed at the museum in spring. The Unko Summer Festival will be held from 10 July to 8 September.

Museum information
Unko Museum Tokyo / うんこミュージアム Tokyo
Address: Tokyo-to, Koto-ku, Aomi 1-1-10, Diver City Tokyo Plaza 2F
東京都江東区青海1-1-10 ダイバーシティ東京 プラザ 2階
Open 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. (last entry 7:00 p.m.) weekdays; 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. (last entry 8:00 p.m.) weekends
Business hours will change from 16 March to the following:
10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.  (last entry 7:00 p.m.) weekdays; 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.  (last entry 8:00 p.m.) weekends
Business hours are subject to change without notice, for the latest information please check Twitter
Website

Source, images: PR Times 
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Skip Tsukiji sushi?!? This seafood-stock ramen restaurant is a great reason to do just that

Kako to Kai enthralls our reporter who just might have been a sea otter in his former life.

When foodies hear “Tsukiji,” they think of sushi. Sure, Tokyo’s wholesale fish market may have relocated to the Toyosu district a few years ago, but the Tsukiji neighborhood’s open-to-the-public outer market, with its amazing selection of restaurants, is still operating as usual.

In other words, Tsukiji remains as great a place to go out to eat as ever, and not just for sushi. We recently learned of another seafood-specialty restaurant in the neighborhood, called Kaki to Kai, or “Oyster and Shell,” as it also calls itself. However, this isn’t an oyster bar…

…it’s a ramen restaurant!

When it comes to ramen, no other single ingredient has anywhere near as big an impact on what you taste as the broth does. Tonkotsu (pork stock) ramen tastes very different from miso broth ramen, which tastes very different from ramen where the broth is soy sauce-based.

Kaki to Kai’s specialty is shellfish stock broth, with the star of the menu being, naturally, oyster broth. Since our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun loves shellfish so much we suspect he might have been a sea otter in a previous life, we awarded him taste-testing duties and sent him on his way to Tsukiji, where he promptly ordered a bowl of oyster ramen (kaki ramen in Japanese) for 950 yen (US$5.95).

It’s standard procedure to start a ramen taste test with the broth. P.K. lifted up a spoonful of the shimmering, golden oyster stock, took a sip, and…

…felt a surge of pleasure run through his body, as though the absolutely delicious taste was making his past-otter-life consciousness tingle. The broth is amazing. You don’t get just a hint of oyster, you get a deep, expansive flavor. It was like swimming in an oyster galaxy.

The noodles were excellent as well, with a nice, smooth texture. And the meal only got better when P.K. tacked on a side of oyster rice (200 yen)…

…and an order of cheese risotto (250 yen). P.K. was actually a little worried that he might have gotten a bit carried away, since the cheese risotto seemed very cheesy, but after he poured it into his ramen bowl after finishing the last of his noodles, he found that the oyster broth was strong enough to not get overwhelmed, and that it blended beautifully with the cheese on his taste buds.

Obviously, the more you like shellfish the more you’re going to like Kaki to Kai, but for a hardcore oyster lover like P.K., this is top-class chow.

Kaki to Kai just opened last December, and it tends to get crowded at lunch time and on the weekends. If you want to minimize/avoid time spent waiting in line, your best bet is to try going on a weekday morning, like P.K. did, and if you do you might see him there, because he definitely plans on going back many, many times.

Restaurant information
Kaki to Kai (a.k.a. Oyster and Shell) / 牡蠣と貝
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 3-16-9
住所　東京都中央区築地3-16-9
Open 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

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Pokémon summer kimono arriving in stores just in time for festival season

Yukata and other summertime fun gear is on its way to the Pokémon Center.

Kimono have an interesting place in the Japanese fashion world. Yes, they have a deep connection to Japan’s traditional culture, but, at the same time, kimono are still worn today, so there’s room for modern designers to play around with new styles and motifs.

That’s especially true for yukata, the lighter type of kimono worn in the summer, particularly at Japan’s summer festivals. A while back we took a look at a line of Sanrio summer kimono, and now it’s Pokémon’s turn to show what it can do as a yukata inspiration!

No fewer than five Pocket Monster species are featured in the pattern, with Vulpix, Poliwag, Treecko, Ogerpon, and Tadbulb enjoying some festival fun (Tadbulb is a particularly appropriate choice, since the Electric-type Pokémon looks an awful lot like the spherical paper lanterns that light up Japanese festival venues at night). They’re surrounded by popular festival food stall treats like shaved ice and candied apples, the round, water-filled yo-yos sold at festivals, and an uchiwa non-folding paper fan. The illustrations sit atop a pattern of morning glories and fireworks, beautiful sights of midsummer mornings and nights, respectively.

The Pokémon festival yukata, which comes bundled with an obi (sash) for 15,400 yen (US$96), is part of a new line of Japanese-style summertime leisure and fashion items going on sale at the Pokémon Center megastores. Since kimono don’t have pockets, there’s also a katate-toshi bag (3,080 yen), a traditional style of handbag used with kimono.

The pattern also shows up on one of two eyeglass cases (1,980 yen) that can be clipped to your bag…

…and if you’re doing your hair up in a classical Japanese style, this Ogerpon kanzashi hairpin (3,300 yen), with a dangling Teal Mask charm, should help keep everything in place.

If you’re looking for more accessorizing options, there’s a wide range of earrings (1,210 yen) too, which work just as well with Japanese or Western-style clothing.

Speaking of Western-clothing, there are two different hats (3,300 and 2,750 yen) to keep the harsh midday summer sun off your face…

…plus a cross-body bag (3,080 yen)…

…and a pair of scrunchies (1,320 yen).

Or, alternatively, if your plans for summer involve spending as much time as possible inside your air-conditioned home, there’s a bit of tableware, with bowls (2,860 yen) and glasses (1,430 yen) perfect for cool, refreshing beverages, shaved ice, or chilled noodles…

…as well as teacups (1,650 yen) and small mamezara plates (3,300 yen per set of four).

The entire collection goes on sale July 6 at Pokémon Center branches across Japan, as well as through the chain’s online store.

Related: Pokémon Center online store
Source, images: Pokémon Center
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