First look: The Waldorf Astoria Osaka is Japan's most gorgeous new points hotel
Editor's Note
Often playing second fiddle to Tokyo, Osaka, Japan, is currently having its own moment — no wonder the city, and the surrounding region of Kansai, earned a place on our 2025 list of top destinations.
Not only is World Expo 2025 taking place in Osaka, but the city has been a hotbed of hotel activity lately. Last year saw the opening of the elegant Four Seasons Hotel Osaka, and not one, but two fabulous new hotels have opened in the city in the past two months.
One of them is the new Waldorf Astoria Osaka, which officially debuted in April 2025 in the happening Umekita district, just north of the historic center.
We were some of the first guests to check in to this exciting new outpost for the Waldorf Astoria brand, and here's everything you need to know ahead of your own stay (including how to book it using Hilton points).
First impressions
Although the murals and large ceramic pieces in the ground-floor entrance are impressive, your breath might just be taken away when you arrive on the 29th floor and step out onto a dais overlooking the hotel's focal point, Peacock Alley, named after the original Waldorf Astoria's central promenade, where turn-of-the-century dandies would try to turn well-to-do ladies' heads.
Renowned hotel designer André Fu oversaw the project (you might have admired his work at Hong Kong's Upper House and Capella Singapore), and the triple-height space has massive windows looking north toward the unmistakable silhouette of the Umeda Sky Building and over the Yodo River to the Kongo mountains beyond.
Equally eye-catching are the art deco touches, including massive cascading chandeliers; a dramatic, crescent-shaped green-marble cocktail bar; and graceful metalwork accents. The showstopper, however, is the antique-style Seiko clock — a riff on the one at the original Waldorf Astoria New York, which was commissioned by Queen Victoria for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Tear your gaze away from the lunching ladies genteelly sipping tea from pastel-hued Ginori china and traverse one of two corridors to the back tower. You will pass two glass-enclosed rock gardens before finding your way to the equally stunning but almost diametrically different reception area.
Inspired by traditional Japanese house lanterns, the towering, circular space is ribbed with blond wood panels surrounding a black stone tranquility pool whose edge is pierced by Setouchi granite boulders — equal parts Japanese natural materials and big-city Hong Kong feng shui.
Passing through here on the way to the guest elevators, you are forced to take your time, stepping around the pool, past art book-filled shelves and receiving a warm salutation from one of the staff members waiting to call an elevator for you.
It gives you time to absorb less-evident elements, like the hanging chandeliers that one hotel executive told me reminded her of the traditional wind chimes tinkling outside her grandmother's house.
The rooms
Situated on floors 31 through 38 of the building, Waldorf Astoria Osaka has 252 guest rooms but, more accurately, 248 "keys" since some of those rooms are adjoining. They range from 517-square-foot Deluxe rooms to the 2,077-square-foot Presidential Suite.
Walking down the long entry hallway to my corner junior suite on the 37th floor led me past a powder room and into the living room, which had a breakfast table with two chairs that doubled as a work desk, and a minibar stocked with local spirits (Ki No Bi gin and Okuhida vodka) and snacks (Umeda de Cow chips). A sitting room featured a taupe divan that faced a huge wall-mounted television, and there was a rough-hewn wooden table where I found house-made macarons and slices of fresh melon as my welcome amenity.
The pale wooden walls and floors paired with the green, gold and blue palette of the carpet, throw pillows and chairs created an indoor landscape of sorts, with echoes of the Japanese countryside (think: mysterious forests, craggy volcanoes and dramatic shorelines pounded by swirling surf).
Those motifs repeated in the bedroom, which was through a large sliding wooden door. Surrounded on two sides by floor-to-ceiling windows, the king-size bed was dressed with Waldorf Astoria's signature sheets with crisp stitching and had some of the best sunset views in town.
Behind it, a handmade wooden kumiko screen framed a washi-paper wall installation, the patterns on both resembling peacock tails and Asian hand fans — playful allusions to the Waldorf Astoria brand's arrival in Japan.
Behind the bed area was an ample closet and the light-filled bathroom, its surfaces clad in handsome white-gray limestone slabs. Dual sinks stocked with Aesop products (plus plenty of spare toiletries in case you forgot yours at home, as well as a Dyson hair dryer) and the walk-in shower provided welcome spaces to primp before twilight cocktails at Peacock Alley.
After a day hoofing it under the sun around the Expo, though, it was into the sumptuous tub that I sank for a restorative soak.
Dining
There are several restaurants and bars at the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, ranging from high-end teppanyaki to traditional French brasserie fare.
Peacock Alley
Open from 11 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. (depending on the day) and true to its name, Peacock Alley remains the place to see and be seen both day and night. There is a confection-filled afternoon tea service, which is already becoming popular. However, most folks tend to come for compact but crowd-pleasing dishes from the all-day menu, like dainty lobster rolls on fluffy brioche buns ($33) and the eponymous Waldorf salad ($19).
Even if you're not dining here, stop by for a pre- or post-meal drink like a spirit-forward Rob Roy ($19) from the 1935 "Waldorf Astoria Bar Book," or an equally intoxicating update on it, the Osaka Rob Roy ($21.50) with Yamazaki single malt whisky, Michter's US 1 Kentucky straight rye whiskey, persimmon-infused Mancino Secco vermouth, Pedro Ximénez sherry and citrusy yuzu-shiso bitters.
The restaurant also has an outdoor deck overlooking the city that's simply spectacular around sunset.
Jolie Brasserie
Sunny and convivial, Jolie Brasserie is the hotel's casual French outlet. From 6:30-10:30 a.m., you can find guests perusing the cornucopic buffet trying to decide between sweet and savory pastries and the selection of fresh fruit and cold cuts before tucking into a la carte inclusions like toast heaped with avocado and eggs or Osaka-style udon noodles in an umami broth with a cut of grilled Nanatani duck from Kyoto.
For lunch (11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily) and dinner (5:30-9 p.m. daily), the menu walks the line between French faves like quiche lorraine ($17) and Asian flavors like tuna tartare with avocado puree, radish, shallot and a tangy ponzu sauce ($20). You'll also find comfort dishes like a croque madame ($20) and French onion soup ($20), plus a selection of mouthwatering cuts of wagyu steak (prices vary by cut and size) prepared to order with your choice of sauces and a side of fries.
Tsukimi
Open only for dinner from 5:30-9 p.m. Thursday through Monday, Tsukimi is the hotel's fine-dining den for teppanyaki dishes prepared before your eyes.
Your meal might include delicacies like handmade soba noodles with tender squid tartare and earthy mushroom sauce, succulent sea bream fresh from the market with shrimp sauce and plum foam over springy maitake mushrooms and seasonal white asparagus with onion-garlic miso cream sauce in a concentrated chicken consomme.
The piece de resistance, however, will be a slender cut of juicy, intricately marbled Tajima Kuroge wagyu beef – you can even inspect its certificate of authenticity, complete with the animal's genealogy and unique noseprint – slow-cooked to unctuous perfection then slightly seared over charcoal for a smoky finish.
If you still have room, try a few scoops of seafood fried rice with tiny pink sakura shrimp and pickled vegetables before sake ice cream with puckery lemongrass granita for dessert. Menus start at $292 per person.
Canes & Tales
A clandestine speakeasy tucked behind a jade-green door adjacent to Peacock Alley, Canes & Tales is open 5 p.m. until midnight (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday) or 1 a.m. (Friday and Saturday).
There, cosseted in the art deco-inspired interior, complete with lapis lazuli-blue velvet sofas and topaz-yellow leather chairs (plus some natty wallpaper!), guests can sip colorful cocktails like the Camel's Back with Roku gin, Chartreuse, pear distillate, gobo and gari cordial, and fizzy ginger beer ($19).
Amenities and service
- Service throughout the hotel was warm, genuine and attentive without becoming overbearing. It seemed like, upon arrival, everyone working at the hotel knew my name.
- Open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m., the hotel's spa is intimate, with just four treatment rooms where guests can enjoy experiences utilizing fancy skincare products from brands like La Prairie and Tiaraleen.
- The hotel's fitness center is stocked with the latest Technogym cardio and weight equipment.
- Just around the corner from the gym, the pool has fabulous skyline views and is family-friendly, though we didn't see any kids splashing around.
- Even if you're not hosting an event, ask to check out the hotel's chapel space; it's a stunner.
Location and logistics
The Waldorf Astoria Osaka is in the city's energetic Umekita district, which is north of the historic center, and about a 20-minute metro ride to Osaka Castle. The hotel sits adjacent to Umekita Park, where you'll see folks out for strolls or enjoying lunch during the workday. It is also part of the Grand Green Osaka development, which includes high-end boutiques and restaurants, including an installment of Time Out Market, an upscale food hall of sorts with stalls purveying typical street-food delicacies like karaage fried chicken and okonomiyaki egg and scallion pancakes.
From Kansai International Airport (KIX), the hotel is about a 45-minute drive, which costs around $70 in an Uber. If you're traveling light, however, you can catch a train to Osaka Station for around $20 and just walk to the hotel. You can also catch trains from Osaka Station to Kobe, Kyoto and Nara.
If you are traveling to Osaka on the Shinkansen bullet train, you can take the metro from Shin-Osaka station to the Umeda station for just under $2 and walk from there.
The hotel has a Mercedes Maybach to ferry guests around on a first-come, first-served basis to nearby locations.
What it costs
Nightly rates at the Waldorf Astoria Osaka start at $536 or 120,000 Hilton Honors points per night for a King Deluxe or 2 Queen Deluxe room.
When booking the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, you'll want to use one of the credit cards that earn the most points for Hilton stays, or one that offers automatic Hilton Honors elite status for value-added benefits. These include:
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: Earn 12 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels, automatic Gold elite status and the ability to upgrade to Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year by spending $40,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year.
- Hilton Honors American Express Business Card: Earn 12 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels, automatic Gold elite status and the ability to upgrade to Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year by spending $40,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year.
- Hilton Honors American Express Card: Earn 7 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels and automatic Silver elite status (with an upgrade to Gold through the end of the next calendar year when you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year).
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Earn 14 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels and automatic Diamond elite status.
Alternatively, the hotel participates in American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts, so if you have an eligible card, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and book through that portal, you will receive perks like availability-based upgrades, up to a $100 credit to use on the property during your stay for extras like drinks and meals, complimentary daily breakfast for two, and guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout.
You can also take advantage of up to $600 per calendar year in statement credits for eligible bookings.
Accessibility
The Waldorf Astoria's street entrances are all wheelchair-accessible and have a direct, no-step path to the set of elevators that take you up to the reception floor. There are also elevators to the level where Peacock Alley and Canes & Tales are. Guest floors and the wellness center are all accessible via elevator as well, but note there is no chairlift at the pool.
The hotel has four King Accessible rooms with features that include lowered spyholes and bathroom counters as well as supportive handrails.
Bottom line
The Waldorf Astoria Osaka represents an exciting introduction for a storied brand in Japan and is a stunning new points hotel in one of Asia's most dynamic cities. While points rates there went up shortly after opening, booking award nights can still represent great savings ... so you have more money in your pocket to enjoy the hotel's many bars, restaurants and other amenities.
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