Toyoko INN Tenmabashi Otemae — Hotel in Osaka

As a first impression, this hotel's location may seem slightly random, apart from being generally quite central to Osaka yet in a quiet neighbourhood, allowing for a restful night's sleep, but a little exploration soon revealed that the (quite spectacular) Osaka Castle Park is just 5 minutes walk away and Osaka City History Museum even closer, so in fact the spot is very thoughfully chosen. Some of the front desk staff displayed a subtle yet clear attitude of contempt, which is not normal for the Toyoko Inn or even for Japan generally -maybe something to do with Osaka's big city syndrome, or just he management failing to keep the workforce motivated. A reasonable Japanese-style breakfast (including toast but NO butter or jam) is included in the price. There is another Toyoko Inn in the area right next to Tanimachi Yonchome station, so if you need to use the metro, that is a better choice. Otherwise, if you have ever stayed in another Toyoko, you know exactly what to expect. If you haven't, be ready for a totally functional mid-range hotel catering mostly for Japanese business travellers with almost no luggage storage...

It's hard to go wrong with the Toyoko Inn chain anywhere in Japan. Pretty reasonable price and always good service. The Tenmanbashi Otemae branch is no different.||||Positive: Good price (I paid under 6000yen for one person one night on Saturday), free breakfast, free newspapers on the first floor (including an English one), reasonably close to two stops on the Tanimachi Subway line, decent sized room for Japan, well-lit. Free wi-fi everywhere and a free use computer in the lobby.||||Negatives: The breakfast is a very Japanese one so you may be disappointed if you aren't into rice and/or vinegared noodles/vegetables. Also, there aren't nearly enough seats at the breakfast are for all the customers. The neighborhood - while certainly safe - isn't the most exciting part of Osaka. That's about it though. ||||No problem recommending Toyoko Inn...

The hotel was an extremely efficient and classy place to stay for a small period of time. It’s not in a busy or touristic part of the city, so means of transportation are necessary as a tourist. Aside from that, it had more than enough as far as amenities are concerned and breakfast was very tasty with a lot of variety. Wouldn’t say it’s really ideal for backpackers like us, but it was a good switch up from our usual stays because we had a car. Speaking of which, there is paid parking across the street. Don’t make the same mistake as us and leave after 9am. You’ll pay about 1800 more for just an...