karaksa hotel osaka namba

when we went to osaka, we've stayed in two different area, namba and shinsaibashi. the first time around, we were there with my in-laws and her colleague's family, so i didn't do any research, husband was the one that made the hotel booking. and he booked holiday inn namba. the place was turned out in the middle of red district area, no wonder we saw people get drunk walking in front of the hotel. but luckily the kids didn't see any of them. the second time, we were with my parents and the kids were sick at that time. the intended hotel was full so we picked nikko hotel which was in shinsaibashi area. the room was bigger, even the whole hotel was bigger. it was right across daimaru department store so it was a better option for family. but it was more expensive.

karaksa osaka namba

so i asked husband, since people had two recommendations for osaka. for accessibility, they suggested to stay in umeda or osaka station area, basically the center of city area. but it was nowhere near dotonbori, namba or shinsaibashi, which was full of life especially in the afternoon. and street food. and lots of shop. and the second recommendation was obviously namba-dotonbori area. husband picked dotonbori area, but he didn't want to stay in holiday inn again. so i searched and got two options, the cross hotel or karaksa hotel namba. husband chose karaksa namba.

welcome drink, free drink from 2-9 pm

the place was not near big street, so it was quite a walk from the station to the hotel. the first time we were using JR line, so we stopped at JR namba and it was a little bit confusing to go to the hotel from the station. but if you're not limited to JR line, the hotel was closer to shinsaibashi station near daimaru. if you had big baggage, it might not be the best option. but the hotel itself was very clean and neat even though it's not that big.

the self-service for drinks. in the morning, the food were laid here

when you passed the sliding glass door, you could see on your left a bunch of umbrellas that the hotel provided for the guest for free but you had to bring it back to the hotel. on your right there was this drying thing for the umbrella. basically it was a box lined with two floor mats, but it was a genius to turn it into umbrella dryer. and they also provided an antibacterial hand wash. then you could get into the lobby after passing the second glass door.

they educated people how to separate the trash

the counter was on your left, with several receptionist. all of them was wearing a name tag with tiny flags at the bottom that indicates which languages they speak. if you're lucky, you could find someone who can speak english. but sometimes, they can only speak limited english. the check in time was 3 pm and we couldn't get in earlier. the check out time was 11 am and if you wanted to check out late, you would get charged 500 yen per hour and 2 hours max. you could keep your baggage for free though. they also provided shuttle bus to the airport but not for free. the first time you had to pay 1000 yen per person but they would give you a badge which you could show at front office so you could get the second ride for free next time you were staying at karaksa again. for detail you could see it here.

beside the front office, there was this big cupboard where you could get your amenities that's not provided in the room yet. please not that since this was a budget hotel, not all amenities are available. bath gel, shampoo and conditioner were available. hair dryer as well as toothbrush and toothpaste were too. they also provided pajamas for adult but there were no other thing like shower cap. they also had several kids toys for the kids to play while waiting in the dining area.

USB charging next to the bed

there was a smoking room near the elevator and a big dining room on your right when you arrived. they provided free drink and internet from 2 pm to 8 pm so it was a good idea to get recharged since we usually go back to our hotel to freshen up. in the morning, the dining area was the breakfast area. this was the plus about this hotel. even though it was a budget one, they gave breakfast for free. and the breakfast was delicious too! you could pick as much as you can but be mindful not to throw a lot of food waste. they expected us to clean up for ourselves too.

behind that little door was the toilet

you needed the key card to open the elevator door but no key card needed to push the button to your floor. all rooms were non smoking room and we got twin bed room. the room was smaller than the one in granvia, and the bed was different too. it was only the mattress on top of storage space under the bed. there was usb charging hole beside the bed. there was a small table on the side where you could put your things with two high chair. the toilet was separated from the bath. the bath was a shower. no hanging hook inside the bathroom so it was difficult to take off clothes and put fresh clothes in the bathroom. there was small TV and under the table was the small fridge (very small so don't buy lots of things from the supermarket, no big bottles either) and two tea cups and the garbage bin. there was laundromat in the hotel but we didn't wash our clothes so i couldn't say anything about it.

this is the powder room,  the shower was right next to it.
under the sink there were hair dryer, clean towel, pajamas and slipper

there were many type of rooms. you can check it here. at first i thought this was not suitable for family. imagine the bed could move around since it was on top of smooth wood surface with hardwood floor. but apparently it was popular for family. i've seen several family with kids or baby staying in the hotel. the hotel had several connecting room, but all the beds were either single bed or double bed. no queen or king size bed. so put that in mind. again, even though this was a budget hotel, they put extra care even for people with disability. i couldn't find the information about the room cleaning service, but husband told me when he was checking in, the receptionist gave him two option, the eco cleaning and the other one. he picked the eco cleaning. they would only clean the garbage bin, bathroom and toilet and floor, but not making up our bed and not changing the sheet. but we could change the towel and we got additional water bottle. the other option was to clean the whole room but no water bottle.

our breakfast. the tofu patties and the beef and potato stew were good

interesting jam. you need to fold them in half then squeeze the jam out. no mess.

if you were with adults and wanted a place close to shinsaibashi and dotonbori area and with budget price, wanted a free breakfast and didn't mind the small room, then this is a good place to stay. but if you have big family, this hotel might not cater your need since the place was pretty crowded and there were only limited rooms with connecting access. they didn't offer baby crib either, so i didn't think it was suitable for family with baby. the bed was not safe to co-sleeping either. it was a single bed without any barrier, so it might not be safe for mother and baby. karaksa also had other branches all over japan, so head to their website to check out their other branches.