When travelling to a foreign land, hotels are usually just places to spend the night after a long day of exploration. But sometimes, they can be destinations in their own right.
Like, for example, the Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Spain, with its organic and flowing architecture designed by the world renowned Frank Gehry.
Located in Elciego, a small town in the wine region of Rioja, the hotel building is striking and well worth a two hour road trip.
While the Ritz Carlton Osaka doesn’t boast the same pedigree, it’s iconic in its own right. Designed to resemble an 18th century Georgian manor, the hotel was Japan’s very first Ritz Carlton when it started operations in 1997.
Another big draw was the famous Club Lounge located on the 34th floor. I’ve heard so much about their amazing service and amenities that I simply had to check it out.
Room Booking
An opportunity arose when I was planning a holiday trip to Kansai. We would be landing at Kansai International Airport and starting our vacation in Osaka, before heading over to Kyoto for a week.
Standard room rates at the Ritz Carlton Osaka were beyond our budget, specifically those that came with lounge privileges. But I still had enough Marriott Bonvoy points to redeem one night in a Club Level King Room using 64,000 points and ¥35,000++.
The location was convenient, since we could walk comfortably to the Osaka-Umeda station near the Hep Five Ferris wheel.
From there, we could board the Kyo-train Garaku limited express to Kyoto-Kawaramachi station for the second leg of our Kansai vacation.
Checking In
After a spending several comfortable nights at the Fraser Residence Nankai in Namba, we shipped our luggage to Kyoto and headed over to the Ritz Carlton Osaka.
The check in process was the most luxurious I’ve ever experienced over two decades of travelling.
It started with a butler escorting us from the ground floor lobby to the beautiful Club Lounge on the 34th floor. As the paperwork was being sorted out, we were presented with champagne flutes of cold and refreshing sparkling raspberry juice.
One of the lounge staff gave a personalised tour of the spacious and tastefully decorated lounge, pointing out the various amenities that were at our disposal.
She ended by escorting us to a table with a beautiful view of downtown Umeda, and offered us heated hand towels, or oshibori, to freshen up.
So far so good, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Especially given the typically high level of hospitality at luxury hotels in Japan.
Until, that is, the lounge receptionist came back with our completed paperwork and informed us, “Your afternoon tea will be served shortly.”
And for the next two hours, The Wife and I enjoyed what was possibly the fanciest champagne high tea we’ve ever had.
Club Level King Room
When we finally made it to our 43sqm room on the 35th floor, we were greeted with a plush king-sized bed, and a brightly lit space with cream, brown and navy accents.
Compared to more contemporary hotels, the decor and furniture did feel old fashioned, but it was clean, spacious and well maintained.
I was impressed that the Sharp Ion Plasmacluster humidifier, that sat quietly in one corner of the room, was already filled and running at full blast. Coming from a tropical country with average humidity of 70-80%, it was greatly appreciated.
One detail that I couldn’t help but notice was how securely the TV was secured. There are no earthquakes where we live, and it would have never occurred to us how important this was, once the ground starts shaking violently.
The ginormous bathroom was covered in marble, and contained not only a large bathtub but also a separate enclosed shower. A stark difference from the tiny salaryman hotel rooms that I used to stay at.
An automated Toto bidet toilet was installed in it’s own room at the corner. Whenever the door was opened, it would swiftly lift up its lid to say hello.
Toiletries were from Diptyque, a brand that I had only heard of in passing. They smelled nice and I have no doubt that they were expensive.
The in-room safe was huge, almost the size of a mini fridge, and well anchored in the wardrobe, keeping the fancy-looking bath attire company.
Drinks and snacks were plentiful, but with the exception of the complimentary water, coffee pods and tea, cost an arm and a leg, and likely, also half a kidney. Of course, since we had free run of the well-stocked club lounge, we wisely left them untouched.
Interior Decor
The rest of the hotel was decorated in a similar vein. Lots of dark-stained wooden furniture that looked like they belonged in a British antique shop.
All the pieces looked like they were painstaking handmade a century ago. While their advanced age was evident, they were clearly well maintained.
Besides the main lobby, which was bustling with guests, the rest of the compound was eerily empty. Not a single soul was in sight, not even hotel staff.
It felt kind of spooky as we wandered silently around the empty halls and walkways, but thankfully there was abundant lighting, making the cavernous space feel less ominous.
Hotel Restaurants
We planned to have a light dinner at the Club Lounge, but were still keen to check out what was on the menus of the hotel’s several in-house restaurants.
There were four of them, covering different cuisines. The most casual one was Splendido on the ground floor, serving Italian cuisine.
It happened to be offering a limited season ¥6,950 afternoon tea featuring everything strawberry. Apparently it was very popular and already fully booked over the one month run.
The other three restaurants were decidedly more upmarket, with elaborate decor and matching menu prices.
For example, the Japanese kaiseki dinner at Hanagatami (花筐) started from ¥25,500 and became progressively higher as more expensive ingredients were used.
Likewise for Xiang Tao (香桃), serving Cantonese and other regional Chinese specialties, and La Baie, the one Michelin-starred French fine dining restaurant.
Club Lounge Food Presentations
Luckily, all the meals during our stay, including dinner, were already catered for.
Booking a Club Level room meant that we were entitled to five food presentations daily, all served in the exclusive Club Lounge.
They were explicitly listed on our welcome letter during check in, and started with the fantastic Afternoon Tea that I shared earlier.
Next up was Hors d’Oeuvres and a Restaurant Daily Cuisine Experience, effectively our dinner, followed by a nightcap of Sweets and Cordial.
The following day, Breakfast would be available for three hours at the lounge. Even after checking out, we could stay for Light Snacks, a.k.a. lunch.
| No. | Description | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breakfast | 7:00am – 10:00am |
| 2 | Light Snacks | 11:00am – 1:30pm |
| 3 | Afternoon Tea | 2:30pm – 4:30pm |
| 4 | Hors d’Oeuvres, incl. | 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Restaurant Daily Cuisine Experience | 5:30pm – 6:30pm | |
| 5 | Sweets and Cordial | 8:00pm – 10:00pm |
Needless to say, we went for all five food presentations and enjoyed the full Club Lounge experience. If you’re curious about what was offered during each session, see the blog post below for details.
Hotel Lobby
After finishing dinner, and before returning to the lounge (again!) for a nightcap, we took the elevator down to the ground floor. There were several shops there, including a small but well-stocked Gourmet Shop.
Numerous delicacies were on display, including ¥15,000 bottles of champagne that were custom-made for the Ritz Carlton hotels in Japan. I’m sure they would have paired perfectly with the sweets, pastries and chocolates in the store.
Macarons of different colours from Pierre Hermé Paris were lined up neatly in the chiller. Individual pieces were going for ¥440, with a box of 10 selling at ¥4,620.
Given the brand name, it was natural that they were priced at a premium. But after tasting them during our afternoon tea, I felt that the mark up was justified.
Unfortunately, they weren’t selling the wonderful strawberry ones we had. Otherwise, I would have been sorely tempted to buy some.
Nearby the store was the elegant Lobby Lounge, where guests could have drinks as they were serenaded with classical pieces performed by the pianists on duty.
The centerpiece of the lobby was a seating area that looked like it came right out of a royal mansion.
It must have felt quite intimidating, because the sofa and chairs remained unoccupied, even though many people were milling around.
There was even a fireplace, with a log-fueled fire going. I walked up to it for a closer look, and was instantly mesmerised by the dancing flames.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a hotel with an actual functioning fireplace.
Arigato Gozaimasu, Ms Abe
The next morning, after a satisfying breakfast, we packed up and got ready to check out. It was our last day in Osaka, and we would be hopping on a train to Kyoto after leaving the hotel.
When we reached the Club Lounge reception to return our keys, Ms Abe, one of the lounge managers, waved at me excitedly. “Mr. Lee, I’m so happy that I managed to meet you before you left!” she exclaimed.
She quickly reached down behind the desk, picked up a blue Ritz Carlton paper bag, and handed it to me with a polite bow, “I hope this helps you to achieve your mission in Japan.”
Inside was a bottle of sparkling Dassai sake from Yamaguchi prefecture, together with two Ritz Carlton Osaka-branded masu cups.
I was surprised that she remembered, and even more surprised that she had prepared such a thoughtful parting gift.
You see, Ms Abe was on duty the night before and I had mentioned in passing that I was on a quest to drink sake from all 47 prefectures of Japan.
After her night shift had ended, she hunted down the special masu cups and procured the sake. She even made the effort to come in early, just so that she could personally hand deliver her gift.
Thank you, Abe-san. If you happen to see this, please know that your wonderfully kind gesture meant a lot to me. Unfortunately, I have still not completed my mission, but I will gambatte!
Bucket List
To date, six Ritz Carlton hotels have opened in Japan, namely Osaka (1997), Tokyo (2007), Okinawa (2012), Kyoto (2014), Nikko (2020) and Fukuoka (2023).
And based on information available online, Club Lounges also exist for the ones in Tokyo, Okinawa and Fukuoka. Given our delightful experience at the Ritz Carlton Osaka, I’m officially adding them to our travel bucket list.
For sure, they’re not going to come cheap. But as they say, you get what you pay for, and in our opinion, it was definitely worth every yen.
Kansai Winter 2024
The chunky and yummy yakitori of Yanagi Koji Taka
Ironically, yakitori wasn’t even on our radar for Kyoto. But I’m glad we ended up having some anyway, even though it was totally by accident.
Comparing seven rice polishing ratios of the same sake
If only there was a Japanese brewery that made the exact same sake, the exact same way but changed only the seimaibuai for different bottles.
Gion to Ginkakuji via the Philosopher’s Path
The 5.7-kilometre walk was quite an achievement for us, and easily one of the longest we’ve ever completed while on vacation.
Elegant tofu kaiseki at Rengetsujaya in Higashiyama
Tofu may seem like a humble ingredient but centuries — no, millennia — of refinement in Kyoto has elevated it to a delicacy.
There’s no such thing as too much yuzu at Yuzugen Pontocho
Yuzu sake, yuzu daikon, yuzu kosho, yuzu gyoza, yuzu nabe, yuzu ramen. When you’re a yuzu addict, it’s never enough.
Relaxing day trip to Uji from Kyoto
Uji feels like the kind of place that’s best enjoyed on a slower pace, and that’s exactly what we did. Here are the places we visited during the six hours that we were there.
You can never have too much matcha in Uji
As they say in Japan: “When in Uji, drink matcha.” So we travelled to the mecca of matcha, to see if it was possible to overdose on the magical green powder.
The Wife walked into Ousu no Sato and almost didn’t make it out
I could tell that she was very pleased with her purchases, and I was pleased that she was pleased.
A peaceful stroll in the Byōdō-in temple grounds
There are two main reasons why tourists travel to Uji. The first is for matcha, and the second is to see the temple stamped on all Japanese ¥10 coins.
Heartwarming matcha soba by the old folks of Torikiku
The broth had a clear citrusy note of sudachi that shone through, plus something else that we couldn’t quite identify. Whatever it was, it made the dashi taste extra special.
Katsukura: Sometimes, all you need is some deep-fried pork
Whenever we find ourselves in Japan, our number one pick for crispy and juicy tonkatsu is invariably Katsukura from Kyoto.
Kawaii temari sushi for breakfast at OMO5 Kyoto Gion
Apparently, its petite size and easy-to-bite form factor makes it the ideal choice for geishas who don’t want to smudge their makeup.
Waking up to the smell of freshly-baked bread
The next morning, as dawn approached and sunlight started peeking through the blinds, we were awoken by an enticing and unmistakable scent.
OMO5 Kyoto Gion is great, but not so good on the knees
It’s right in the heart of the historic geisha district and offers a good combination of price, location and size. But if you have bad knees, stay clear of the Double Zashiki Tatami Room.
Catching the Kyo-train Garaku from Osaka to Kyoto
There are many ways to travel between the two cities by train, but the most beautiful and elegant one must surely be the Kyo-train Garaku rapid limited express.
Nihonshu bingo at Yamanaka Sake Ekimaru in Umeda
We were only halfway through our Japan trip, and I had already managed to move my progress bar from 36% to 53%. Crossing the halfway mark felt like a significant milestone.
Ritz Carlton Osaka: Camping out at the Club Lounge for all our meals
I had booked one night in a club level room, which included access to the legendary club lounge. And for the next 24 hours, all our meals were sorted.
Fancy champagne high tea at Ritz Carlton Osaka
Checking into a hotel is typically a mundane affair, except when you book a room with Club Lounge access at the Ritz Carlton in Osaka.
Sushi Sakaba Sashisu was so good, we had to go twice
Whenever hippos get hungry, they sneak off to the nearest izakaya and scarf down some nigiri sushi, together with copious amounts of sake.
The oishii asagohan at Yawaragi in Shinsaibashi
At night, Yawaragi is your typical salaryman izakaya. But at the break of dawn, it transforms into an atypical breakfast spot, famous for tamago dashimaki prepared à la minute.
