If Taylor Swift were here, she’d be staying in these knockout corner suites

By Kylie McLaughlin

Updated March 4, 2024 — 9.00am

The place

Aloft Osaka Dojima

Aloft Osaka Dojima is the sister brand to close-by W Hotel.

Check in

Occupying a tall building a 10-minute walk from Osaka station, the Aloft Osaka Dojima is a new hotel that embraces energy, colour and sound to attract young travellers who enjoy all the social aspects of a hostel but with the creature comforts of a hotel. Formerly the Dojima, a very popular Osaka hotel, and long, long before that, a rice market, its history has been incorporated into the design, with props such as a small truck that used to ferry rice to and from the area now standing by the front desk.

The look

The colourful dining room. Credit: Aloft Osaka Dojima

Adopting the hip aesthetic of its sister brand W Hotel (just down the road) but without the high price tag, Aloft puts its focus on music, which flows through the social spaces on the ground floor. Filled with bright pieces of art and colourful lights, these are inviting common areas to while away time and include a restaurant, lobby area and bar, with convenient USB ports at every conceivable point. Young staff clad in black denim efficiently and cheerfully serve your every whim. The property commissioned local artist Keina Tomuro to create unique dinosaur-themed wall art and his work is seen on each floor in a different hue, incorporating historical aspects of Osaka into an industrial map of the city. There’s also a well equipped gym and a handy coin-operated laundry.

The room

A corner suite and its lounge room.Credit: Aloft Osaka Dojima

If Taylor Swift were here, she would be staying in a corner suite, one of six at the hotel. The suites have stellar views of Osaka’s CBD from floor-to-ceiling windows, so you can watch the salarymen pour out of their offices at 5pm each day. Modern artwork mimics the movement of the close-by Dojima River, while there’s ample space, with a separate lounge area (with foldout bed for families), small dining table with Marshall bluetooth speaker, Nescafe pod machine and tea. There are two separate Toto toilets, and in the bathroom, twin basins with plenty of toiletries and a great hairdryer, plus separate rain shower and bathtub with Drybar products (finally, some decent shampoo and conditioner, and the only place you’ll find the brand’s delicious-smelling body lotion).

There’s an open wardrobe and, unusually, a clothes steamer. From the USB ports to twin rooms (which outnumber standard queen-bed rooms), a lot of thought has gone into making this hotel suitable for travelling friends and young families. I’m impressed by the twin rooms, which offer beds placed opposite each other, allowing friends to chat easily. There’s a removable separator that can also be used to rest snacks/elbows if you’re watching TV.

The twin rooms have single beds that face each other.Credit: Aloft Osaka Dojima

Food + drink

Breakfast includes a fun “cereal bar” with all the old classics, plus Japanese- and Western-inspired dishes served on playfully designed plates and cutlery, and filter coffee and tea. The kitchen also opens for lunch and dinner, and guests and non-guests can also make use of the W XYZ Bar which has a pool table, plus a DJ booth, keyboard and guitar where anyone can demonstrate their musical talents (preferably if they share Swift’s talents). There are also regular live music nights from professional musicians – check with reception for details.

The W XYZ bar.Credit: Aloft Osaka Dojima

Out + about

Being Osaka, there is always a station nearby, but you can walk to the Dontonburi district in half an hour, much of which is covered shopping that gets more interesting – and hectic – as you get closer the city centre. Equally, the hotel is around 10 minutes’ walk to the Umeda district, which also has an exhausting choice of restaurants, bars and shopping.