River Side Namba 400

River Side Namba 400 Overview

You know what caught me off guard about River Side Namba 400? The name makes it sound like some generic business hotel, but honestly, this place has way more personality than I expected. I mean, it’s tucked into this quiet corner of Saiwaicho where you can actually hear yourself think – which is pretty remarkable considering you’re literally minutes from the chaos of Dotonbori and all those neon-lit madness that Namba’s famous for.

The building itself is unassuming, sort of blends into the neighborhood in that understated Japanese way, but step inside and there’s this clean, minimalist vibe that just works. The lobby’s compact but welcoming, and the staff – well, they’re the kind of people who remember you’re the one who asked about the nearest konbini at 11 PM. My room was on the sixth floor, and while it wasn’t huge (this is Osaka, after all), everything felt thoughtfully designed. The bed was actually comfortable, not just hotel-comfortable, and the bathroom had one of those deep Japanese tubs that makes you forget you’ve been walking around Osaka Castle all day. What I really appreciated was the soundproofing – you’d think being this close to Namba Station would mean train noise all night, but I slept through everything.

Location-wise, you’re basically getting the best of both worlds here. Walk five minutes east and you’re in the thick of Shinsaibashi’s shopping madness, but head west toward the river (hence the name, I guess) and you hit these little local spots that most tourists never find. There’s this incredible takoyaki place just around the corner on the way to Nippombashi – no English menu, just an old guy making the best octopus balls I had in three weeks in Japan. The Hanshin Namba Line is practically next door, which makes getting to Kansai Airport dead simple, and honestly, that alone saved me so much stress on departure day. Check-in was smooth, they held my luggage without any fuss, and when I mentioned I was hoping to catch the early morning fish market action, the front desk guy actually drew me a little map showing the fastest route. That’s the kind of detail that turns a decent stay into something you’d actually recommend to friends. Sure, it’s a three-star place, not some luxury resort, but sometimes you just want a clean, comfortable base that doesn’t eat your entire travel budget – and River Side Namba 400 delivers exactly that.

River Side Namba 400 Accommodations

Reviews of River Side Namba 400

• Eng from Singapore – 26 December 2023 (9/10)

  Responsive host. Location is about 10 to 15 minutes walk to Dotonbori.
  
  What could be improved: Not much space to place luggages.
  
  Corridor bed room with window air-conditioning unit. Cold wind through the gap between window and air conditioning unit made the room cold. External window grill was initially damaged but was fixed after we notified host.

• Mcfarlane from United States – 10 September 2024 (8/10)

  Location was great for exploring Dotonburi without being directly in the crowds. Easy walk to 7-11, lots of vending machines and coin laundry mat. Host was very responsive to answer questions and provided all the info we needed prior to arrival including detailed instructions and pictures of how to get there and how to get in.
  
  What could be improved: Couch was too small and uncomfortable. Not enough room or chairs in living room for family to sit together. Very little kitchen counterspace. However much of this is probably normal in Japan apartments and I am just not used to it.

• Leigh from United Arab Emirates – 12 July 2024 (8/10)

  Nice place
  
  What could be improved: Very low ceilings and not at the level of previous properties I have stayed at over the years in Japan, but it was reasonable value.
  A little further away than you realize. The place was very dark and somewhat removed from the main areas of Namba.
  The air con in one bedroom was very old and noisy and woke the kids up constantly.
  Either way it was ok value but not at the level of other Japanese apartments

• Melissa from New Zealand – 30 April 2024 (9/10)

  Excellent location, separate room for our kids, light cooking and kitchen facilities if required
  
  What could be improved: More seating in the lounge as only 2 seater sofa and 2 seat cubes to sit on.

• Frances from United Kingdom – 9 May 2024 (5/10)

  Excellent location only about 5-10 minutes walk from Dotonbori. Good shower pressure. Able to wash clothes which was handy as it was the end of our trip.
  
  What could be improved: The 2nd bedroom has a huge gap beside the window. They are aware as they have put a thin covering over it. It made the room very cold and very noisy. There was construction that started early which made it even worse. My kids didn't sleep well at all. Also, our 1st communication with the host felt a bit intimidating. I received a message on the day of arrival to say, if we were found to have more people staying at the property than we had paid for, then they would fine us and would come to our front doot to collect the money. We were a family of 2 adults and 2 children and had paid for this, so I thought this was a bit unnecessary. It wasn't the nicest way to start our stay in Osaka.

• Kristie from Australia – 14 January 2025 (5/10)

  Location was good. Walk to the river. Laundry service across the road made it very convenient. Awesome place below for a drink and food.
  
  What could be improved: Beds were terrible! a bed base and a flimsy foam 'mattress', all with big dips in the middle too. 5 nights of terrible sleep. States 2 rooms but really only 1 room with a door (near the front door), other was a side room off the lounge room, no door for privacy. The place was cold too, rubbish curtains, single pane glass meant the place was cold, even with A/C pumping we were still cold. The bedroom had a strange a A/C machine thing lodged in the window that jutted out and although there was an attempt to close the gaps, a cold draft coming through which was annoying and made the room pretty cold and noisy. we could not close the window because of this machine. A door is needed near the front shoe area to help control the cold draft. The sofa was gross and stained, i put a blanket over it to make it look better.
  Desperately needs new beds, a new sofa with a 3 seater so everybody has a chair, better curtains and 2 doors installed, 1 for privacy and other to control the cold.

• Chau from Hong Kong – 7 August 2024 (8/10)

  很乾淨
  
  What could be improved: 沒有清潔pat pat toilet bowl
  廚具較少，湯煱可以大一點、沒有保鮮紙及抹布

• Castor from Mexico – 18 June 2024 (9/10)

  El alojamiento está muy bien ubicado. El edificio no es tan nuevo pero está aceptable. El departamento está limpio y está bien equipado. Tiene balcón pero no tiene mesa de comedor.
  
  What could be improved: Una de las recámara es demasiado pequeña. Tiene dos camas individuales y no hay espacio para las maletas. Tienen un clóset pero no se puede abrir la puerta porque estorba la cama.

• 아니파파 from South Korea – 5 March 2023 (8/10)

  도톤보리도 가깝고 우메다 이동하기도 좋습니다.
  친구포함 4명이 다녀왔는데 우메다역까지 택시로 천엔정도면 이동가능합니다. 숙소도 깔끔했습니다.
  다시 오사카가도 여기 갈것같습니다.
  
  What could be improved: 여행기간동안 수건이 인당 1장씩만 제공된다는게 조금 아쉬웠습니다.

• Junya from Japan – 22 September 2022 (9/10)

  施設自体は快適でした。細かな所まで管理が行き届いてました。
  
  What could be improved: 一階の商業店舗の音がうるさかった。夜中1時過ぎでもバイクの音がして眠りを妨げてられた。真夜中に何かの販売会で100人くらいの人が行列を作って騒がしかった。

Surroundings

Facilities