Review: Osaka Floral Inn Namba

Assalamualaikum

Alhamdulillah, we safely arrived! We managed to survived in Kansai without getting any tour guide assistance, and yes, still within the estimated budget. As usual, accommodation would be the highest priority for anyone travelling away from their home country. Dan macam biasa, apartment memang jadi keutamaan kami bila travel negara yang memang susah nak cari makan...lagi - lagi bila pergi dengan parent yang memang perlukan nasi. Bagi mereka yang memang fasih nak bercakap dalam Nihongo, memang nak cari makan kat Jepun ni bukanlah masalah besar bagi mereka. Okay, back to the topic.

Since kami book hotel agak lewat - walaupun still few months earlier, tapi, most apartment are fully booked. Mungkin tiada rezeki kami nak stay kat apartment di Kansai ni. Though we managed to covered few places in Kansai, we still had our 4 nights stay in Osaka. Maka, disebabkan apartment dah fully booked, kami pun terpaksalah beralih ke hotel. Nak cari hotel with the finest spot and close proximity to subway station pun dah jadi satu problem lagi since kami memang focus untuk cari any hotel within the Namba district, sebab Namba itself is an attraction spot in Osaka. Lagipun, bila pergi dengan parent yang tak berapa sihat, keutamaan untuk cari hotel yang betul-betul dekat dengan subway station memang on top of the list. Mula-mula memang dah jumpa satu hotel yang affordable and Muslims-friendly, unfortunately, that hotel (Dotonbori Hotel) was fully booked. Please take note that we made the reservation few months earlier, as if 8 to 9 months earlier. Maknanya, memang laku hotel-hotel kat Osaka ni. Time-time tak dapat hotel ni la start nervous sebab pelik kenapa cepat sangat dah fully booked walaupun tengah winter season. Luckily, Alhamdulillah, dapat satu hotel yang quite close to subway station and located exactly in Namba area and Dotonbori street. Yeay, boleh shopping malam-malam.

A dalam map di atas refer to Osaka Floral Inn Namba. Lokasi business hotel ini memang strategik dan betul-betul terletak di antara Namba Walk exit B24 dan B26. The hotel were very close to Nipponbashi Station, Den-Den Town, Namba City, Dotonbori street, Kuromon Market, Ebisubashi-Suji and Shinsaibashi-Suji. If you're planning to go to Nara and Kobe, you can just take the train from Kintetsu-Nipponbashi Station. It's a very short walk to Nipponbashi Station and also Namba Station. Taking the Nankai Line from the airport to Namba? Definitely a Yes! since you can cut-off the waiting time and experiencing hassle free with no traffic congestion. Just take the Nankai Line from the airport to Nankai - Namba Station and follow the underground passageway to Namba Walk where it is easier for travellers with massive baggage. Mungkin bila tiba di Nankai-Namba Station, anda akan sesat tapi just follow the direction given. Dah sampai di Namba Walk, anda akan jumpa banyak exit, so sila cari exit B26 untuk ke Osaka Floral Inn Namba. Macam kami, bila banyak sangat buat research pasal laluan subway ni, ada orang cakap Nankai Line ni agak jauh dari Namba Station (padahal boleh ikut laluan underground straight sampai Namba Walk), so kami pun naik Nankai Line dari airport ke Nankai-Tengachaya Station dan transfer ke laluan subway Sakai-suji Line (Tengachaya Station) menuju ke Nipponbashi Station. Mana-mana laluan pun okay sebenarnya sebab bila turun di Nipponbashi Station, memang lagi dekat untuk pergi ke hotel.

Rate hotel boleh tahan untuk servis yang diberikan sebab hotel-hotel kat Jepun ni memang mahal-mahal pun. Tapi, diingatkan yang lobby hotel terletak di Level 2 jadi anda perlu naik eskalator menuju ke Lobby. The bad news about the hotel is, there will be only a one way escalator that will running downward till afternoon and they will change it to upward from afternoon till the next morning. So, jika anda tiba di hotel ini pada waktu pagi dengan luggage yang banyak, sila naik ke Lobby dan jumpa dengan Receptionist untuk request angkat luggage ke hotel. Nasib baiklah kami tanya dulu sebelum angkat luggage berat-berat tu naik tangga. Lega bila dapat tahu ada hidden lift untuk staff sahaja. Disebabkan time check-in hotel pada pukul 3 petang, so kami just tinggalkan je luggage dekat Lobby sementara tunggu waktu untuk check-in. Check-out time pula pada pukul 10 pagi.

Since kami pergi bercuti 1 family, terpaksa la book dua bilik and gladly, we got both rooms on the same floor. Phewww. Lega sebab nanti bila nak makan dan bersiap untuk berjalan, just lari pergi bilik sebelah je. Kalau anda bernasib baik, anda akan dapat room view facing bangunan-bangunan di Dotonbori dan jika anda tak kisah bunyi bising, kebanyakan bilik akan menghadap jalan besar yang agak sibuk tak kira malam atau siang. For Muslims, nanti boleh refer another blog post for halal food info's, InsyaAllah halal dimakan sebab kami pun dapat info dari kawan yang belajar di Jepun. Berdekatan dengan hotel juga terdapat banyak kedai-kedai makan dan shopping street sesuai untuk mereka yang non-Muslims untuk food hunting. Even kat bawah hotel pun ada Family Mart - lebih kurang macam 7E untuk memudahkan anda yang menginap di hotel ini untuk beli barang-barang keperluan. Kalau nak beli barang mentah dan barang basah seperti taugeh dan lain-lain, boleh la cari di Kuromon Market. Overall, the stay was okay for us and we met Malaysians staying at the hotel as well. But, if you're looking for a wider room space, you might consider another hotel around the Namba city. Pictures may not do the justice, so, please browse along the hotel reviews before sealing the deals with them.

Above pictures are double bed room which can occupy only 2 pax in one room. Bear in mind that, most hotels in Japan has strict policy on the number of person staying in a room. So, if you need to accommodate more people, it's either you pay more or just find another hotel. Bilik untuk bertiga tak sempat nak snap sebab dah totally exhausted bila check-in bilik malam tu. Bilik untuk tiga orang agak sempit kalau nak dibandingkan dengan bilik berdua. Tapi, kalau setakat nak rehat dan tidur, tak ada masalah even bilik sempit sebab price and service provided agak memuaskan. Rugi la kalau pergi negara orang tapi stay dalam bilik je kan. The best thing about the hotel, definitely, the location. Despite of the room condition, I would give extra marks for the strategic location and would love to stay here again. 7/10 :)

'Biasakan yang betul dan betulkan yang biasa'