[Onyado Nono Osaka Yodoyabashi] Halfway there! Daytime bar-hopping at Osaka Ekimae Building, plus a full review of Hananami-no-Yu

Hi everyone, Greippi here.
This is the 8th installment in my mission to conquer every “Onyado Nono” — the Japanese-style premium brand from Dormy Inn. Today’s destination: “Natural Hot Spring Hananami-no-Yu Onyado Nono Osaka Yodoyabashi,” standing right in the heart of the business district between Kitahama and Nakanoshima.
After Sakaiminato, Toyama, Namba, Nara, Asakusa, Kyoto Shichijo, and Kanazawa, this makes eight. Of the 15 Onyado Nono properties nationwide, I’ve finally crossed the halfway point. As a die-hard Kanto guy, the name “Yodoyabashi” rang exactly zero bells, but a quick map check revealed it’s actually a stone’s throw from Umeda — got it, that kind of location. After two consecutive large-scale properties at Kyoto Shichijo and Kanazawa, how would this more compact Osaka Nono compare? I stayed there — here’s the honest report.

Basic Info & Access

• Property: Natural Hot Spring Hananami-no-Yu Onyado Nono Osaka Yodoyabashi
• Stay date: June 2–3, 2026
• Access: 5-min walk from Osaka Metro “Yodoyabashi” Station. 3-min walk from Keihan “Kitahama” Station.
• Rate: ~¥13,850 (single occupancy / 1 night).
• Surroundings: A Lawson convenience store on the ground floor and an izakaya right next door. Plenty of restaurants in the area. Umeda is close, and the Osaka Ekimae Building cluster is within reach.

The biggest advantage is, hands down, the Lawson on the ground floor — a truly devastating piece of convenience. Late-night snack runs, morning supplies, all doable in your loungewear (whether you should actually go in loungewear is another question — more on that later). Sandwiched between two major business-district stations, Yodoyabashi and Kitahama, this works equally well for business stays and sightseeing. Umeda is close too, so the location has solid potential as a Kansai-region base.
The rate this time is ¥13,850 — the third-lowest in the series after Nara and Kanazawa. After the recent big-box stays at Kyoto Shichijo and Kanazawa, the room rate has also returned to a more compact size.

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Room & Japanese-Style Experience

The full-tatami signature of the Onyado Nono series is here too.

• Tatami first impression: Yellow-toned, no major signs of wear. Fewer international guests than at Namba — the overall vibe is calmer.
• Room type: Double room. Reasonably spacious, very comfortable.
• Bed comfort: Roomy and comfortable. Reliable Dormy quality.
• Samue (traditional Japanese-style loungewear): Same half-yukata style introduced at Kyoto Shichijo. But this time, the pants have no pockets.
• Welcome service: Moist banana cake and water. A new face, different from the strawberry-jelly lineup so far.

Coming straight off the back of Kyoto Shichijo → Kanazawa, the compact feel of Yodoyabashi really stands out. That said, compared to Namba, there are fewer international guests and the atmosphere is noticeably calmer. The tatami doesn’t show much wear, and the room delivers a settled, relaxed stay.
The samue continues the half-yukata style first seen at Kyoto Shichijo. But — minor as it sounds — the pants have no pockets, leaving me briefly puzzled about where to stash my phone and keycard.
The welcome service surprised me with a new option: moist banana cake. A departure from the Yayoi-hime strawberry jelly line — sweeter and softer in style.
One thing that bothered me a bit: the Wi-Fi was a little unstable. There were stretches where YouTube wouldn’t play properly. A typhoon was approaching during my stay, which may have played a role — but heads up if you’re planning to do any remote work.

Bath & Sauna (Hananami-no-Yu Natural Hot Spring)

The bath house at Osaka Yodoyabashi is the Hananami-no-Yu Natural Hot Spring, located on the top floor.

• Bath name: Hananami-no-Yu Natural Hot Spring
• Water: Spacious indoor bath, slightly lukewarm. The outdoor section is minimal. The water itself is fairly standard — nothing especially distinctive.
• Sauna temp: 95°C (203°F). Classic dry Dormy setting. Aroma: Herbal Clear, continuing from Kyoto Shichijo → Kanazawa.
• Sauna room size: Two-tier, capacity ~8. Dimly lit interior. About a third the size of Kanazawa’s, but really this is the series standard.
• Cold bath: 14°C / 57°F (by my own measurement; thermometer showed 12°C / 54°F). Compact but sharp, snappy water.
• Rest space: 1 indoor chair / 2 outdoor chairs.
• BGM: Tokusashi-san music. Faint — barely audible.
• TV: NTV variety in the evening, NHK in the morning.
• Tattoo policy: Generally not allowed.

The sauna room is two-tier with capacity for about 8 people. Right after Kanazawa’s wildly oversized 20+ capacity room, this feels modest — but this is actually the series standard size. Classic dry setting at 95°C / 203°F, with the Herbal Clear aroma carrying over from Kyoto Shichijo and Kanazawa. Reliable Dormy spec. I personally liked the dimly lit interior — it makes it easier to settle in and focus on the heat.
The cold bath features that sharp, snappy water quality. Compact build, and although circulation is on the lower side, the water quality holds up well. The thermometer read 11°C / 52°F, but my own measurement was about 14°C / 57°F — a comfortable temperature zone.
And the outdoor rest space. The top-floor outdoor area falls into the “quasi-outdoor” category. Yes, it’s placed on the top floor, but surrounded by even taller buildings on all sides — basically zero view. Completely walled in, you start to wonder if the air movement is even real or just the building’s AC. With the typhoon approaching during my stay, I could barely feel a breeze; on normal days it must be even more still. Part of the ceiling is open, so rain does come in. “Did they really need to put this on the top floor?” — the question crossed my mind. Still, having an outdoor-feel space to sit is genuinely appreciated. After experiencing the real top-floor outdoor baths at Sakaiminato and Kanazawa, the gap here was hard to miss.

Free Services (Omotenashi)

The Dormy Inn group’s signature free-service report.

• Post-bath ice cream (evening): The usual 4 varieties. Reliable lineup.
• Post-bath probiotic drink (morning): Pilkul, the Kansai standard — a comforting return to the classic after Kanazawa’s chlorella-based debut.
• Yonaki soba (free late-night ramen, a Dormy Inn signature): Eaten around 21:30. No wait, ceramic bowl. Continuing the ceramic-serve tradition from Kyoto Shichijo and Kanazawa.
• Lounge service: All-you-can-drink alcohol for ¥1,100 between 18:00–21:00. Free for Gold members and above.

I went for the yonaki soba at 21:30. No wait, smooth service, and a proper ceramic bowl. A welcome ceramic encore after Kanazawa.
The morning probiotic drink returns to Pilkul, the Kansai standard. After Kanazawa’s curveball with the chlorella-based drink, this comforting classic is a reassuring sight.
A new discovery this round was the lounge all-you-can-drink alcohol service: ¥1,100 from 18:00 to 21:00, or free for Gold members and above. I didn’t use it this time, but it’s a nice extra perk for business travelers.

The Epic Breakfast Buffet

The breakfast venue is reasonably spacious without being packed, and I could relax through the meal. After surviving the battlefield-level crowds at Kyoto Shichijo and Kanazawa, this calm felt like a major win.

• Local “signature dishes”: “Make-your-own seafood bowl” and “freshly fried tempura.”
• Seafood lineup: Marinated tuna, salmon, ikura (salmon roe), shirasu (whitebait), okra.
• Local side dishes: Gyu-dote-ni (beef simmered in miso, a first!), mixed juice, satsuma-jiru.
• Desserts & misc: 3–4 varieties. Fruits included, but options are on the modest side.
• Multilingual support: Three-language menu.

The seafood bowl features marinated tuna, salmon, ikura, and shirasu — a royal-road lineup. Honestly, I’d love to see more property-specific identity here, but seafood bowls must just be in high demand. Freshly fried tempura featured shrimp, threadfin bream (itoyori), pumpkin, and snap peas. The thoughtful touch of tendon sauce being prepared means you can convert the seafood bowl into a tendon-style dish.
The first-time encounter this round: gyu-dote-ni, an Osaka-style local side dish. The taste was… well, just okay. Not quite as good as I’d hoped, to be honest. On the other hand, the “satsuma-jiru” soup was unexpectedly delicious. I’ve noticed the Nono series generally does soups well, and this stay reinforced that impression.
The mixed juice delivered its reliable deliciousness — a Kansai-style classic to start the morning right.

[Bonus] Osaka Ekimae Building Daytime Bar-Hopping Report

For a change of pace, this round’s izakaya hunt was a daytime bar-hop. Heavy rain and wind were forecast for late in the evening, so I made my way to the hotel via the legendary Osaka Ekimae Building cluster (there are four — yes, FOUR — of them!) and tackled two spots before check-in.

1. Shichi-tsuya, Osaka Ekimae Building No.2: B2 floor of Building No.2. A well-known standing-bar institution. Cheap, fast, delicious — the holy trinity. The portions are on the smaller side, but for bar-hopping that’s exactly what you want. A mega highball, a Sui-shōchū soda, gyū-suji-nikomi (simmered beef tendon), and nira-reba-itame (stir-fried liver and chives) came to ¥1,390 total. Steal of a deal. Note: cash only.
2. Yakitori Daifugo, Osaka Ekimae Building No.1: B2 floor of Building No.1. The main attraction: tori-sashi three-cut sampler, especially the chicken liver sashimi — borderline life-changing. Every other dish was excellent too. I’d planned to drink lightly and move on, but I got too full to continue and called it a night here. Tori-sashi sampler, chicken yukke, Daifugo boneless spice fried chicken (the famous “fugo-chiki”), chicken mince, chicken soup, the appetizer (salted-kombu Chinese cabbage), a big bottle of beer, and a mega highball came to ¥3,001. Additional orders via QR code, and PayPay accepted. Already want to go back.

A quick note for international readers: in Japan, sashimi-grade chicken (tori-sashi / tori-wasa) is a specialized regional culinary tradition rooted in places like Kagoshima and Miyazaki — completely distinct from the raw supermarket chicken that Western kitchens (rightly) warn against. It’s sourced from designated farms, processed under strict hygiene standards, and served only at specialist restaurants. That said, even in Japan, raw chicken is treated as a special-occasion dish, not an everyday food, and it’s not 100% risk-free. If you’re not used to it, there’s absolutely no shame in skipping it and sticking to the cooked options — the grilled and fried items are just as satisfying.

Two stops, ¥4,391 total. Osaka Ekimae Building daytime drinking — top tier experience.
For the evening, I picked up snacks at the ground-floor Lawson and had a “second round” in the room, capped off with that incredible yonaki soba. “Can I really go to Lawson in just my samue?” — the impulse hit hard, but I changed clothes before heading out, of course. A night that hammered home just how devastatingly convenient this location is.

Overall Review

*Sakaiminato’s rate includes the dinner buffet plan, not a room-only rate — keep that in mind when comparing value.
“Onyado Nono Osaka Yodoyabashi” in one line: A compact, calm, standard-spec Osaka Nono in the heart of the business district. Its biggest weapon is the devastatingly convenient location.
The biggest draw is the overwhelming location advantage, with a Lawson on the ground floor. Sandwiched between Yodoyabashi and Kitahama — two major business-district stations — and close to Umeda, with easy access to the Osaka Ekimae Building cluster, it’s an ideal base for sightseeing or business in the Kansai region.
The sauna is series-standard spec. 95°C dry setting, Herbal Clear aroma, sharp cold bath — reliable Nono quality across the board. Just don’t expect a true top-floor outdoor air bath like Kanazawa’s — calibrate expectations accordingly.
The breakfast wins on the relaxed venue. After the battlefield crowds at Kyoto Shichijo and Kanazawa, this calm is a serious plus. First-time gyu-dote-ni, reliable mixed juice, and the hidden gem satsuma-jiru deliver a properly Kansai-flavored start to the day.
On the downside, the slightly unstable Wi-Fi is worth flagging if you’re planning remote work.
And above all, this 8th installment marks the official crossing of the halfway point. More than half of the 15 Onyado Nono nationwide are now conquered. Seven left to go. The back half of the journey starts here. Stay tuned for the next report!
See you next time.

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