Edward Hewes

There’s no other way to put it: Osaka is so hot right now. Fresh off making Time Out Worldwide’s world’s best cities for food list and being named Asia’s most liveable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the beating heart of Kansai can now boast about having the best hotel on the planet. That’s right: Patina Osaka was named the Best Hotel in the World at Travel + Leisure’s 2026 World’s Best Awards.

Osaka’s tachinomi – literally ‘stand and drink’ – bars are where the city’s famed hospitality comes most naturally to the fore. Often cash-only and walk-in only, they’re less formal than an izakaya, much chattier than your conventional bar and an essential part of Japanese drinking culture.

Tadao Ando’s life and work have taken him across the world. But it’s in and around his hometown of Osaka where the self-taught Pritzker-winning architect has built most prolifically. Beyond the characteristic poured concrete that takes light, space and nature for its playmates, Ando’s Osaka is one of children’s libraries, homages to the city’s history, homes for art.