If you heard that a B&B in Osaka’s Nishinari-ku costs 1 million yen, or about 48,000 yen a night, your first thought would be, “That’s crazy, Nishinari-ku, the slums? But don’t worry, this story is not that simple. Today, the dog editor brings you into Osaka Nishinari, talk about the new changes in this magical neighborhood of Osaka, and by the way, reveal the cat and mouse behind the sky-high price of the bed and breakfast.
From Danger Zone to China Street
Nishinari, located in the southern part of Osaka, is a neighborhood that many Japanese associate with the simple hotels on the street that provided cheap lodging for Japanese laborers. 20 years ago, it was a grimy, rundown shopping street in front of the zoo, and at night the streetlights were so dim that women had to work up the nerve to pass by, but around 2010, things changed.
Chinese bosses came with money, and a lot of karaoke lounges opened up in Nishinari-ku. It is said that basically most of them are run by Fujianese people, and the sign on the door reads: “Beer 500 yen, snacks 300 yen,” which is a price so affordable that even Japanese locals can’t help but give it a second look.
Gradually, these stores also took on the flavor of Chinese-style maid bars, attracting tourists from all over the country, Nishinari froze from unattended to become a Netflix spot. A new place is also in the neighborhood.
Recently, however, Nishinari has been in the spotlight again for its 1 million yen per night bed and breakfast. It sounds like a luxury residence, but what’s it really like? Yoshikawa, a local, laughs and says, “Don’t be fooled, it’s just an ordinary house with no luxury.
It turns out that the price is for the Japanese Immigration Bureau, Chinese operators want to open a minshuku to get a management visa, so that it is convenient to run business between China and Japan. How does it work?
Simple, mark a 1 million yen a night sky-high price, occasionally receive a few residents a year, the account of the flow of water a brush, the annual visa renewal on the stable, this brush water trick is simply perfect, as for the actual earn no money, not at all in their plans.
Osaka’s Accommodation Crisis and Nishinari’s Opportunity
With the influx of international students coming to Osaka this April, and the Osaka Expo 2025, hotel prices in Osaka are frankly staggeringly expensive right now. And as B&Bs have become the meat and potatoes, Chinese owners in Nishinari have smelled the business opportunity and have transformed from izakaya to B&Bs.
But how can ordinary neighborhood residents stand strangers dragging suitcases in and out? Nishinari is different, the atmosphere of the street here has long made it a natural ground for the B&B, in fact, is a hostel in Japanese inn inverted slang, refers to the bottom of the laborers to provide cheap accommodation, Nishinari, Osaka and Tokyo’s Ueno, Yokohama Shoumachi and known as Japan’s three major streets.
Investor H half-jokingly says that the neighbors won’t complain about a bed-and-breakfast here in Nishinari-ku, because after all, everyone’s in the business!
With the rise of tourism, Nishinari is being transformed from a poor street with the worst security in Osaka into a special neighborhood, and it looks like there will be another Chinese street in Japan.
Nowadays, when you travel to Osaka, you may be staying at a B&B owned by one of our Chinese neighbors. If you want to come to Osaka to buy a home, welcome to contact Chai Xiaoxiao.
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Japanese media reported that 41 minshuku in Osaka have been taken over by Chinese, and it doesn’t matter if the operators don’t speak Japanese.
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