Liber Hotel At Universal Studios Japan: Birthday Week Stay

Liber Hotel At Universal Studios Japan, also known as River Hotel, Liber Hotel, or Libel Hotel, was chosen as the accommodation for the last three days of my birthday week. I booked a Standard Double Room under an early bird plan for 13,200 yen, which allows cancellation up to one week prior. The hotel is located just a 2-minute walk from Sakurajima Station, the terminal station after Universal City Station in Osaka. Although I didn’t plan to visit Universal Studios Japan, I opted to stay at this official Universal Studios hotel. 🤣 The reasons for choosing this hotel include its spacious rooms, ocean or USJ views, appealing breakfast options, and its status as an onsen resort hotel located in Osaka city. The price was also quite attractive. After finishing my itinerary in Kyoto, I arrived in Osaka at 9 PM to check in. The hotel is a massive building entirely dedicated to hotel use, with nearly 90 rooms per floor arranged along long corridors. Guest rooms are located on floors 5 through 14. The hotel features a large outdoor terrace and café, making it a place where you could easily spend several hours. Guests can use these facilities multiple times during their stay. Interestingly, towels are provided, unlike for general visitors who are charged 2,000 yen. The onsen closes at midnight and reopens at 6 AM. My room offered a beautiful ocean city view, facing the Tempozan Bridge, with large ships passing by below. From the onsen terrace, you can enjoy views of the Ferris wheel. I booked the most basic room type, the Standard Double Room, which seemed to be ocean-view facing. I was assigned a room on the 12th floor. The onsen area felt similar to the large-scale spa facilities at Starfield’s Aqua Field, accommodating over 400 people at once with plenty of lockers. The outdoor baths and large communal baths were impressively spacious. I shared the onsen with dozens of middle school students on a school trip, making the atmosphere lively and bustling. The USJ view was visible while riding the elevator up and down. Although USJ is just a 15-minute walk or a 2-minute train ride away, the hotel does not operate a shuttle service, which might make the location slightly inconvenient for those visiting USJ. Breakfast is served in a single venue despite the hotel’s capacity of over 800 rooms, leading to long waiting times. I went down at 6:50 AM, queued up, and was seated by 7:05 AM. Even though school trip students were separated into a different hall, the breakfast area was still crowded. However, the quality of the breakfast exceeded expectations, featuring Osaka specialties like kushikatsu, takoyaki, yakisoba, and udon. They also served steak and offered a wide variety of food options, including pre-packaged ice cream cups. Although my flight from Kansai Airport was scheduled for 11 AM, the hotel’s location made it relatively convenient to reach the airport, with Nishikujo Station just 7 minutes away. As part of the birthday celebration, I received a birthday card—thank you! ※ Starting April 1, 2024, the hotel will no longer be an official Universal Studios hotel, as announced on its website. This includes the discontinuation of USJ ticket sales, the closure of the official store within the hotel, and the removal of USJ-themed rooms such as the Snoopy character room.