Perched 154 metres above Yokohama’s historic port district, OMO5 Yokohama Bashamichi by Hoshino Resorts reframes the city stay as something closer to temporary living than a conventional hotel check-in.
Japan’s second largest city, Yokohama, has never lacked hotel rooms. What the port city may have lacked — until now — is a stay that feels less like checking in and a lot more like moving in. At least temporarily, that is.
Opened earlier this month, OMO5 Yokohama Bashamichi by Hoshino Resorts is a high-rise, design-led apartment hotel that feels neither transient nor corporate. Occupying the 46th to the 51st floors of a newly-redeveloped skyscraper on the former Yokohama City Hall site, the property is directly connected to Bashamichi Station and but a short walk from JR Kannai.
From this height — 154 metres above ground — the city unfolds in almost unreal black-and-white Kurosawa cinematic fashion: container ships sliding across the bay, Minato Mirai’s towers glittering after dark, and the port’s long maritime history anchoring the view.
View aside, what truly stands OMO5 Yokohama Bashamichi apart from typical Yokohama accommodation. It comes as an apartment-style hotel designed for travellers who want space, autonomy, and a sense of everyday life, offering an unapologetically residential live-in design that’s almost anathema to traditional commercial Japanese hospitality.
You’re looking at 175 rooms — spread across nine different categories — that come equipped with kitchens and washer-dryers, features that are more commonly found as communal amenities in Japanese city hotels. Many layouts also separate living and sleeping areas, encouraging guests to cook, lounge, work, or simply slow down in a way standard rooms rarely allow.
Interiors lean into Yokohama’s port identity without tipping into theatric excess. Modelled loosely on a ship’s cabin, rooms feature warm nautical tones, brass accents, and leather strap detailing. Floor-to-ceiling windows ensure the city itself remains the dominant design element.
At the top end, the OMO House Corner Suite stretches to a generous 136 square metres, complete with an island kitchen and three bedrooms — an unusually family- and group-friendly proposition in urban Japan. Even the more compact OMO House rooms are conceived with flexibility in mind, with sofas that convert into beds and layouts that prioritise shared time over square-metre efficiency.
If guest rooms feel like private cabins, the hotel’s public heart, the circular OMO Base, functions like a shared deck. Inspired by a ship’s wheelhouse, this panoramic lounge wraps guests in a 360-degree view of one of Japan’s most celebrated nightscapes. It’s here that OMO5 most clearly distinguishes itself from Yokohama’s conventional hotels, which tend to treat views as passive backdrops rather than active experiences.
Purpose-built viewing zones include the Bay View Deck, where ships drift in and out of frame, and the Night View Deck, a darker, mirrored space designed to amplify the drama of the city lights. There’s a light touch of playfulness too: billiards, board games, a small theatre screening classic films, and a self-service cocktail bar that turns sunset into an easy social ritual rather than a scheduled event.
The hotel’s “Nightscape Moments” concept — where guests pick themed boxes from a complimentary vending machine to guide how they enjoy the view — captures the broader OMO philosophy: structured enough to be thoughtful, casual enough to feel unforced.
OMO5 Yokohama Bashamichi, with its apartment-style DNA, offers visitors a different perspective to experiencing Japan’s second-largest city. Unlike some that encourage retreat, OMO5 positions itself as a launchpad; through its Go-KINJO programme, resident OMO Rangers share neighbourhood insights and curated walking routes via a locally focused map, nudging guests beyond Minato Mirai’s obvious attractions and into Yokohama’s older streets, small eateries, and everyday rhythms. It’s a hotel for travellers staying long enough to want groceries instead of room service, routines instead of itineraries, and a sense of place that extends beyond the lobby.
For travellers who find traditional Japanese business hotels too compact, serviced apartments too generic, and luxury hotels too over-the-top, this new opening lands in a sweet spot.
To find out more about OMO5 Yokohama Bashamichi by Hoshino Resorts or to book a stay, visit: hoshinoresorts.com/en/hotels/omo5yokohamabashamichi.
[Photo credits: ©︎Hoshino Resorts]
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