8 best New Year's Eve events and countdown parties in Osaka

If you’re looking to usher in 2026 in style, W Osaka makes a compelling choice. This chic, design-driven hotel has hosted some of the city’s hottest soirees, and its 2025 New Year’s Eve countdown party looks set to follow suit, promising a cool, high-energy celebration to round off the year.

Taking over the second-floor banquet hall, the soirée will feature thrilling performance by TRAinnovation, whose genre-bending sound fuses traditional Japanese instruments – shamisen, taiko, shakuhachi, shinobue and the like – with pulsing electronic beats, all accompanied by expressive modern dance.

Joining them on stage, with all hands on deck, is the hotel’s music and entertainment director, Yuuki Yoshiyama, a bona fide DJ who has spun for massive crowds at major festivals including Tomorrowland and EDC. Moreover, the hotel promises another headline act, which will be announced soon. 

Prices start at ¥20,000 per person for standing admission, with Premium and Premium Plus seating set at ¥30,000 and ¥40,000 respectively. All packages come with free-flow drinks: champagne, beer, wine, cocktails and soft drinks. The higher-priced packages naturally come with more perks.

After the countdown, guests can kick-start the New Year on an auspicious note by enjoying celebratory sake and freshly pounded mochi, while being serenaded by live koto performance.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve on the 20th floor of Patina Osaka, where the Sonata Bar & Lounge looks out at a grand view of Osaka Castle. This is easily one of the city’s most scenic spots to count down to 2026.

On this special night, you’ll enjoy free-flow drinks including champagne, beer, wine, whisky, classic cocktails and soft drinks. Meanwhile, warm dishes will be served at your table, accompanied by a buffet of canapés and desserts.

The night’s entertainment features an eclectic mix of live performances and DJ sets. The New Orleans-inspired Big Mouth Brass Band will get the crowd moving with jazz fused with hip hop, R&B and reggae. Osaka-based singer-songwriter Masahiro Sengoku brings soulful R&B and rich vocals. Playme, a multi-talented collective from Osaka’s Minami district, will deliver a high-energy jam session with hip hop tracks and dance laced with hints of jazz influence.

The standard plan costs ¥30,000 per person, while the Speaker Room plan with front-row seats by the speaker wall is ¥40,000. Both options require advance reservations and pre-payment by December 24. There is also standing admission on the day for ¥15,000, which includes drinks and the buffet.

For a no-holds-barred New Year’s celebration that goes far beyond the customary midnight countdown, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka has you covered. USJ’s annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza returns this year as No Limit! Countdown 2026, running an endurance-testing 26 hours from 7pm on December 31 to 9pm on January 1.

So how do you spend 26 hours at a New Year’s party in USJ? For starters, you’ll have unlimited access to rides and attractions across the entire park. That includes Super Nintendo World – home to favourites like Donkey Kong’s Crazy Trolley and Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge – as well as the 360-degree flying coaster The Flying Dinosaur in the Jurassic Park area, and the newly opened Minion Mayhem Mission: Path to Super Villainy.

Meanwhile, the Countdown Special Stage at Gramercy Park will host non-stop entertainment leading up to midnight. The programme reads like a greatest hits showcase of 2025, featuring the year’s most beloved performances. Highlights include the One Piece Premier Show 2025, as well as skits, dances and sketches by Sesame Street characters, Snoopy and friends, Hello Kitty and the Minions.

Then, at the stroke of midnight, the park will ring in 2026 with a dazzling display of 4,000 fireworks, lighting up the night sky in a riot of colours. Afterwards, USJ characters will appear in traditional kimono-style outfits to greet and wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Entry requires a dedicated Party Pass, with prices starting from ¥16,900. Tickets are now on sale. For event and ticketing details, check the Universal Studios Japan website.

One of Osaka’s newest luxury hotels, Waldorf Astoria is bringing the glamour of the 1920s jazz age to its New Year’s Eve countdown party. The sumptuous 29th-floor bar and lounge, Peacock Alley, will be decked out in style befitting the Great Gatsby theme, complete with gold decorations, a champagne tower and Art Deco splendour.

You can enjoy an open bar with free-flow drinks, including Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV from the world’s oldest champagne house, alongside a decadent selection of sweet and savoury treats. Highlights include lobster roll with walnut and raisins, Osetra caviar with Calpis butter financier, as well as black truffle and foie gras risotto.

The evening’s entertainment features internationally acclaimed, Kyoto-born jazz singer-songwriter Emi Meyer, winner of the 2007 Seattle-Kobe Jazz Vocalist Competition. She will be joined by renowned Japanese DJ and music producer Jessy, who will keep the party going through the countdown and into 2026.

Tickets are priced at ¥65,000 per person, with an early-bird rate of ¥58,000 available online until 15 December.

Don’t want to commit to a New Year’s Eve plan just yet? No problem. Viva Countdown Carnival 2025–2026 at the Lively Osaka Honmachi lets you just rock up and join the fun, with free entry and no reservation required.

For this Latin-themed New Year’s celebration, the hotel’s first-floor lounge will be transformed into a Brazilian carnival-inspired space. Three DJs will be on the decks all night, spinning high-octane baile funk and hip-swaying samba to keep the party going.

There will also be dance shows by three performers including Erica, who regularly takes part in Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival. Her team, the Copacabana Samba Team, even won the Rio Carnival in 2025.

To match the theme, the bar will serve special Latin-inspired drinks for the evening, including, of course, Brazil’s signature caipirinha.

Perched on the 20th floor of the conveniently located InterContinental Osaka, the Adee Lounge & Bar offers sweeping views of the city skyline through its wrap-around, floor-to-ceiling windows. Against this stunning backdrop, you’ll be raising a toast to the 2026 New Year at midnight on January 1.

Tickets for the New Year’s Eve countdown party are priced at ¥18,000 (excluding 15 percent service charge) per person. You’ll enjoy unlimited champagne, wine, beer and selected cocktails, alongside an appetiser and dessert buffet. Live performances will keep the energy high all the way to the countdown.

Reservations are now open online.

For a different kind of New Year’s Eve countdown, hop aboard the Santa Maria on the night of December 31. This sightseeing sailing ship will take you on an hour-long cruise around Osaka Bay while you ring in the 2026 New Year with sea breeze in your hair.

Live entertainment on board comes from Kansai-based duo Yasu-Tori, featuring Yasuyuki Nakajima on guitar and Yusuke Miyahara on vocals and trombone. Known for their light-hearted performances, the pair mix music with humorous skits to keep the mood fun and lively. You can also try your luck in a New Year’s lottery – prizes will be revealed on the night.

Tickets cost ¥7,000 for adults and ¥3,500 for children, and must be booked and paid for in advance online. On the day, you should complete check-in by 11pm. The cruise departs at 11.30pm sharp from (and later returns to) Kaiyukan West Wharf, near Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, a 10-minute walk from Osakako Station.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Moxy Osaka Umeda’s signature Salsa Party, led by professional dancers Lenny and Mio of Kansai-based Vida Latina Dance Co.

Not familiar with salsa? No problem. The party is designed for everyone, from complete beginners to seasoned salsa fans. Drinks on the night include colourful, fruity punch, as well as beer, highballs and sparkling wine.

Tickets cost ¥4,500 per person (¥3,500 for hotel guests) and include two welcome drinks plus a snack cup of Moxy’s signature finger food. There’s also a lucky draw with ten prizes including a hotel stay.