Custom Japanese Aroma Design and Wagyu Dining at Osaka’s Garden-lush Old Diplomatic Residence

A Historic State Residence in an Oasis of City Greenery: The Garden Oriental Osaka

When the 2019 G20 Summit was held in Osaka, the Garden Oriental Osaka was the kick-off venue for the Partners’ Program in which the spouses of the attending world leaders gathered for cultural activities and sightseeing. This was a return to form of a kind for the facility, which began its life as the Osaka City Diplomatic Residence – hosting government dignitaries and other VIPs from around the world for many years – before being reborn as the popular event venue and restaurant it is today.

Overlooking the Sakuranomiya riverfront area, the Garden Oriental Osaka sits swathed in lush foliage bursting with the colors of each season

Despite being located in the heart of the second most populous and second densest city in Japan – a mere 5 minutes by train from JR Osaka Station – the Garden Oriental Osaka sits on 132,000 square meters, commanding gorgeous riverfront views of cityscape and lush foliage alike. Osaka is sometimes referred to by the epithet “Mizu no Miyako” (literally: “The Water Capital”), and there are few more beautiful places to experience the reason for that nickname than here, near the nexus of the O River, the Neya River, and the Tosa canal. 

The gardens beautifully showcase the colors of each season

The garden is also a major achievement by landscape gardener Tajirokuro (1904-1978), another period luminary behind the gardens featured in the 1970 Osaka Expo Park and Osaka Castle Park, among others. The whole area comes alive in each and every season: in springtime with the pink hues of cherry trees, in summer with rich greenery, and with russet, ochre, and resplendent golden tones in autumn. Adjoining the popular riverfront hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spot of Sakuranomiya park – and facing the historic government core of Osaka on the riverine island of Nakanoshima as well as the moat-enclosed woodland of Osaka Castle Park – the Garden Oriental Osaka is also a mere hop, skip, and a jump away from a host of other sightseeing options.

The Azumaya tea room, where the custom fragrance blending experience takes place

Discovering an Elegant Architectural Masterpiece and its Vast Traditional Gardens

And yet, there is a great deal more to this Osaka landmark than just its location. Purpose-built as a residence for visiting foreign dignitaries in 1959 on the former grounds of the manor of Meiji period tycoon Fujita Denzaburo (1841-1912) after the original structures were devastated by bombing during WWII, prestige and august beauty were priorities from the outset. The result is a masterpiece of understated Showa-era Art Deco modernism by renowned architect Kenzo Takekoshi (1888-1981), who is also responsible for the Osaka Exchange Building and the former Osaka Noh Theater.

An abiding attention to preservation of the original atmosphere has kept even the most subtle period touches intact and pristine.

This historic structure has survived with its retro allure wholly intact thanks to an abiding policy of “preserving the original atmosphere” in every imaginable detail. This is true down to the seamless mid-20th Century style interior lighting, which you’re apt to feel as an unplaceable ambience long before you consciously notice it. Thankfully, you can enjoy a staff-guided look at each subtle touch so you don’t miss out.

*Please note that depending on the season and other factors, not all areas of the Garden Oriental Osaka may be accessible during the tour.

A mural of seasonal motifs featuring some iconic Osaka spots—Osaka Castle, Tsutenkaku, and more—captures the spirit of the city above your head

Soothing the Spirit and Awakening Memories with a Personalized Aroma Blending Experience

After soaking up the architectural elegance of the building and landscaping beauty of its grounds, move next to the garden tea room Azumaya – normally off limits to the general public – for an exclusive personalized aroma oil blending experience under professional perfumer and fragrance artist Keiko Chimura.

The interior of the Azumaya tea room, featuring a breathtaking installation by bamboo artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV

Chimura is active across the world of aroma art, both at center stage and behind the scenes. Former director of the Aroma Fragrance Tuning Association, she is also known for live perfumery events and fragrance workshops at major department stores. Chimura is also the design mind behind the custom fragrances that give certain spaces at preeminent hotels their character. 

She is also passionate about the power of scent to stir the emotions, awaken the memory, and connect body and mind with locale. Northern Osaka Prefecture’s Minoh City has even tapped her to appear in their section of the Expo 2025 Japan World Expo Osaka to perform a live recreation of the fragrance of that area’s forests,drawing on her uncanny aptitude for harnessing the power of aroma to transport.

Chimura’s instruction makes the art of fragrance design immediately accessible for absolute beginners, with lots of depth to explore for the more well-versed

It is precisely Chimura’s keen instincts and minute knowledge of the relationship between scent, feeling, memory, and place that takes this fragrance blending experience beyond passing fun with nice smells into more transcendent and mind-opening territory. Let the master perfumer heighten your understanding of your own sense of smell and deepen your appreciation of its sublime power to transport you across time and space, through a soothing workshop on fragrance as you craft a unique blend of Japanese essential oils that is all you.

Explore a curated selection of natural aromas to find your favorite

The Fragrances of Japan

First, choose your favorite wood aromas, and Chimura will create a base oil by mixing them with natural rice bran oil. Then, select two to three more essential oils from citrus, herb, and flower vareities of Japan, blending them yourself to create a one-of-a-kind fragrance.

For this exclusive Wabunka experience, Chimura has prepared a lineup of approximately 25 aromatic oils in total, including about 10 wood oils and roughly 5 seasonal variations, each from a distinctive locale in Japan and chosen to represent a notable element of the olfactory experience of being there (exact aromas subject to change depending on the season). 

Chimura provides an array of regional fragrances from all over Japan, handled in the elegant accoutrements of the craft

Her wood oil selection includes 8 different regional cultivars of just hinoki – Japanese cypress – each through its surprising distinctness communicating the aura of its locale.

As you choose which wood oils to use, Chimura illuminates the conceptual framework behind essential oil fragrance blending. “We tend to think of any given fragrance as having a pyramid shape,” she explains, “with woody and earthy smells forming the bottom, and citrusy, floral, or other sweet smells stacking on top to create layers of depth.”

Experiencing a fragrance blended to speak to your own memories can be a revelation in the power of the olfactory sense

She goes on: “So when you hear terms like ‘top note,’ that’s the image to have in mind. You can also think of it in terms of low and high notes played in a single piece of music.” And just like music, each fragrance is not a static sensory experience but rather shifts and evolves in a melodic narrative over even just a matter of seconds if you pay it close attention. Also like music, the art form has a profound power to soothe and excite alike.

Bottle and take home the essence of your time in Japan

“In my workshops, I like to ask where in Japan participants have traveled,” explains Chimura, “because you can get a much better understanding of the finer points of fragrance by working with the scents of places you’ve been. It’s amazing how connected smell is to memory, and how it can transport you as a result.”

At the end of the blending experience, take home not just your finished oil, but also a personalized recipe drawn up by the perfumer herself in case you should ever want to recreate it yourself after it runs out.

Architectural Beauty, Garden Air, Soothing Aromas, and Gustatory Delights Combine for an Unforgettable Experience

When the fragrance blending is complete, add to the sensory joys of the experience with a Wabunka-exclusive meal of premium Japanese cuisine made with Wagyu beef. And top it all off with a tipple on an included toast drink of champagne to mark the occasion.* As an optional add-on, your dining experience from the standard 5-course Wagyu beef menu to an upgraded 7-course Kobe Wagyu beef menu, complete with complimentary drink (additional fee applies)..

*Non-alcoholic options are also available, and additional drinks can be ordered and paid for on-site.

Enjoy a Wabunka-exclusive Wagyu beef course (image is for illustrative purposes only)

In this special place, the quotidian ups and downs of city life give way to elegant historical mystique with an amble through fine period architecture and soothing garden air. The mundane hustle and bustle melt away into the rapture of aromatic magic and the rarefied air of fine dining in a stately ambassadorial residence. You may think you know Osaka, but this is a place to experience a poignant new view of what the city has to offer that you’re sure to remember – and probably want to come back for – in years to come.

The lavender and pale orange of dusk over the gardens on a clear summer evening