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Nishinomiya

西宮市
Nishinomiya 西宮市
Core city
	From top left: Hanshin Koshien Stadium, Nishinomiya Shrine, Tōkō-ji, Shukugawa Park, and Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens
	Flag Chapter
	Location of Nishinomiya in Hyōgo Prefecture
	Nishinomiya Location in Japan
	Coordinates: 34°44′15.35″N 135°20′29.63″E / 34.7375972°N 135.3415639°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Hyōgo
Government
• Mayor	Ishii Toshiro
Area
• Total	99.96 km2 (38.59 sq mi)
Population (May 1, 2021)
• Total	484,368
• Density	4,800/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	10-3 Rokutanji-chō, Nishinomiya-shi, Hyōgo-ken 662-8567
Website	Official website
Symbols
Flower	Sakura
Tree	Camphor laurel

Nishinomiya (西宮市, Nishinomiya-shi) is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 November 2022^[update], the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218,948 households and a population density of 4,800 persons per km².^[1] The total area of the city is 99.98 square kilometres (38.60 sq mi). Nishinomiya is an important commercial and shipping city in the Kansai region with the third largest population in Hyōgo Prefecture. Nishinomiya is best known as the home of Koshien Stadium, where the Hanshin Tigers baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball championship is held.

Geography

Nishinomiya is located in southeast Hyōgo Prefecture between the cities of Kobe and Osaka. It is bordered by Osaka Bay to the south, the cities of Amagasaki, Itami and Takarazuka along the Mukogawa and Nigawa rivers to the east and by the Rokkō Mountains and Kobe to the north. The city can be divided into two areas: a mountainous area in the north and a coastal plain in the south. Situated in the middle is Mount Kabuto (309 meters), a landmark of the city.

Neighboring municipalities

Hyōgo Prefecture

Climate

Nishinomiya has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nishinomiya is 14.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1578 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.3 °C.^[2]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,^[3] the population of Nishinomiya grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and has been increasing at a slower rate since.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1920	60,311	—
1930	98,777	+63.8%
1940	169,770	+71.9%
1950	168,319	−0.9%
1960	262,608	+56.0%
1970	377,043	+43.6%
1980	410,329	+8.8%
1990	426,909	+4.0%
2000	438,105	+2.6%
2010	422,790	−3.5%

History

The area of Nishinomiya was part of ancient Settsu Province and has been inhabited since ancient times, with the traces of Yayoi period settlements, many kofun burial mounds found within the city limits. From the Asuka period, the Hirota Shrine was built, and the market town which developed around its west gate was the ancestor of "Nishinomiya". From the Muromachi period, Nishinomiya was famed for its production of sake. During the Edo Period, the area was tenryō territory under the direct administration of the Tokugawa shogunate. The town of Nishinomiya was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Nishinomiya was a center of the culture from the 1910s to 1940s in which has been dubbed "Hanshinkan Modernism". This included the opening of the Kōshien Stadium opened on April 1, 1924. Nishinomiya was elevated to city status on April 1, 1925. The city expanded with the annexation of the town of Imazu and villages of Shiba and Taishi in April 1933, the village of Koto in February 1941, the village of Kawaragi in May 1942, and the villages of Naruo, Yamaguchi and Shiose in April 1951. The January 17, 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake caused widespread damage in Nishinomiya.

Government

Nishinomiya has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 41 members. Nishinomiya contributes seven members to the Hyōgo Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Hyōgo 2nd district and Hyōgo 7th districts of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

In terms of industry, food and beverages (especially sake, which is a traditional industry) are a major portion of the local economy. The city is also located on a corner of the Hanshin industrial zone.

Furuno, a global electronics company, whose main products include marine electronics and medical equipment, has its headquarters in the city.^[4]

Agriculture

Since most of the farmland is in the urban district, Nishinomiya agriculture is in a difficult situation; it worsens every year. Efforts are being made to improve farming^{[citation needed]} to make it profitable by growing such marketable products as soft vegetables for the big markets of Osaka and Kobe. Other efforts include effective land use by growing crops in greenhouses using hydroponic techniques and development of techniques for safe products.

Residential districts

Nishinomiya is situated between the major cities of Kobe and Osaka. Luxury neighborhoods are common in this city, especially in areas near Ashiya. Some of the shopping malls in Nishinomiya are the Lalaport Koshien and the Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens.

Education

Universities and colleges

Hyogo College Of Medicine
Kobe College (Women's university)
Konan University Nishinomiya Campus "Konan Cube"
Koshien Junior College
Kwansei Gakuin University, a private university founded by American missionaries in the nineteenth century.
Mukogawa Women's University and Junior College
Otemae University
Seiwa College and Junior College
Shukugawa Gakuin Junior College

Primary and secondary schools

Nishinomiya has 40 public elementary schools and 19 public middle schools operated by the city government, and nine public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Board of Education. These nine include Hōtoku Gakuen High School, with a prominent baseball team, and Nishinomiya Kita High,^[5] the setting for much of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. There are also two private elementary schools, seven private middle schools and seven private high schools. In addition, the city also operates one, and the prefecture operates two, special education schools for the physically challenged.

Transportation

Railways

JR West - Kobe Line

Kōshienguchi - Nishinomiya - Sakura Shukugawa

JR West - Fukuchiyama Line

Namaze - Nishinomiyanajio - Takedao

Hankyu - Hankyu Kobe Main Line

Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi - Shukugawa

Hankyu - Hankyu Imazu Line

Kōtōen - Mondo-Yakujin - Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi - Hanshin-Kokudō - Imazu

Hankyu - Hankyu Kōyō Line

Shukugawa - Kurakuenguchi - Kōyōen

Hanshin Electric Railway - Hanshin Main Line

Naruo - Mukogawajoshidai-Mae - Kōshien - Kusugawa - Imazu - Nishinomiya - Kōroen

Hanshin Electric Railway - Hanshin Mukogawa Line

Mukogawa - Higashi-Naruo - Suzaki - Mukogawadanchimae

Highways

International relations

Sister cities

Spokane, Washington, United States, since September 1961

Friendship cities

Londrina, Paraná, Brazil, since May 1977
Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China, since July 1985
District of Lot-et-Garonne and Agen, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, since April, 1992
Burlington, Vermont, United States
Amami, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, since October 1981 (formerly Naze)
Yusuhara,Kōchi Prefecture, Japan, since March 1991

Local attractions

Arima Onsen（neighboring city, but formerly Arima County) – accessible via one bus ride from Nishinomiya Kitaguchi station and Shukugawa station and Hanshin Nishinomiya station and JR Nishinomiya station
Hirota Shrine – aristocrats in Kyoto called the shrine Nishi no miya ("the West Shrine"); that is the origin of the city name.^[6]
Hyogo Performing Arts Center
Kannō-ji
Kitayama Botanical Garden
Koshikiiwa Shrine
Mondo-yakujin (Tōkō-ji)
Mount Kabuto
Nishinomiya Shrine

In popular culture

Much of Grave of the Fireflies is set in Nishinomiya.^[7]^[8]
Nishinomiya is the setting for the popular light novel, manga and anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.^[9]

Notable people from Nishinomiya

Mana Ashida – teen actress
Aimyon – singer-songwriter
Kaoru Betto – baseball player
Daisuke Inoue – inventor of the karaoke machine
Kaoru – lead guitarist of Dir En Grey
Rika Kihira – figure skater
Hiro Matsushita – Businessman, former Champ Car World Series driver, chairman of Swift Engineering & Swift Xi Inc.
Yuya Matsushita – singer and actor
Mina – singer based in South Korea, member of the popular K-pop girl group TWICE
Shizuka Miyaji – female cricketer
Yuichiro Nagashima – kickboxer
Ryusei Onishi – member of the boy band Naniwa Danshi
Eizo Sakamoto – heavy metal musician
Ryūsui Seiryōin – novelist
Daisuke Shima – actor and singer
Nagaru Tanigawa – author of the light novel series Haruhi Suzumiya
Akira Tozawa – professional wrestler
Hōsei Yamasaki – comedian