Nishinomiya

Nishinomiya (西宮市) is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218,948 households and a population density of 4,800 persons per km². The total area of the city is 99.98 sqkm. 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 Kōshien 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
 * Kita-ku, Kobe
 * Amagasaki
 * Itami
 * Takarazuka
 * Ashiya

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.

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

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.

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 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.

Universities and colleges

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

Railways
JR West - Kobe Line JR West - Fukuchiyama Line
 * Kōshienguchi - Nishinomiya - Sakura Shukugawa
 * Namaze - Nishinomiyanajio - Takedao

Hankyu - Hankyu Kobe Main Line Hankyu - Hankyu Imazu Line Hankyu - Hankyu Kōyō Line Hanshin Electric Railway - Hanshin Main Line Hanshin Electric Railway - Hanshin Mukogawa Line
 * Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi - Shukugawa
 * Kōtōen - Mondo-Yakujin - Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi - Hanshin-Kokudō - Imazu
 * Shukugawa - Kurakuenguchi - Kōyōen
 * Naruo - Mukogawajoshidai-Mae - Kōshien - Kusugawa - Imazu - Nishinomiya - Kōroen
 * Mukogawa - Higashi-Naruo - Suzaki - Mukogawadanchimae

Highways

 * JP Expressway E1.svg Meishin Expressway
 * JP Expressway E2A.svg Chūgoku Expressway
 * Hanshin Expressway Route 7 Kita-kobe Line

Sister and friendship cities

 * Sister cities
 * 🇺🇸 Spokane since September 1961 (Washington, United States)
 * Friendship cities
 * 🇧🇷 Londrina since May 1977 (Paraná, Brazil)
 * Shaoxing since July 1985 (Zhejiang, China)
 * 🇫🇷 District of Lot-et-Garonne and Agen since April, 1992 (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France)
 * 🇺🇸 Burlington (Vermont, United States)
 * 🇯🇵 Amami since October 1981 (Kagoshima, Japan) (formerly Naze)
 * 🇯🇵 Yusuhara since March 1991 (Kōchi, Japan)

Local attractions

 * Hirota Shrine - Hirota Shrine was called Nishi no miya ("the West Shrine") by aristocrats in Kyoto. That is the origin of the city name.
 * Hyogo Performing Arts Center
 * Kannō-ji
 * Koshikiiwa Shrine
 * Nishinomiya Shrine
 * Mondo-yakujin (Tōkō-ji)
 * Kitayama Botanical Garden
 * Mount Kabuto
 * Arima Onsen（Neighboring city, but formerly Arima County. One bus ride from Nishinomiya Kitaguchi station and Shukugawa station and Hanshin Nishinomiya station and JR Nishinomiya station.）

In popular culture

 * Much of Grave of the Fireflies is set in Nishinomiya.
 * Nishinomiya is the setting for the popular light novel, manga, and anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Notable people from Nishinomiya

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