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Kurakuen
Kurakuen Japan > Hyogo > Nishinomiya city > Kurakuen region

Kurakuen is located in Hyogo prefecture, Nishinomiya City. Kurakuen is a place where it is solemn and quiet. It is also well known to be high class residential areas in Kansai.

Overview
Kurakuen is located in the north central to west area of near mountain area where it is compromised from Kurakuen one to six district. In Nishinomiya city, there are seven places where the name of the region ends with "園　en (Garden)" which is called as seven Nishinomiya gardens such as Kurakuen and Kotoen. Out of all the seven region Kurakuen is located in the more hilly residential sections. This region is well known to be a place where many business leaders and intellectual people live. Especially in Kurakuen forth, fifth and sixth district has many fancy mansions.

Geography
Kurakuen is located in southeastern part of mount Rokko with the view of Kobe city, Osaka and the ocean. It has a spectacular view of being able to look over from Hanshin to central part of Osaka and even the Osaka bay.

Some part of Kurakuen fifth district is has restriction on maximum building coverage ration and site area. In 1924 station named Kurakuen-guchi in Hankyu Koyo line was established but from the kurakuen region it is about 1km away with steep hill on the way. In order to get to the Kurakuen-guchi station it takes about 25min on foot.

Hideki Yukawa known to be awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics used to live in Kurakuen from 1933 to 1945.

History
Before 1911 when innovation started to make land for holiday homes, Kurakuen used to be just a forest. The name of the region Kurakuen came from a man named Isaburo Nakamura from Osaka city who contributed in opening the land. The name Kurakuen is named after a gourd that Nakamura had called Kuraku. The name Kuraku 苦楽 has a message that after a suffrage there will always be happiness.

Nakamura owned a company named Nakamura Meriyasu. Nakamura even contributed a lot after Kurakuen was build. He helped to develop the infrastructure by increase roads and connecting lights and telephones to the region.

Around the same time as the cultivation of Kurakuen in 1914 hot spring with radium was found. Soon after that Kurakuen was known to be a recreation area. In 1919 many hotels were made and became one of the famous visiting area.

But after 1938 there was the Hanshin flood disaster which put an end on Kurakuen being a tourist spot and became a residential area.

Famous People who are Relevant to Kurakuen

 * Fumiko Makino (Written) the daughter of Isaburo Nakamura
 * Hideki Yukawa (Physicist) The man who was awarded as The Novel Prize in Physic
 * Hiroshi Shimomura (Newspaper proprietor,Politician and poet)
 * Tetsuko Yamaguchi (A Haiku Poet)
 * Claude Ciara (Talent, Guitarist, Musician)
 * Yoshitomo Tani and Ryoko Tani (Pro Bassball player and Olympic athlete)
 * Yasushi Tao (Coach of Pro Bassball team)
 * Hisashi Yamada (Pro Bassball player)

Kurakuen Facilities

 * Nishinomiya City Kurakuen elementary School
 * Hyogo Prefecture North Nishinomiya High School
 * Nishinomiya City Kurakuen Middle School
 * Kurakuen Guest mansion
 * Kurokawa Laboratory
 * Horie music box Museum

Kintetsu

 * Hankyu Koyo Line Kurakuen-Guchi (25min on foot)
 * JR Kobe Line (30min on foot)
 * Whichever station you use you will have to clime a big hill in order to reach Kurakuen

Hankyu Bus

 * Number 4 bus (Nishinomiya City Bus) - which drives around Hankyu Kobe line and Shukugawa Station.
 * Number 13 bus (Ashiya City Bus) - Which goes to Ashiyahama-Eigyosho stop to Hanshin main line Ashiya Station to Hankyu main line Ashiyagawa Station to JR Kobe line Ashiya Station and then to Kurakuen.
 * Number 11 bus (Ashiya City Bus) - Which goes to Ashiyahama-Eigyosho and without stoping at Ashiya Stations and going straight to Kurakuen.
 * Number 15 Bus (Ashiya City Bus)- which goes to Hanshin, Hankyu, JR Ashiya Station and then to Kurakuen.

Related topic

 * Hanshin Modernism region
 * The seven "En (園)" in Nishinomiya
 * Hanshin Electric Railway
 * Kurakuen-Guchi Station
 * Settudenki Automobile

Citied
This is the translation of Wikipedia Kurakuen Cited in Japanese

Japanese version of description of Kurakuen: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/苦楽園