Nishinomiya (西宮市, Nishinomiya-shi) is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 November 2022, 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 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 Kōshien Stadium, where the Hanshin Tigers baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball championship is held.
Hanami. Go to Shukugawa Park (夙川公園) end of March/early April for Nishinomiya's most popular hanami location. There are over 2300 cherry blossom trees along the Shukugawa River that stretches all the way from Hanshin Koroen Station to Hankyu Kurakuen-guchi station. Get off at either of these train stations or Hankyu Shukugawa Station to enjoy the festival.
National High School Baseball Championship (全国高等学校野球選手権大会). Every summer in August, Japan's national high school baseball tournament is held at Koshien Stadium. Games are free so it's an excellent opportunity to participate in this popular national event!
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Nishinomiya has access to three airports: Kansai International Airport (), Kobe Airport (), and Osaka International Airport (). Despite its name, Osaka International Airport is a domestic airport. There is bus service to and from the airport for ¥700 to Hanshin Koshien Station and Hankyu Nishinomiya-kitaguchi Station. Kansai International Airport also has bus service for ¥1700 (or ¥3000 round trip) to and from JR Nishinomiya, Hankyu Nishinomiya-kitaguchi, and Hanshin Nishinomiya stations.
There are three main train lines running through Nishinomiya: JR, Hanshin (阪神), and Hankyu (阪急). They run parallel to each other and go from east to west, with the Hanshin and Hankyu lines connected by the short Imazu Minami line between Hanshin Imazu station and Nishinomiya-kitaguchi (西宮北口). Hanshin and Hankyu buses also run throughout the city, though it can be difficult to travel from north to south.
The city is the setting for much of the Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies. There was heavy damage throughout the city from the Great Hanshin Earthquake on January 17, 1995. This city is also the setting for the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. While taking pictures of Nishinomiya-Kita High School (where much of the anime is set) from the outside is perfectly legal, entering the gates to take pictures inside is not. Hankyu Imazu line is the setting for Hankyu Railway movie, where stations from Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station to Takarazuka Station appear in the movie.
