Nishinomiya Station (JR West) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

located in Ikeda-chō (池田町), Nishinomiya, Hyōgo

Nishinomiya, Hyogo

is a city located in Hyōgo, Japan, between the cities of Ōsaka and Kōbe. On April 1, 2005, the city of Nishinomiya celebrated its 80th anniversary. It 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...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

operated by the West Japan Railway Company

West Japan Railway Company

, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...

(JR West). The station is on the JR Kobe Line

JR Kobe Line

The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture...

which runs between Osaka Station

Osaka Station

is a station on the West Japan Railway Company located in the Umeda district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is the city's main rail terminal in the north....

and Himeji Station

Himeji Station

on the West Japan Railway Company is located in the heart of Himeji, Japan. Himeji is a major stop on the Sanyō Main Line, and the western end of the JR Kobe Line...

; part of the main Tōkaidō Line

Tokaido Main Line

The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities...

. As a part of the JR West Urban Network, the following cards are accepted: J-Thru Card, ICOCA

ICOCA

The card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on JR West rail network in Japan. The card was launched on November 1, 2003 for usage on the Urban Network, which encompasses the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe...

, Suica

Suica

is a rechargeable contactless smart card used as a fare card on train lines in Japan. Launched in November 2001, the card is usable currently in the Kantō region, at JR East stations near Sendai and Niigata...

, and PiTaPa

PiTaPa

is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used in the Kansai region of Japan. The name PiTaPa is an acronym of "Postpay IC for Touch and Pay"...

Name

From 1874, when passenger service began at Nishinomiya Station, the name of the station was written as "西ノ宮". It included the katakana

Katakana

is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...

character "ノ

No (kana)

の, in hiragana, or ノ in katakana, is one of the Japanese kana, each of which represents one mora. In the gojūon system of ordering of Japanese syllables, it occupies the 25th position, between ね and は . It occupies the 26th position in the iroha ordering...

" (no), which was not included in the city's name (西宮), to indicate the correct pronunciation of the station name. The city had been requesting that the "ノ" be removed to match the city's name. On March 18, 2007, in coordination with the opening of Sakura Shukugawa Station

Sakura Shukugawa Station

is a train station located in Kagura-chō , Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, and is operated by the West Japan Railway Company. The station is on the JR Kobe Line which runs between Osaka Station and Himeji Station; part of the Tōkaidō Main Line. The station was built between two existing JR...

, the "ノ" was removed from the station name.

Station Placement

The section of the JR Kobe Line

JR Kobe Line

The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture...

on which Nishinomiya is located runs on four tracks, meaning that there are two tracks for each direction. Similar to other nearby stations such as Sannomiya Station

Sannomiya Station (JR West)

is a train station located in Nunobiki-chō, Chūō Ward, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, and is operated by the West Japan Railway Company. The station is on the JR Kobe Line which runs between Osaka Station and Himeji Station; part of the Tōkaidō Main Line...

, Nishinomiya Station is of the island type, with two above-ground platforms which service four tracks. The inner tracks, Nos. 2 and 3, are for Local and Rapid Service trains, which do stop at this station. On the outside tracks, Nos. 1 and 4, Special Rapid Service and Limited Express

Limited express

A limited express is a type of express train service. It refers to an express service that stops at a limited number of stops in comparison to other express services on the same or similar routes.- Japan :...

trains pass and do not stop.

Gates

The station has two entrances that lead to an integrated ticket gate. The entrances are located on the north and south sides of the station. The gate is located one flight down from ground level. After passing through the gate, a passenger must take the stairs, escalator or elevator up to the platform.

Ticket office

The station has a Midori-no-Madoguchi, the JR ticket office equipped with MARS

MARS (ticket reservation system)

, which stands for MAgnetic electronic seat Reservation System or, more recently, Multi Access seat Reservation System, is a train ticket reservation system used by the railway companies of Japan Railways Group and travel agencies in Japan.The host of the system is located in Kokubunji, Tokyo and...

terminals. It is open everyday from 05:30 until 23:00.

Platforms

1	■ JR Kobe Line JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture... (Tōkaidō Line Tokaido Main Line The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities... )	rapid services for Sannomiya and Himeji in the rush hour on weekdays
2	■ JR Kobe Line JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture... (Tōkaidō Line Tokaido Main Line The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities... )	local trains and rapid services for and
3	■ JR Kobe Line JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture... (Tōkaidō Line Tokaido Main Line The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities... )	local trains and rapid services for , , and
4	■ JR Kobe Line JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Sanyō Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture... (Tōkaidō Line Tokaido Main Line The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities... )	part of rapid services for Amagasaki, Ōsaka and Kyōto in the morning

During rush hour, Track Nos. 1 and 4 are used for Rapid Service, while Local trains stop at Track Nos. 2 and 3. This allows people to transfer quickly from Local to Rapid Service trains, and allows the Rapid Service trains to pass ahead of the Local trains, which operate on the same track, unlike the Special Rapid Service and Limited Express trains. During the afternoon and night hours, when there is less traffic, Rapid Service trains stop at Track Nos. 2 and 3 only, and Track Nos. 1 and 4 are roped off as they are not in use.

Nishinomiya Station also has two short spurs

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

that allow non-passenger trains (e.g. freight or maintenance) to stop and allow other traffic to pass.

Adjacent stations

South Exit

Route 2
Route 2 (Japan)
National Route 2 is a major highway on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū in Japan. It follows the old Sanyōdo westward from the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region to the city of Kitakyūshū in Fukuoka Prefecture, passing through the San'yō region en route...
FamilyMart
FamilyMart
is a convenience store franchise chain first opened in Japan on September 1, 1981. FamilyMart is Japan's third largest convenience store chain, behind 7-Eleven and Lawson, and the largest chain store in South Korea. FamilyMart is owned and overseen by FamilyMart Company, Limited...
Frente Nishinomiya
Nishinomiya Ekimae Post Office
Nishinomiya Fire Station

North exit

Platform 1

Hankyu Bus

Nishinomiya City Route for and

Hanshin Bus

Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Route for Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi
Nishinomiya Yamate Loop for
Jūrinji Loop for Jūrinji
Platform 2

Hankyu Bus

Nishinomiya City Route for Nishinomiya City Hall, and Asanagicho

Hanshin Bus

Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Route, Nishinomiya Yamate Loop, Jūrinji Loop for
Platform 3

Hankyu Bus

Sakura Yamanami Bus for Nishinomiyaebisu , , Arima Onsen, Ryutsu Center minami and Hankyu Bus Yamaguchi Office
Platform 4

Hankyu Bus

Sakura Yamanami Bus for Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi

South exit

Airport Limousine

Hankyu Bus, Hanshin Bus, Osaka Airport Transport, Kansai Airport Transportation Enterprise, Nankai Bus

for Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport
is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
Platform 2

Hanshin Bus

Amagasaki Ashiya Route for
Nishinomiya Amagasaki Route for and
Nishinomiya Danchi Route for and Hamakoshien Danchi
Nishinomiya Hamate Route for Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi
Platform 3

Hanshin Bus

Nishinomiya Hamate Route for Hanshin Nishinomiya and Marina Park
Amagasaki Ashiya Route for

Timeline

May 11, 1874 - Station opens for passenger service with the name 西ノ宮駅 at the same time rail service begins between Osaka Station
Osaka Station
is a station on the West Japan Railway Company located in the Umeda district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is the city's main rail terminal in the north....

and Kobe Station.
November 15, 1944 - Hanshin Mukogawa Line
Hanshin Mukogawa Line
is a branch line of the Hanshin Electric Railway Main Line in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Stations:...

operating between Nishinomiya Station and Suzaki Station begins freight service.
1958 - Hanshin Mukogawa Line between Nishinomiya Station and Suzaki Station ceases operation. Later, in 1970, the rail line was pulled up.
November 1, 1986 - Freight handling ceases.
- East of Nishinomiya Station is the Asahi Beer Nishinomiya Brewery
  Asahi Breweries
  Asahi Breweries, Ltd. is a leading brewery and soft drink company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company has a 40% share of the Japanese beer market....
  
  and even further east is Sumitomo Cement Service Station. There was a private line running to both of these places which handled freight.
April 1, 1987 - With the breaking up of Japanese National Railways
Japanese National Railways
, abbreviated or "JNR", was the national railway network of Japan from 1949 to 1987.-History:The term Kokuyū Tetsudō "state-owned railway" originally referred to a network of railway lines operated by nationalized companies under the control of the Railway Institute following the nationalization...

into separate individual business units, Nishinomiya Station began operating under the West Japan Railway Company
West Japan Railway Company
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...

.
December 1, 2003 - Rapid Service trains begin continuous service to Nishinomiya Station. Until this time, Rapid Service trains only stopped during morning and evening rush hour.
March 18, 2007 - Station renamed 西宮駅 in coordination with the opening of Sakura Shukugawa Station
Sakura Shukugawa Station
is a train station located in Kagura-chō , Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, and is operated by the West Japan Railway Company. The station is on the JR Kobe Line which runs between Osaka Station and Himeji Station; part of the Tōkaidō Main Line. The station was built between two existing JR...

.

Beginning

Originally built around Nishinomiya Jinja as an inn town for travelers going further west and for those going to the east and central parts of Japan, beginning in the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, Nishinomiya flourished as an important trading port and fishing harbor, and because the population was large, a train station was placed there. Originally, it is said, that a Katakana

Katakana

character "ノ

No (kana)

" was inserted into the station's name in accordance with the policy of the government railway

Japanese Government Railways

The Japanese Government Railways was the national railway system directly operated by the central government of Japan until 1949. It is a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the Japan Railways Group.- Name :...

because people from Tokyo could not read the names correctly. In the same way, a "ノ" was inserted to the name of JR Sannomiya Station (三ノ宮駅)

Sannomiya Station

is located in the heart of Kobe, Japan. This station is the main railway terminal of Kobe.- Lines :*Hanshin Electric Railway *Hankyu Railway *Kobe Municipal Subway...

, which opened on the same day as Nishinomiya Station. However, truth behind this is not clearly known. The national railways later scrapped this naming method; for example, it named Nishinomiya Najio Station

Nishinomiyanajio Station

is a train station on the West Japan Railway Company Fukuchiyama Line in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:*There are 2 side platforms serving a track each.-Adjacent stations:...

on the Fukuchiyama Line

Fukuchiyama Line

The is a railway line of West Japan Railway between Osaka and Fukuchiyama, Japan. Within JR West's "Urban Network" covering the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan region, the line from Osaka to Sasayamaguchi is also called the JR Takarazuka Line...

without a "ノ" in 1986.

Unlike Hanshin Electric Railway

Hanshin Electric Railway

is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.The second character for Osaka and the first character for Kobe combine to form the company name, 阪神, which can be read Han-shin.IC cards are accepted when...

, which was built after the opening of JR Nishinomiya and ran directly between Osaka and Kobe, at the time passenger service began, JR Nishinomiya Station was built away from the city's center in a slightly agricultural area. The rail that passed through divided the city north and south, it is said that this caused the flow of people to begin moving east and west.

Competitor stations

Later, after the construction of the Tōkaidō Main Line

Tokaido Main Line

The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities...

through to Kobe

Kobe

, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...

, Hanshin Electric Railway and Hankyu Railway

Hankyu Railway

is a Japanese private railway that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of major businesses operated by Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. The railway's main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka...

each built their own lines connecting Osaka to Kobe. In the same area as JR Nishinomiya Station, Hanshin Nishinomiya Station

Nishinomiya Station (Hanshin)

is a train station on the Hanshin Electric Railway Main Line in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The station is called "Hanshin Nishinomiya" or "Han-Nishi" to distinguish the name from Nishinomiya Station on the JR West Tōkaidō Line and Nishinomiya-kitaguchi Station on Hankyu...

and Hankyū Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station

Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station

is a railway station of Hankyu Railway in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.It is one of the main stations in Nishinomiya City, with Hanshin Nishinomiya Station and JR Nishinomiya Station.-Lines:*Hankyu Kobe Line*Hankyu Imazu Line...

were built, which decentralized rail service in Nishinomiya, and provided customers other rail service options.

In 1934, the government railways built Kōshienguchi Station adjacent to Nishinomiya Station. The number of passengers using Kōshienguchi Station quickly exceeded that of Nishinomiya Station. During era of Japanese National Railways

Japanese National Railways

, abbreviated or "JNR", was the national railway network of Japan from 1949 to 1987.-History:The term Kokuyū Tetsudō "state-owned railway" originally referred to a network of railway lines operated by nationalized companies under the control of the Railway Institute following the nationalization...

, that number was approximately double.

Rapid service

In 1957, a study was conducted to find a station that would be suitable as a Rapid Service stop. An argument unfolded between the adjacent Ashiya Station

Ashiya Station

Ashiya Station is the name of two train stations in Ashiya, Hyōgo, Japan:* Ashiya Station * Ashiya Station...

and Nishinomiya Station. In the end, it was decided that Rapid Service trains running on the inner tracks of the four track line, the Local service tracks, would stop at Ashiya Station. The Rapid Service trains operating on the two outer tracks would stop at Nishinomiya Station. However, in 2003, it was decided that all Local and Rapid Service trains would stop at both stations.

With the area around the station quickly becoming developed, and with the aforementioned fact that all Rapid Service trains stop at Nishinomiya Station, the difference between the number of passengers using Nishinomiya Station and Kōshienguchi Station suddenly began shrinking.

Renaming

On March 18, 2007, in coordination with the beginning of passenger service at Sakura Shukugawa Station

Sakura Shukugawa Station

, at the request of the city, the "ノ" was removed from the station's name and renamed 西宮駅 while the "ノ" in the name of JR Sannomiya Station

Sannomiya Station

is located in the heart of Kobe, Japan. This station is the main railway terminal of Kobe.- Lines :*Hanshin Electric Railway *Hankyu Railway *Kobe Municipal Subway...

was retained.

Streetcar connection

From 1926 to 1975, on the Route 2

Route 2 (Japan)

National Route 2 is a major highway on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū in Japan. It follows the old Sanyōdo westward from the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region to the city of Kitakyūshū in Fukuoka Prefecture, passing through the San'yō region en route...

, which passes in front of the station, there used to be an inner-city street car which shared the road with other vehicle traffic.

The closest street car stop to the Nishinomiya Station was named Nishinomiya Ekimae (西宮駅前).

Bus connection

After Hanshin Electric Railway ceased the street car service, the Amagasaki-Kobe Line of Hanshin Railway Bus replaced it. At the south exit to the station, a roundabout was built, and the Nishinomiya Ekimae bus stop was moved to this location and renamed to Kokudō JR Nishinomiya Eki Mae (国道JR西宮駅前). In addition, on the inside of the roundabout, another bus stop was established with the name JR Nishinomiya Ekimae (JR西宮駅前), allowing busses running in both directions to be able to line up outside the station at one place. In either case, both bus stops were called Nishinomiya Ekimae (西宮駅前), without the "ノ" even during the time when the station name itself was written with it.

External links

Ekikara - JR Nishinomiya Station (Japanese)
JR Odekake - Nishinomiya Station (Japanese)

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