Nishinomiya

thumb|right|270px|Nishinomiya City Hall thumb|right|270px|Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 1985 thumb|right|270px|Hirota Shrine 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 . 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.