Nishinomiya, Hyogo Pref. – If it weren’t the spiritual home of Japanese baseball, there would be little to distinguish the area around Koshien Station from any other suburban locale in the nation.
A large shopping mall, an imposing elevated highway connecting Osaka and Kobe, wide boulevards, and a few ordinary restaurants and bars dot this area of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture — and for roughly two-thirds of the year, that’s about the extent of the activity permeating the neighborhood.
But when the Hanshin Tigers are playing, or the , the area transforms into a sea of baseball fans from Kansai and beyond, all making a pilgrimage to their holy land: Koshien Stadium.
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