Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens appears to be getting a spring renewal.
Here↓
It looks like a total of 38 stores will newly open, including 27 new shops and 11 renovated ones.
A children’s shoe brand called IFME will open its first location in western Japan.The shoes seem to be designed with children’s growth in mind, helping promote arch development.
There are lots of shops that caught our eye, so for now we’ll summarize them in a table.
New Shops Opening
To make them easy to spot, restaurants and food shops are marked in red. There will be 7 of them in total.
| Opening Date | Store Name（Reading） | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Late January | SAINT JAMES（Saint James） | Women’s・Men’s |
| March | BAGEL&BAGEL（Bagel & Bagel） | Bakery・Sweets |
| ACE BAGS&LUGGAGE（Ace Bags & Luggage） | Bags・Miscellaneous Goods | |
| 三田屋本店－やすらぎの郷－ | Steak・Roast Ham | |
| セイハダンスアカデミー | Dance School | |
| Early March | IFMEイフミー | Children’s Shoes |
| LARUTA by natural couture （Laruta by natural couture） | Women’s | |
| B Kastane（B Kastane） | Women’s | |
| ララヴィ | Cosmetics | |
| STYLEMIXER（Stylemixer） | Women’s・Men’s | |
| YANUK（Yanuk） | Women’s・Men’s | |
| ココディール | Women’s | |
| RAGEBLUE（Rageblue） | Men’s・Women’s | |
| mystic（Mystic） | Women’s | |
| フリースピリッツ | Bags・Wallets・Small Leather Goods | |
| Mid-March | 鯛塩そば灯花 | Ramen |
| MERRELLメレル | Outdoor・Men’s・Women’s・Kids | |
| おぼん食堂 16 CASA UN SIX（Obon Shokudo Casa Unsix） | One Soup and Six Dishes | |
| KEEN GARAGE（Keen Garage） | Shoes | |
| クリスピー・クリーム・ドーナツ | Doughnuts | |
| With Green（With Green） | Salad Bowls | |
| 果汁工房果琳 | Fruit Juice | |
| A.P.C.（A.P.C.） | Women’s | |
| Late March | Spick ＆ Span（Spick & Span） | Women’s |
| April | AKOMEYA TOKYO（Akomeya Tokyo） | Food・Lifestyle Goods |
| ドラキッズ | Early Childhood Classes | |
| Late April | ACTUS（Actus） | Interior Goods |
Women’s fashion specialty shops make up the largest group, with 10 stores. Children-oriented businesses also stand out, including IFME for kids’ shoes, SEIHA Dance Academy, and Dorakids early childhood classes. We’re also curious to see what the furniture store ACTUS will be like.
Stores Being Renewed
Eleven existing stores will be renewed.
| Opening Date | Store Name（Reading） | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 12/15（Fri.） | ふりそでMODE wedding・BOX（Furisode Mode Wedding Box） | Furisode Kimono |
| Mid-January | FANCL（Fancl） | Cosmetics・Health Foods |
| March | Alley to w closet（Alley to w closet） | Women’s |
| Mid-March | オルビス | Cosmetics |
| AMERICAN HOLIC（American Holic） | Women’s | |
| earth music&ecology（earth music & ecology） | Women’s | |
| Onitsuka Tiger（Onitsuka Tiger） | Women’s・Men’s・Fashion Accessories | |
| ete（ete） | Accessories | |
| B-DESIGN by じぶんまくら（B-DESIGN by Jibun Makura） | Bedding | |
| Late March | コロンビア | Men’s・Women’s・Kids |
| Undecided | LACOSTE（Lacoste） | Men’s・Women’s・Accessories・Shoes |
We Took a Quick Look at What Kind of Food Shops They Are
BAGEL&BAGEL（Bagel & Bagel）
BAGEL&BAGEL is a bagel specialty shop with about 40 locations across Japan. They also sell a kit called “Ouchi de Bagel” that lets you make freshly baked bagels at home.
Bagel specialty shops have opened in Nishinomiya too, around Nigawa and Hanshin Nishinomiya, and they’ve been really popular, so maybe there’s a bit of a bagel boom going on. Since bagels don’t use butter, milk, or eggs, they seem to have a healthy image. The dough is also on the firmer side, so you chew more, which may be another reason.
三田屋本店－やすらぎの郷－
三田屋本店 is a steak restaurant headquartered in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture. Their ham is also very famous.
They appear to use Saroma beef from the northeastern edge of Hokkaido, Japanese Black wagyu, and Kobe Beef. The most expensive item at Kobe Hankyu is the “Kobe Beef Loin Steak Course,” priced at an impressive 18,000 yen! Wonder what that’s like!
鯛塩そば灯花
鯛塩そば灯花 is a sea bream salt ramen specialty shop that uses carefully selected ingredients, mainly red sea bream from Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture.
From 鯛塩そば 灯花 ｜ 灯花
The noodles are custom-made thin straight noodles, and the sea bream soup is clear and golden. It looks beautiful, but apparently the soup is also incredibly good, with yuzu peel adding fragrance, making it the kind of bowl you end up drinking to the last drop.
おぼん食堂 16 CASA UN SIX
おぼん食堂 16 is a restaurant where you can enjoy set meals built around “one soup and six dishes.” Right now, there’s one on the 7th floor of Grand Front Osaka South Building.
They seem to offer things like a pre-meal “green juice” made directly from fresh vegetables, along with a main dish, three small side dishes, sixteen-grain rice, and pork miso soup. Being able to eat such a wide variety of side dishes sounds like a nice point.
クリスピー・クリーム・ドーナツ
This doughnut specialty shop originated in the United States. One of its features may be that it has lots of photogenic and cute-looking doughnuts.
From ドーナツ｜クリスピー・クリーム・ドーナツ
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts apparently first arrived in Japan in 2006, and back then people lined up every day, sometimes waiting an hour. In Nishinomiya, the only location had been at LaLaport Koshien, so plenty of people may be happy to see one coming to Gardens too.
With Green（With Green）
With Green is a salad bowl specialty shop with 24 locations nationwide, using carefully selected Japanese vegetables.
Who knew vegetables could look this colorful! It looks seriously delicious. I checked some reviews, and apparently you can order your own custom mix of ingredients, including things like roast pork, making it a good way to fill up while still eating healthy.
果汁工房果琳
果汁工房果琳（Kajukobo Karin） is a juice bar originally run by a fruit specialty shop found in commercial facilities across Japan.At LaLaport Koshien, it operates under the Fruit Bar AOKI brand. Actually, Gardens’ Wonder Fruits is part of the same group too.
