The women’s clothing specialty shop “ひつじや” in the Koshienguchi Honwaka Shopping Street has closed.
(Information provided by Tsukushi-san and Monchan @ Nishitsu SP)
Here it is↓
It seems the shop closed as of Friday, October 25. Apparently, it had been in business here for 78 years.
Here’s the location on the map↓
The address is 3-22 Koshienguchi, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
Area Around “ひつじや”
If you go this way, you’ll find Oinari-san, Yakiniku Tonya Yamiichi, Sandwich Haruiro, FamilyMart, and more, leading toward JR Koshienguchi Station.
If you go in the opposite direction, you’ll find Mikazuki Croquette, Yakiniku Kimura, the recently opened izakaya∞Kokoru∞, and more, heading toward National Route 2.
Monchan @ Nishitsu Supporter shared some memories of “ひつじや.”
These are memories from about 50 years ago. There was a chair in the back, and when I was little, I would sit there. I remember a woman, maybe the wife, always being kind to me, and a man, maybe the husband, taking me to see the parrot 🦜 that was in the shopping street 😊
Back then, it seems they carried slightly upscale women’s clothing. Maybe they also had men’s clothing? My memory is a little fuzzy…
It was a favorite shop of my grandmother (born in Taisho 3, 1914) and my mother-in-law (born in Showa 1, 1926). This was before Printemps Koshien opened, and I vaguely remember women going to clothing shops in Koshienguchi Shopping Street and Akebono Market (a market that used to be on the north side after getting off at Kusugawa Station) 🤭
The last time I went to Hitsujiya was about 14 years ago, when I stopped by with my mother-in-law on the way back from a walk. The owner was there, my mother-in-law chatted with him a little, and we left without buying anything. That was the last time…
In Closing
Nishitsu has covered the closures of several long-established shops before, but a 78-year history may be the longest we’ve seen so far. Seventy-eight years ago was 1946, the year after World War II ended, when Japan was in the midst of postwar reconstruction. It was also the year the Constitution of Japan was promulgated and the 6-3-3-4 school system was introduced. Thank you for all your years of work in Koshienguchi.
*Thank you to Tsukushi-san and Monchan @ Nishitsu SP for providing the information!!
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