Welcome to “Miyakko Detective,” a section where readers can investigate Nishinomiya mysteries and feel like detectives themselves.Well, technically you really are detectives. This article will keep getting updated as tips come in from readers(Miyakko Detectives).
@nishi2 receives tons of tips and emails every day, including requests like “Please look into this!”
The @nishi2 team is pretty capable, but there’s only so much we can do on our own, so we’ve decided to ask our readers for help～(^o^)／
目次
What We’d Like Miyakko Detectives to Tell Us
This reader request comes from a Nishinomiya local born in 1983.
Key points of the request
Location: Near Prela Nishinomiya
Period: Around the 1990s (before the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake)
Request: Wants to see photos of a self-service udon shop
“I’d love to see nostalgic photos of the self-service udon vending machine.”
According to the @nishi2 team’s memories…
- There was a large hair salon around where Prela Nishinomiya is now
- The self-service udon shop was either on the floor below it or to the south
- Farther south was Tomiyama Shoes
- Nichii’s bicycle parking lot
- Across the street were Mister Donut and Nichii
This area on the map
The address is around 4-8 Takamatsucho, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
The pachinko parlor is no longer there. Photo taken in November 2020
Information from Miyakko Detectives
Nice to meet you. Thank you as always for your fun articles. About the self-service udon shop: I didn’t know the name myself, but when I asked my husband, he said it was apparently a shop called Moon 21. Under the hair salon, I think there was a somewhat flashy men’s clothing store (suits in purple and other loud colors with huge shoulder pads, that kind of thing), and next to it was Sanshin Clothing. Moon 21 was also in that same row. Since it was an unmanned shop, it became a topic of conversation at the time, but because this was before mobile phones were widespread, photos may be hard to find. I tried searching too, but nothing came up. I thought I’d at least let you know the shop name. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
It was a vending-machine-only shop in the same row as Tomiyama called MOON24, right? I went there several times and ate the udon too. It was a proper mechanical udon vending machine. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos, but it was such an innovative shop that I still remember it. I’d love to see photos too.
I don’t have any photos of the self-service udon shop, but I think the building was called moon (Moon)! So nostalgic.
I used to go there often when I was in junior high school. So I guess that would be about 30 years ago. You could watch the production process through the glass as a big machine made it. There were lots of other vending machines too, mainly food-related ones. Sorry I don’t have any photos. I contacted you because it brought back memories.
When I was in high school, I often went to the shop next to Nichii that was full of vending machines! (I was in high school between 1992 and 1995.) I used the udon vending machine too～! We didn’t have mobile phones back then, so I don’t have photos from the time, but I do have a photo of the same machine. Please feel free to use it. I think there were all kinds of vending machines besides udon too～.
Thank you, Miyoyon, for the valuable photo
I saw the article about the udon vending machine. I think it was probably “Moon 24.” I used to go there often with friends, and we ate the udon a lot too. I believe one bowl was 150 yen, and I remember toppings like thin fried tofu and tempura being available separately, but at some point all the toppings disappeared and only chopped green onions remained. The noodles, to put it kindly, had a firm bite; to put it less kindly, they were rubbery (lol). But they were definitely tasty. There were several other vending machines lined up too, selling drinks from various companies, snacks, cup noodles, and so on. It brought back memories, so I wanted to share, though some details may be off.
I always enjoy reading your articles. I’m a former Nishinomiya local. I don’t have any photos, but I remember the self-service udon! It tasted good, and it was one of my favorite places. After that, it turned into a karaoke place fairly soon, didn’t it? I hope you can find photos!
Investigation Summary
- The shop name was “Moon,” “Moon 21,” or “Moon 24”
- There was a shop specializing in vending machines
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any photos from that time, but Miyoyon sent us a photo of the same type of machine used back then.
And now, suddenly, a survey♪
Since there are three possible names for the shop, we’d like to run a survey about the name. Thank you for your cooperation.
What was the name of the self-service udon vending machine shop that used to be in Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi?
- ムーン1.6%(1票)
- ムーン2139.1%(25票)
- ムーン2459.4%(38票)
kkさん also told us that after this udon shop, the location became a shop called Mac-House! Does anyone remember that?
Finally
Requests like this, where we can share old memories together with our readers, are very welcome!
Of course, we’re also waiting for plenty of “Please look into this～” requests.
Send us your information here↓↓
Please let us know through the information submission form, LINE, or Instagram.
Thank you!
Before the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, I believe there was a supermarket called Nichii where the Hyogo Performing Arts Center is now. Across the road on the east side of that spot (west of the Hankyu Imazu Line), there were a shoe store and a small arcade, and I remember there being a self-service udon shop there. It wasn’t made by a person; you could watch a machine prepare it in an assembly-line-like process. It felt more like a large-scale vending machine.
I’ve also asked for information on a certain message board, but so far I’ve only been able to confirm that such a shop existed, not any images.
I would be very grateful if you could ask people for information so I can see those nostalgic photos once again. Thank you very much.