Welcome to “Nishitsu: What Do You Call It?”, a series where we ask readers what they call different things around Nishinomiya and turn the results into an article.
This time, the question is: What do you call “National Route 2”? Here
We received 851 responses to the survey asking what people call “National Route 2”😀
Thank you, as always, for taking part in our surveys😄😄😄
Now, let’s take a look at the results.
Survey Details
What do you call “National Route 2”?
- Nikoku
- Route 2
- Hanshin Kokudo
- Other
- If you chose “Other,” please tell us what you call it
- For all survey respondents: If there’s a reason you call it that, please tell us
Those were the six survey items.
Results: What Do You Call “National Route 2”?
It turned into something like a Nikoku vs. Route 2 showdown.
- More than half said Nikoku
- 42.7% said Route 2
- A smaller group said Hanshin Kokudo
National Route 2 was originally called Hanshin Kokudo, so it makes sense that some people still call it Hanshin Kokudo.
Hanshin Kokudo
Because I’m familiar with the Hanshin Kokudo Line that used to run above Route 2. I miss those streamlined trains nicknamed “kingyo-bachi” (goldfish bowls).
50s
Here’s a video provided by Ryuta Ieiri↓↓
Hanshin Kokudo
Because my parents’ generation, now in their 80s, called it that. By the way, they called Route 43 “Nikoku” because it was the Second Hanshin Kokudo.
50s
Hanshin Kokudo
By the way, we call Route 43 “Nikoku,” short for Second Hanshin Kokudo. At Hanshin Electric Railway’s Amagasaki Station, there used to be signs for Hanshin Kokudo at the north exit and Second Hanshin Kokudo at the south exit. I don’t know what it’s like now, but I’ll check next time I’m nearby.
60 and over
I’m curious about the other names, so let’s introduce those first(^^)/
Mekake-sen
Because “No. 2” can mean a mistress.
50s
Mekake Kaido
Because it’s Route 2.
60 and over
R2
Because it sounds cool.
20s
2nd street
Because I like Second Street.
30s
No. 2
Before I knew it, I was calling it No. 2!
30s
Kokudo
For people from Hiroshima Prefecture, “kokudo” means Route 2. I think especially people who live in cities and towns that Route 2 passes through often call it “kokudo.”
50s
“National Route 2.”
Apparently the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s official name does not include the word “line.”
60 and over
This is from a quiz article, but it mentions that National Route 43 was called “Second Hanshin Kokudo” and was known as “Nikoku”↓↓
Ichikoku
Because we call National Route 43 “Nikoku,” we called Route 2 “Ichikoku” by comparison.
50s
Ichikoku. Nikoku refers to National Route 43.
Because National Route 2 was the first national road, and Route 43 was the second.
60 and over
Ichikoku
These days I say Route 2, but when I was little and Route 43 was built, Route 2 was called Hanshin Kokudo, and Route 43 was called Second Hanshin Kokudo. So we called Route 2 “Ichikoku” and Route 43 “Nikoku.”
60 and over
Hankoku
Short for Hanshin Kokudo.
50s
First Hanshin Kokudo / Ichikoku
That’s what people around me called it when I was a child.
60 and over
※Source: Nishinomiya no Konjaku, p.31
Kokudo
It was the only big road.
60 and over
Ichikoku
Because it was the First Hanshin Kokudo. “Nikoku” referred to Route 43, because it was the Second Hanshin Kokudo.
60 and over
There were no comments, but there were also names like these:
What Do People Call “National Route 2” by Age Group?
- The younger the age group, the more likely people are to say Route 2
- As the age group gets older, more people say Nikoku
- Among people 60 and over, fewer said “Route 2” or “Nikoku” compared with other age groups, and more said “Hanshin Kokudo”
We’ve done quite a few “What do you call it?” articles so far, but this was the first time the results differed so clearly by age group.
It seems younger people are more likely to say “Route 2.”
There are probably people out there getting just as excited as Shacho @ Nishitsu😆😆😆
We also received this opinion:
Route 2
I’m from Ashiya, and this is the first time I’ve heard “Nikoku.”
When I was doing sales work in Nishinomiya and Amagasaki and had about 200 construction-related clients, everyone called it Route 2…
Most of them were in their 40s to 80s…
Actually, I’ve never heard Hanshin Kokudo either. Other than Amatakarazuka Line and Yamanote Kansen, I’ve only ever heard roads called by their route numbers.
Maybe they were just being kind and saying it that way for me…
I wonder…
Asuka2222
What Do People Call “National Route 2” by Area?
When we compared results by area, there wasn’t anything especially noteworthy, so we compared people inside Nishinomiya with people from outside the city and outside the prefecture.
- Among people inside the city, slightly more people call it Route 2 than Nikoku
- Among people from outside the city or outside the prefecture, more than 60% call it Nikoku
In Closing
What did you think of the results for what people call National Route 2??
The results by age group and by inside/outside Nishinomiya and outside the prefecture really made me go “ohhh,” and I personally had a lot of fun putting the data together♪
