Welcome to “Nishitsu: What Do You Call It?”, a section where we ask readers what they call different things and items around Nishinomiya and turn the results into articles.
This time’s question is: what do you call “Yamate Kansen”?
We received 453 responses to the “What do you call Yamate Kansen?” survey(^^)/
Thank you so much for all the responses😀
Now, let’s take a look at the results♪
目次
Survey Questions
- What do you call Yamate Kansen? (Yamate Kansen / Yamakan / Other)
- If you chose “Other,” please tell us exactly what you call it
- If you have any little stories or things you’d like to share about Yamate Kansen, feel free to write them. Stories from before it fully opened are very welcome too
- How old are you?
- Please tell us the area where you live. (Whatever area name feels right to you is fine)
Those were the five questions😀
Results: What Do You Call Yamate Kansen?
The results were so one-sided you might wonder if the survey even needed to be done.
The “Yamakan” group won by an overwhelming margin〜😃
It was a minority, but we also found that some people do use the official name, “Yamate Kansen.”
Now we’re curious what the “Other” people call it〜
What Did the “Other” Respondents Say?
Route 2 1 vote
Ha ya zankou 1 vote Sorry, I’m not sure if this was a typo or if it’s read “hayazankou”…
Yamakansen 1 vote
Yamakansen
I just realized that in my head, “Yamate Kansen” and the name “Yamakan-dori” used in Amagasaki had gotten mixed together, and I had remembered it wrong.
30s
Thank you for setting us up so nicely☺️
Apparently, in Amagasaki, “Yamate Kansen” Is Called “Yamakan-dori”
That’s right!!
Yamate Kansen is an east-west arterial road about 30 km long that runs through four cities: Kobe’s Nagata Ward, Ashiya, Nishinomiya, and Amagasaki.
But for some reason, once it enters Amagasaki, it seems to be called “Yamakan-dori” instead of Yamate Kansen.
In the survey results, “Yamakan-dori” didn’t appear among the responses🙄
But if you look at Google Maps, it’s shown as “Yamakan-dori” in Amagasaki.
It was such a mystery that we contacted the Hyogo Prefecture Public Works Department🤗
The official name is “Yamate Kansen,” but people came to call it the easier-to-say “Yamakan-dori.”
The road signs say “Yamate Kansen.”
We decided to contact Amagasaki City too〜
but there didn’t seem to be anyone who actually called it “Yamakan-dori.”
Because it’s easy to say😁
Memories and Stories About “Yamate Kansen”
Yamakan
My husband says, “Do you know the old Tenchan Road?”
50s
Yamakan
I was surprised to find Yamakan connected after being away from Nishinomiya for 20 years. I left in 1998, and back then I thought it would never be connected in my lifetime.
50s
Yamakan
About 40 years ago, it was broken up around Ashiya and Higashinada, but we often used it as a kind of shortcut route. Come to think of it, “shortcut maps” were popular too.
60 or older
Yamakan
Around Ryodocho in Nishinomiya 50 years ago, there was really nothing there and it was pitch dark. It’s so different now, and I’m amazed by how developed it has become❗️
60 or older
Yamate Kansen
It’s a road I often used when driving toward Kobe. The roadside trees are beautiful, and it feels nice to drive on. Before the whole road opened, having to detour in Ashiya was inconvenient.
50s
Yamakan
This winter, I was surprised when the large pedestrian overpass at the Katsuragi intersection, which let you cross in every direction, was removed. The work required full road closures over two nights, but the landmark suddenly disappeared, so it has had a bit of an impact, like almost missing where to turn.
50s
Yamate Kansen
They’re still doing construction in the eastern part of Nishinomiya, right? I wonder how many years it has been since construction first began.
50s
Yamakan
I have fond memories of having to detour around the Ashiya section.
50s
Yamakan
The western side of the Ashiyagawa River took forever to open. I’d love to know the stories behind that area. I really want to know. 💴 and all that🤣💦
60 or older
Yamakan
The Yamakan in front of my house used to be a grassy area, and I practiced walking on stilts there.
20s
Yamakan
It no longer exists now, but I heard that in the future it would connect from the intersection in front of the Hankyu Bus headquarters on National Route 176 in Toyonaka City all the way to Suma Ward in Kobe. However, construction has still not started on the section along the Toyonaka-Amagasaki city border west of the Airport Line.
40s
Yamakan
I live between Hankyu Shukugawa Station and JR Ashiya Station. When I first moved here, Yamakan was only open east of Shukugawa Church, and on the Ashiya Station side, only the section between the Miyagawa and Ashiyagawa rivers was open. I remember winding through narrow roads between houses every day. After so many years pass, it gets hard to remember what the scenery used to look like.
50s
Yamakan
I want to know why the name changes between Yamakan-dori and Yamate Kansen.
30s
Yamakan
I didn’t know Yamate Kansen continues west all the way to Nagata Ward. Someday I want to bike the whole route from Tonouchi in Amagasaki to Nagata!
40s
Yamakan
My apartment building is right in front of Yamakan. I was worried about the noise because there’s a lot of traffic, but after around 7 p.m. the number of cars drops, and it’s surprisingly quiet.
40s
Yamakan
Before it opened up to the front of Shukugawa Station, dropping people off and picking them up at the station was really difficult.
60 or older
Yamakan
Around 1959, it wasn’t paved. Near Futamicho and Koshienguchi Kitamachi, high-voltage power lines ran overhead. To the east, it ended at the Mukogawa River. There was a golf practice range and management building on the riverbed. I went to Mukogawa Kindergarten in Matsunamicho, and since the road was full of stones and no cars passed through, I used to run around and play there with friends.
60 or older
Yamakan
There are a lot of traffic lights, so traffic moves slowly. There’s no signal at the crosswalk west of Shukugawa Station, so I’m careful when driving there.
40s
Yamakan
Long ago, the Yamakan near my house was a dead end!
50s
Yamakan
In the past, Yamakan wasn’t such a big road, but these days it has become a major road with two lanes in each direction.
40s
Yamakan
In the old days, the road didn’t continue partway through, so I didn’t use it much.
50s
Yamakan
Apparently, there had been a road plan since right after the war. The area along the road has changed almost beyond belief.
60 or older
Yamakan
At the time of the Osaka Expo, an elephant walked from Kobe Port to Suita, spent one night bathing in the Mukogawa River, and went back via Route 2. (It gave birth during the Expo, so there was one more elephant on the way back.)
50s
Yamakan
When I told a college friend who lived in Amagasaki, “In Nishinomiya, it’s called Yamate Kansen,” they said, “Huh? Isn’t it Yamakan-dori?” and wouldn’t believe me.
30s
Yamakan
The name changes once you enter Amagasaki. It’s Yamakan-dori.
40s
Yamakan
Until the bridge over the Mukogawa River opened, the only ways to get to Amagasaki were Gari Bridge or Muko Ohashi on Route 2, so it was super inconvenient. When I was in high school, I often went to the takoyaki shop across from Maison Koshien along Yamakan.
40s
In Closing
Thank you for sharing so many memories from before Yamate Kansen fully opened.
The area has changed so much that it’s hard to even remember what the old Yamate Kansen was like.
At Nishitsu too, we got caught up reminiscing, saying things like, “That spot used to be a dead end, didn’t it?” and “I used to take that narrow road〜”
The Post-Evaluation Report for Yamate Kansen includes a few glimpses of the old Yamate Kansen, so if you’re interested, check it out here.
This post-evaluation report has a “needlessly cute font.” It’s a little rounded and apparently called “Anzu Moji”
