Hankyu Railway Is Polling X Users on Nishikita vs Kitaguchi

Hankyu Railway was running a survey on X asking what people call Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station besides the “Nishikita” and “Kitaguchi” camps.
(This info was provided by Kagayaki 509-go @ Nishitsu SP)

#阪急電鉄駅の略称
Nicknames are OK too!

This time, we’re asking about 【Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station】 on the Kobe Line!
(We’ve heard there are the Nishikita camp and the Kitaguchi camp… but are there others too…🤔)

Please tell us what you or your family call it, names you secretly use but don’t say out loud, names you’ve heard others use, and so on! pic.twitter.com/kOFvp4XGMS

— Hankyu Railway 【Official】 (@hankyu_ex) January 20, 2025

Here are the results ↓

As expected, the major ones seem to be Nishikita and Kitaguchi!
There were also a lot of names related to the stadium, and some people read the kanji “西北” in a way that isn’t “Nishikita”…🤣
The point about distinguishing it from stations run by other railway companies also made sense!

It’s surprising how many names came up…! https://t.co/OnJXcD0UK4 pic.twitter.com/KYKwe4J3zq

— Hankyu Railway 【Official】 (@hankyu_ex) January 21, 2025

Here’s a quick summary.

We tried compiling the shorthand names for Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station

• The “Kitaguchi” camp
  The more common one seems to be “Kitaguchi.” It appears especially common among longtime locals and people who have lived in Nishinomiya since before the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Some comments said things like, “People who have lived here since before the earthquake often call it Kitaguchi,” “My parents called it Kitaguchi from the time I was born,” and “40 years ago, everyone around me called it Kitaguchi.”
• The “Nishikita” camp
  The name “Nishikita” seems to have grown relatively more common in recent years. It feels like people from outside the area and younger generations tend to use “Nishikita.”
  There were comments like, “Sometimes people don’t understand unless I say Nishikita, so I switch depending on the situation,” “My kids just normally say Nishikita,” and “After Gardens opened and more people started coming from outside, Nishikita became more common.”

Some comments that caught our attention

1. Maybe the shift from Kitaguchi to Nishikita is just a change of the times
   About 40 years ago, it was almost always “Kitaguchi,” but after Gardens(opened in 2008), “Nishikita” increased. On top of that, people coming in from outside helped spread “Nishikita,” so it may be fair to say this is a generational shift in what people call the station.
2. Shorthand names for other Hankyu Railway stations
   Along the same Hankyu lines, examples include “Mondo-Yakujin → Mondo,” “Kurakuen-guchi → Kurakuen,” and outside the city, “Kawanishi-Noseguchi → Noseguchi.”
3. A gap in perception between locals and outsiders
   Locals have long been used to saying “Kitaguchi,” so it was interesting to see comments from people who were confused when outsiders called it “in front of Gardens.” Someday, it might really stop being Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi and become Gardens or something! Do your best, ACTA!!!
4. Switching names because of parental influence
   There were also voices saying, “My parents always called it Kitaguchi, but in my generation, I use Nishikita depending on the situation.” It’s interesting when people in the same family use different shorthand names, isn’t it?

Personally, I originally used to say Kitaguchi all the time, then became part of the Nishikita camp, but even now, when I’m not paying attention, I still say Kitaguchi. There are probably quite a few people like that, right?

※Kagayaki 509-go @ Nishitsu SP, thank you for the tip!!
■■■Send us your tips!■■■