Netorabo Research’s 2025 ranking of “Cities in Hyogo Prefecture Where People Want to Live Permanently” has named Nishinomiya No. 1 once again～.
This ranking is based on 930 votes from a 2025 survey conducted by Netorabo among men and women living in Hyogo Prefecture.
According to the article, Nishinomiya’s appeal is something like this:
- Great transportation access! Both Osaka-Umeda Station and Kobe-Sannomiya Station are about 20 minutes away
- Bedroom communities such as the upscale residential area “Nishinomiya Nanaen” are popular as high-end neighborhoods
- Plenty of large commercial facilities, including “LaLaport Koshien” and “Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens”
- Home to Hanshin Koshien Stadium, the sacred ground of baseball
- Also home to Nishinomiya Shrine, known for the annual “Fukuotoko” lucky man race
- Many parks, including the Shukugawa riverbanks, famous for cherry blossoms
On social media, people have also been giving it high marks with comments like “a nice, livable city”“it really is a sake town～”“a fiercely competitive sweets area”“easy to get to both Osaka and Kobe”“a convenient and beautiful city”.
Cherry blossoms at Kitayama Botanical Garden
Shin-Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor
Hanshin Koshien Stadium
Nishinomiya Shrine
Now, let’s take a look at the top 10.
| Rank | Municipality/Ward | Votes |
| 1 | Nishinomiya City / Kobe City Higashinada Ward ※tied | 106 |
| 3 | Akashi City | 95 |
| 4 | Kobe City Chuo Ward | 57 |
| 5 | Ashiya City | 51 |
| 6 | Kobe City Nada Ward | 50 |
| 7 | Kobe City Suma Ward | 48 |
| 8 | Sanda City | 47 |
| 9 | Kobe City Tarumi Ward | 43 |
| 10 | Himeji City / Takarazuka City ※tied | 36 |
Kobe City’s Higashinada Ward had the same number of votes, tying for first place. Its convenient transportation access and many Japanese sake breweries are similar to Nishinomiya City～.
Nishi2 has also published articles in the past about Nishinomiya ranking highly.
Lastly
It really makes you feel that Nishinomiya has so many things to be proud of. There’s a saying in Japanese, “Sumeba miyako,” meaning “wherever you live becomes the capital,” but Nishinomiya might be more like “never lived there, but already the capital”. Convenient, rich in nature, and easy to live in—it really does sound perfect for settling down permanently～!
