Many of you may have been surprised by the news that Ichiro announced his retirement. Apparently, Ichiro was seen running across the rocky slopes of Nishinomiya’s Hōraikyō in an NTT West commercial last year.
The location is here↓
The address is Shiose-cho, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
It Had Been Getting Attention in an NTT West Commercial
Kobe Shimbun NEXT | General | When Was Ichiro in Kobe? Internet Buzzes Over New Commercial Locations
According to the linked article, Hōraikyō in Nishinomiya and other locations appeared in an NTT West commercial from May 2018.
The commercial apparently used to be available on NTT West’s website, but it is no longer there. I couldn’t find it online either.
What Is Hōraikyō?
Located in Shiose-cho, it is Nishinomiya’s very own mini Grand Canyon.
To put it a little more formally, it is a gorge of exposed granite. Below Hōraikyō flows the Ōtada River, an upstream tributary of the Muko River.
– Miya.m‘s file
Hōraikyō is a gorge in the Rokko mountain range in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. It is part of the designated area of Setonaikai National Park.
～omitted～
Because its countless stark white, sword-like rock formations create such an unreal landscape, it has often been used as a filming location for movies and TV dramas, including “Utsumi no Wa,” based on a work by Seichō Matsumoto. Today, it is widely known as one of the representative hiking routes into the Rokko mountain range.
Hōraikyō – Wikipedia
By the way, it might be fun to go hiking at Hōraikyō, where Ichiro appeared. You could look for some good hiking gear at the recently opened Workman Plus, or at Decathlon, which opens on the 29th.
