Nishinomiya
Nishinomiya is best known as the home of Kōshien Stadium, where the Hanshin Tigers baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball championship is held. It is also the location of Kwansei Gakuin University, a private university founded by American missionaries in the nineteenth century. Nishinomiya is an important commercial and shipping city in the Kansai region with the third largest population in Hyōgo Prefecture. As of October 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 483,598 and a population density of 4,800 persons per km. The total area is 99.96 km. Topography . Nishinomiya City is located in the south-east of Hyōgo Prefecture between the cities of Kobe and Osaka. It is bordered by Osaka Bay to the south, the cities of Amagasaki, Itami and Takarazuka along the Mukogawa and Nigawa rivers to the east and by a part of the Rokko Mountains and Kobe City to the north. The city can be divided into two areas: a mountainous area in the north and a coastal plain in the south. Situated in the middle is Mount Kabuto (309 meters), a landmark of the city. Economy. Furuno, a global electronics company, whose main  products include marine electronics and medical equipment, has its headquarters in the city. Agriculture. Since most of the farmland is in the urban district, Nishinomiya agriculture is in a difficult situation; it worsens every year. Efforts are being made to improve farming to make it profitable by growing such marketable products as soft vegetables for the big markets of Osaka and Kobe. Other efforts include effective land use by growing crops in greenhouses using hydroponic techniques and development of techniques for safe products. Residential districts. Nishinomiya is situated between the major cities of Kobe and Osaka. Luxury neighborhoods are common  in this city, especially in areas near Ashiya. Some of the shopping malls in Nishinomiya are the Lalaport Koshien and the Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens.