Sonoda Station
Overview. Layout. There are two island platforms and an island platform serving 4 tracks elevated. Surrounding area. Although technically situated in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, it is a five-minute walk to the neighboring Osaka Prefecture. Trains run from Umeda to at ten-minute intervals, with the frequency of Umeda-bound trains increasing into rush hour. Below the station itself exists a small shopping centre called Sonoda Hankyu Plaza (園田阪急プラザ) which undertook a major renovation completed at the end of April 2006. It now consists of many restaurants, a Matsumoto Kiyoshi pharmacy, a Mister Donut, a branch of the  Kohyo chain of supermarket, a Docomo mobile phone shop as well as various smaller retailers. Despite the station being named Sonoda, the name of the area it is found in is actually slightly different. The specific location of the station is Higashi-Sonoda (東園田町) and so this can unfortunately sometimes result in confusion. History. Sonoda Station opened on 20 October 1936. The station was transformed from a surface-level station to an elevated station in 1980. Work took 2 years to complete. Station numbering was introduced on 21 December 2013, with Sonoda being designated as station number HK-05. Sonoda Station