Nishinomiya Gardens new shopping mall in Kansai
Just in time for the recession a massive new shopping mall has opened up between Kobe and Osaka. Called “Nishinomiya Gardens (J website)” it features over 400 shops (lots of fancy boutiques, not much practical stuff!) and restaurants, cinemas etc.
Located 5 minutes walk from Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi station (15 mins from Osaka Umeda by rapid express, about 25 from Kobe) you can spend a whole day looking through this amazing shrine to the Japanese religion of shopping.
Footfall on the opening day was rumored to be over 50,000 people and it continues to be crowded at weekends and on holidays. Well worth checking out as a tourist attraction in its own right!
