Hanshin

Hanshin is a term used in Japan to describe the Osaka–Kobe metropolitan area in the Kansai region. The name combines the major port cities of Osaka and Kobe and is commonly used in geography, transportation planning, and regional development to denote the urban corridor and its surroundings in Osaka Prefecture and Hyōgo Prefecture.

The Hanshin region includes core cities such as Osaka, Kobe, Nishinomiya, Amagasaki, and Itami. It is a dense economic and cultural zone with port facilities, manufacturing, and services, supported by an extensive rail and road network that links the two prefectures and their suburbs.

Hanshin is also used in the names of regional institutions and infrastructure. Hanshin Electric Railway is a private railway company operating in the Osaka–Kobe corridor, and the Hanshin Tigers are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in the area, playing at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya.

The term is associated with the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which caused extensive damage in Kobe and surrounding municipalities and prompted long recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Other uses include the Hanshin Expressway network, a system of expressways that connect Osaka and Kobe and support regional transport and logistics.