city, Hyōgo ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, at the mouth of the Mukogawa (Muko River) on the Inland Sea. It is part of the Hanshin Industrial Region. The city occupies a narrow lowland between Ōsaka-wan (Ōsaka Bay) and interior Rokkō-zan (Mt. Rokkō). Nishinomiya is famed for its fine sake (rice beer). Its coastal areas are assigned to industry (metals, machinery, chemicals, rubber goods, soap, cosmetics, and beer). The city has a professional baseball stadium and has excellent railway and road connections with adjacent urban areas. It was heavily damaged by bombing during World War II and by a major earthquake in the region in 1995; both times it was rebuilt. Pop. (2005) 465,337.