Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament

The National High School Baseball Championship (全国高等学校野球選手権大会, Zenkoku Kōtō Gakkō Yakyū Senshuken Taikai) of Japan, commonly known as "Summer Koshien" (夏の甲子園, Natsu no Kōshien), is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament. It is the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan. The tournament, organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and Asahi Shimbun, takes place during the summer school vacation period, culminating in a two-week final tournament stage with 49 teams in August at Hanshin Koshien Stadium (阪神甲子園球場, Hanshin Kōshien Kyūjō) in the Koshien district of Nishinomiya City, Hyōgo, Japan.

Hanshin Koshien Stadium (阪神甲子園球場, Hanshin Kōshien Kyūjō), commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It was the largest stadium in Asia at the time it was completed, with a capacity of 55,000. The name Kōshien (甲子園) comes from Wood Rat of the sexagenary cycle system. The year of the stadium's founding, 1924, was the first year kōshi (甲子) in the cycle. The design of the stadium was heavily influenced by the Polo Grounds in New York City. In 1936 it became the home stadium for the Osaka Tigers (current Hanshin Tigers), now with the Central League. On February 14, 1964, Hanshin, the Tigers' owners, was appended to the name of Koshien Stadium. In addition to the annual National High School Baseball Championship, played in August, the stadium hosts the annual National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in March, a smaller, invitational tournament. Both tournaments are generally known simply as Kōshien. The high school tournaments are given a higher priority, with any tournament games that need to be rescheduled forcing the Tigers to postpone conflicting home games. It also hosts Japan's American college football national championship game, the Koshien Bowl. Legendary baseball player Babe Ruth played an exhibition game at Koshien on his Japan tour in 1934. There is a plaque at the stadium commemorating the event.

Kōshien Station (甲子園駅, Kōshien-eki, station number: HS-14) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Amagasaki Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway. It is the nearest station to Hanshin Koshien Stadium.

Kusugawa Station (久寿川駅, Kusugawa-eki, station number: HS-15) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Amagasaki Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway.

Naruo - Mukogawajoshidai-Mae Station (鳴尾・武庫川女子大前駅, Naruo - Mukogawajoshidai-Mae, station number: HS-13) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Amagasaki Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway. In the official indication, the punctuation after Naruo (鳴尾) is a centered dot.

Hanshin-Kokudō Station (阪神国道駅, Hanshin-kokudō-eki) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Nishinomiya Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hankyu Railway. The station name, meaning "Osaka–Kobe National Highway Station", is after Japan National Route 2 which passes near the station.

Hyogo College of Medicine (兵庫医科大学, Hyōgo ika daigaku) is a private university in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan, established in 1972 by Shigeki Morimura.

Higashi-Naruo Station (東鳴尾駅, Higashi-Naruo-eki, station number: HS-53) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Nishinomiya Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway.

Suzaki Station (洲先駅, Suzaki-eki, station number: HS-52) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Nishinomiya Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway.

Mukogawadanchimae Station (武庫川団地前駅, Mukogawadanchimae-eki, station number: HS-51) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Nishinomiya Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway.

The Kōshien Hotel (甲子園ホテル, Kōshien Hoteru) was a Mayan Revival-style hotel in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan, constructed by Arata Endo, a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is now used as a hall forming part of Mukogawa Women's University, and is known as the Kōshien Kaikan (甲子園会館).

Mukogawa Station (武庫川駅, Mukogawa-eki, station number: HS-13) is a passenger railway station located on the border between the cities of Amagasaki and Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Thus, the respective east and west entrances to the station are in different cities. It is operated by the private transportation company Hanshin Electric Railway.