阪急

Keiretsu-type company operating primarily in the Kansai region of Japan. The kanji in its name literally mean "Osaka Express." Hankyu started out with a line from Osaka to Takarazuka and Minoh in 1910, and added mainlines to Kyoto in 1928 and Kobe in 1936. The entire Hankyu railway network today looks something like this:

                                                  @
                                                  |
    @ = all trains stop              K Y O T O    @
    o = local trains stop                         |
                                              o   o
                                              |   |
                                              o   o
                                              |   |
                                              o   o
                                               \  |
                                                `-@
                                                  |
                         N O S E                  o
                                                  |
                            o                     o
                            |                     |
                            o                     o
                            |                     |
                            o    M I N O H        @
                            |                     |
                            o        o            o
                            |        |            |
                   @--@--@--@        o            o
   TAKARAZUKA     /          \       |            |
                 @            @      o            o
                /              \    /             |
               @                '@-'          o   @
              /                  |            |   |
             @                   @            o   o
             |                   |            |   |
 K O B E     o                   @            o   o
             |                   |            |   |
 @           o                   o            o   @
 |           |                   |            |   |
 o           o                   o            o   o
 |           |                   |            |   |
 o           o       o           o            o   o
 |           |       |           |            |   |
 o           o       o           o            o   o
 |           |       |           |            |   |
 o           o       o           o            o   o
 |           |       |           |             \ /
 @---o---o---@---o---o---o---o---@----o----o----o
         |   |                   |              |
         o   o                   o              o
         |   |                   |              |
         o   o                   @              o

                                   O  S  A  K  A

At Sannomiya, Hankyu turns into the Kobe-Kosoku Railway. At Tenjimbashisujirokuchome, it turns into the Sakaisuji Line.

Hankyu owns Hep Five and Hep Navio, the two heppest entertainment buildings in northern Osaka, and owns a number of underground shopping concourses in the Umeda district, among its other gazillion real estate holdings. You'll find a Hankyu Department Store by each of the Hankyu Railway terminals: the largest one is in Umeda.