Many of our valued customers may have asked themselves that very question. Well, the answer just might surprise you. You see, Hankyu is much more than simply a freight forwarder. Founded by Ichizo Kobayashi in1907 and based out of Osaka, Japan, Hankyu is a company rich in history, tradition, and stature. Born of the Hankyu Electric Railway Company, the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group (which consists of more than 350 companies worldwide) is an international conglomerate with business interests in the transportation, travel, retail, entertainment, and numerous other industries. Our 5 star hotels, upscale department stores, and world renowned entertainment has earned us a reputation that but a few companies in all of the world can truly enjoy. Read further, and learn what else Hankyu does:
The Hotel Hankyu International
With it’s prestigious address in the very heart of Osaka, and only minutes from Hankyu’s Umeda Station, this 5-star hotel is one of 19 others in the Hankyu Hotel Chain. It is an exclusive luxury hotel, offering guests the highest standards of service, accommodations and facilities. With it’s gorgeous atrium lobby (done in an Italian renaissance style), contemporary art in all facilities, and traditional Japanese style service, this hotel is among the best in the world.
Hankyu Corporation
(formerly Hankyu Electric Railway Co.): The place where the Hankyu legacy all began. It started as the "little engine that couldn't" a profitless project that shouldn"t have been built - so everyone said. Then, it flourished guided by the innovative leadership of an extraordinary transport manager - Ichizo Kobayashi. Soon after, our railway was heralded as one of Japan"s most prosperous business enterprises, and contributed greatly to the growth of Japan"s new urban middle class after World War I. It now serves as a main artery of Japan"s public transportation infrastructure and provides its services to more than 1.8 million railway passengers daily.
Ichizo Kobayashi
Ichizo Kobayashi was the man behind it all. The founder of the Hankyu Toho Group, Mr. Kobayashi numbers among the greatest entrepreneurs that Japan has ever produced. At the age of 34, he founded the Hankyu Electric Railway (Hankyu Corporation at present), followed by Hankyu Department Stores, and Toho Co., Ltd. (movie and theatrical production). Thus, the Hankyu-Toho Group was organized.
Truly a brilliant man, in 1940, he was appointed to the political post of Minister of Commerce and Industry and then in 1945 to Minister of State. He continued to establish many new business organizations, producing astounding results as their director. Among them, and perhaps the most famous, was the foundation of the Takarazuka All Girl´s Revue. But many equally successful ventures would follow. In fact, so diversely talented was Mr. Kobayashi, that once during a voyage to Europe, he developed a taste for beef curry and rice. Recognizing it’s potential in Japan, he immediately hired away the ships cook for his restaurant and sought to popularize it. It quickly became his Hankyu restaurant’s signature dish, and was so popular that Mr. Kobayashi contracted with farmers to raise cattle exclusively for Hankyu. Eventually, the curry dish became a staple of the Japanese diet, and is now almost as widely consumed as sushi.
Takarazuka
Founded in 1914 by Mr. Kobayashi, Takarazuka (it means "treasure mound") is an extremely popular type of Japanese theatre comprised of all-female performers who play both the male and female roles in musicals and revues. Mr. Kobayashi wanted to create actresses "more suave, more affectionate, more courageous, more charming, more handsome, and more fascinating than a real man." The result is a cultural fixture equivalent in popularity to the American soap opera. The Takarazuka Revue is perhaps Japan’s premier musical theatre company, drawing an annual attendance of 2.5 million people. It’s challenging three-year training program (The Takarazuka Music School) is a hybrid of the Julliard and a military academy. Roughly 400 15 to 18-year-old students endure grueling course loads in ballet, modern dance, choral singing, traditional Japanese music, and the art of the tea ceremony.
Hankyu Express International
Hankyu Express International has two divisions: the travel division, and the cargo division (which is whom you work for). The travel division is one of Japans leading travel agents, arranging domestic and international travel for both individual travelers and large groups. Their four call centers across Japan are staffed by over 300 operators who take thousands of calls each day from customers wanting to make travel arrangements. They offer special interest tours and arrange world conferences for groups ranging from 300 to 10,000 people. The cargo division (Hankyu Cargo) is Japan’s 4th largest freight forwarder (in terms of size), and number one in terms of quality and customer service. Founded in 1948, Hankyu was the first IATA approved agent in Japan and the first to establish a U.S. based operation. We now have offices located at strategic ports all over the world, and are well positioned to offer our clients a truly global logistics solution. Our Narita Cargo Center (shown above, and considered our flagship facility in Japan) has four floors, and boasts over 150,000 square feet of warehouse and office space.
Toho Co Ltd
Another Hankyu creation, the Toho Co. produces and distributes motion pictures, theatricals, television programs, and commercials and is (to a lesser degree) involved in the real estate and restaurant business. However, they may be most famous for a greenish, fire-breathing giant known as Godzilla that roared onto the screen in 1954, and started a flood of monster movies that continues to this day. Since then, Toho has produced more than 20 Godzilla movies over the past 45 years, capturing the hearts and minds of little boys all over the world as he tore through Tokyo destroying houses, power lines and probably a few Hankyu trains as well.
Hankyu Realty
Hankyu Realty Co., Ltd. was established in 1952 as an affiliate to Hankyu Corporation. It operates office buildings in Osaka and other cities along the Hankyu railway lines, but perhaps the most recognizable achievement is our HEP Five Entertainment Park. Located in the heart of “Hankyu Village”, this complex sports a huge 75-meter diameter Ferris wheel of singular uniqueness, adding substance and brilliance to the urban landscape. The outstanding characteristic of this Ferris wheel is that the passenger loading bay is actually located on the 7th floor of a 10-floor building, enabling the passengers to experience being drawn up through the building into the sky, and giving them the key to a 106-meter-high magnificent view. The project was awarded a "Certificate of Merit" in the prestigious "Innovative Design & Construction of a New Project" division of the International Design & Development Awards Program.
Hankyu Braves
Although no longer owned by Hankyu, the Hankyu Braves remain a huge part of the Hankyu legacy. The braves were founded in 1936 and joined Japan’s Pacific League in 1950. One of the strongest teams in the league, the Braves fielded such stars as pitcher Tetsuya Yoneda who compiled a lifetime 350-285 record with 3388 strikeouts and a 22-year 2.91 ERA, and Yutaka Fukumoto who stole a record 1065 bases. Faced with financial troubles brought on by the rapid fall of the Japanese economy in the 1980’s, Mr. Kobayashi was forced to choose betweenselling the Braves baseball team or the Takarazuka Revue. Wanting desperately to ensure the longevity and purity of theTakarazuka (the only remaining performing art of it’s kind), he reluctantly chose to sell his cherished baseball team to the Oriental Leasing Co. (Orix) in 1988. They are now known as the Orix Blue Wave (for whom Ichiro Suzuki once played).
Hankyu Department Stores
Although competitively priced, the Hankyu Department Store chain is considered primarily an upscale establishment and caters mainly to the wealthier class of business professionals that frequent the downtown Osaka area. The company boasts 11 stores throughout Japan and is home to some of the most recognizable names in retail. Our flagship store is located directly above our railway station in the heart of Osaka (known as “Hankyu Village”). This unique location was the brainchild of our founder Ichizo Kobayashi who sought to take advantage of the tremendous growth in passenger traffic along the rail lines at Hankyu’s own Umeda Station–an idea quickly copied by others.
Similar in style and prestige to a Saks Fifth Avenue or Nordstroms, each store is brightly illuminated by beautiful crystal chandeliers and sparkles throughout. When combined with impeccable Japanese hospitality and service, the end result is a truly elegant shopping experience.
So popular are our Hankyu department Stores that in the 1980’s their collective revenue exceeded $1 billion per year, with the flagship Osaka store regularly reporting sales volume exceeding that of any other department store in Japan.
Hankyu Bus and Taxi
In addition to providing rail transportation to millions of citizens, Hankyu also owns a bus company and taxi company. With almost a thousand transit and tour buses, and about the same number of taxis, the Hankyu name is well represented throughout Japan. In fact, you could literally have quite a “Hankyu” evening in Japan. You might start out by taking the Hankyu train into downtown Osaka, where you could shop at our famous Hankyu department store, have dinner at one of many Hankyu restaurants, take in a (Hankyu) Toho movie, grab a Hankyu Taxi to catch the Takarazuka Revue, spend a few hours at the Hankyu Entertainment Park, perhaps pick up a book from Hankyu’s “Book 1st” bookstore for some late night reading, and end your evening by taking another Hankyu taxi back to the fabulous Hotel Hankyu International for a nightcap and some rest. And even then, you will have barely scratched the surface of the more than 350 companies owned by Hankyu.
Well, now you know just “Who Hankyu is”, and why we take
such pride in our work. You see, as a member of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group, we realize that we have
an image to protect and a standard to uphold. Our employees realize this
too. They understand that they work for more than just another company -they
work for
Hankyu.
