major employer. Due to its transportation connections and location, with easy access to Himeji (about 10 minutes), Kobe (about 30 minutes) and Osaka (about 50 minutes) by train, numerous bedroom communities have developed for commuters to Kobe and Osaka. Education Kakogawa has 28 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools operated by the city government and six public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. Hyogo University is located in Kakogawa. The city also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The nursing school of University of Hyogo is located in Akashi. Transportation Railway JR West – San'yō Main Line (JR Kobe Line) - JR West – Kakogawa Line - - - Sanyo Electric Railway - Main Line - - Highways San'yō Expressway (Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Shimonoseki) (Kobe, Okayama) Sister city relations - Maringá, Brazil, from July 1973 - Auckland, New Zealand, from May 1992 Local attractions Kakurin-ji - Buddhist temple with Taishidō completed in 1112, and Main Hall in 1397. Both are National Treasures of Japan. Saijō Kofun Cluster, National Historic Site Special Dishes Katsumeshi is a specialty of Kakogawa. The dish is essentially a beef cutlet served on top of plate of rice with demi-glace sauce. Notable people from Kakogawa Shinsaku Himeda, Japanese cinematographer. Tomonori Jinnai, Japanese comedian, tarento, and presenter Kōhei Funae, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 6-dan Juri Hara, Japanese professional baseball player (pitcher, Tokyo Yakult Swallows) Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball, best-selling author and television personality Noizi Ito, Japanese light novel and video game artist (Shakugan no Shana) Hiromitsu Kanki, Japanese former professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 7-dan Toshiaki Kubo, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan Toshiaki Nishioka, Japanese former professional boxer Megumi Ōji, Japanese actress Sachi Tainaka, Japanese singer and J-pop idol Kozo Takase, Japanese announcer and news anchor Masaya Takatsuka, Japanese voice actor Juri Ueno, Japanese actress Tomomi Ogawa, musician See also Higashi-Kakogawa References External links Kakogawa City official website Cities in Hyōgo Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan