chubunagano
Matsumoto
Matsumoto is a castle city in central Nagano, in the Chubu region, set in a wide basin beneath the Northern Japan Alps about two and a half hours by train from Tokyo.
Matsumoto Castle at dusk, Nagano
- Prefecture
- Nagano
- Region
- Chubu
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
A black castle over its moat, and the snowy wall of the Alps behind it.
Matsumoto grew up around its castle, whose keep was raised in the 1590s and has stood ever since, never burned and never rebuilt. It is one of twelve castle keeps in Japan to survive from the age of the castles and one of only five designated National Treasures. In 1872 it was sold at auction to be pulled down for its timber, and was saved by the citizens of the town, who have looked after it ever since.
The city around it is easy and civilised. Its old merchant streets keep their white-walled storehouses, its rivers run clear out of the mountains, and it has long been a city of learning and craft: the Kaichi School of 1876, the first school building to be named a National Treasure, stands a few streets north of the castle, and a fair of Japanese crafts fills the parks every year. It is also the home city of Yayoi Kusama, whose work has a permanent home in the city's art museum.
Matsumoto is the gateway to the Japan Alps. Kamikochi lies about ninety minutes to the west, the wasabi fields of Azumino half an hour to the north, and Hakuba and the Kiso Valley an hour or so away, which makes the city a fine base for two or three nights among the mountains.
Our tours stay overnightOur tours visit for the dayOn a Custom Tour of Japan
see and do
What to see in Matsumoto
Matsumoto Castle
A National Treasure keep of five tiers and six floors inside, completed around 1594, its walls lacquered black, giving it the name Crow Castle. Steep wooden stairs climb to the top floor, with the Alps beyond the moat.
The moon-viewing turret
A vermilion-railed pavilion added to the castle in the 1630s, made for watching the moon over the moat, and a rare sign of peace in a castle built for war.
Former Kaichi School
A school built in 1876 in the giyofu style, Western architecture as a Japanese master carpenter imagined it, with a dragon and a pair of angels carved over its entrance; in 2019 it became the first school building named a National Treasure.
Nakamachi Street
A street of old merchant storehouses south of the castle, their white plaster walls trimmed with black and white diagonal tiles, now given over to craft shops, galleries and sake breweries.
Nawate Street
A short arcade of small shops along the Metoba River, by Yohashira Shrine, with a frog as its emblem and a cheerful market air.
Matsumoto City Museum of Art
The city's art museum, dotted outside with Yayoi Kusama's polka-dot flowers, with a large collection of her work beside paintings and calligraphy of the region.
Japan Ukiyo-e Museum
A museum built on the collection of one Matsumoto merchant family, one of the largest collections of woodblock prints in the world, shown in changing exhibitions.
Daio Wasabi Farm
A wasabi farm in Azumino, half an hour north of the city, where wasabi grows in beds of cold spring water among willows and watermills.
Asama and Utsukushigahara Onsen
Two onsen areas on the eastern edge of the city, Asama at the foot of the hills and Utsukushigahara a little above it, with ryokan and open-air onsen.
experiences
The best of Matsumoto
The castle with someone who knows it
A walk round the moat and up through the keep with a guide who can read its defences, its gun ports and its stone-dropping windows, and tell how the town saved it.
Craft and folk art
Time among the workshops and galleries of Nakamachi, where Matsumoto furniture, folk pottery and textiles carry on the mingei tradition the city has long loved.
Shinshu soba
Soba made from the buckwheat of these mountains, cut by hand and served cold with a little wasabi from Azumino, one of the simple great meals of Nagano.
An onsen ryokan at the edge of town
A night in an onsen ryokan at Asama or Utsukushigahara, a few minutes from the castle, with a private open-air onsen and a kaiseki dinner of mountain food.
plan your visit
Matsumoto on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- One night is enough for the castle and the old town; two or three make Matsumoto a base for Kamikochi, Azumino and the Alps.
- Getting there
- From Shinjuku in Tokyo by the Azusa limited express in about two hours forty minutes, or from Nagoya by the Shinano limited express in about two hours. Nagano is about fifty minutes by train, and Kamikochi about ninety minutes by car.
journeys
Matsumoto on a private journey
We bring guests to Matsumoto on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
questions
Matsumoto: questions answered
Is Matsumoto worth visiting?
Yes. Matsumoto Castle is one of only twelve original castle keeps in Japan and among the most beautiful, the old town is pleasant to walk, and the city is the best base for Kamikochi and the Northern Alps.
How do you get from Tokyo to Matsumoto?
By the Azusa limited express from Shinjuku, about two hours forty minutes. By car it is about three hours.
Why is Matsumoto Castle called Crow Castle?
For its black-lacquered walls and dark roofs, which give it a crow-like look against the sky. It is one of five castles in Japan whose keeps are National Treasures.
How many days do you need in Matsumoto?
One night for the castle and the old town, and two or three to use it as a base for Kamikochi, Azumino and Hakuba.
How far is Matsumoto from Kamikochi?
About ninety minutes: an hour by car to Sawando, where private cars stop, and half an hour by taxi or bus into the valley.
What is there to see near Matsumoto?
Kamikochi and the Northern Alps to the west, the wasabi fields and galleries of Azumino half an hour north, the onsen of Asama and Utsukushigahara at the edge of the city, and the post towns of the Kiso Valley an hour south.
Is Matsumoto Castle original?
Yes. Its main keep dates from the 1590s and is one of twelve original castle keeps surviving in Japan.
Can Matsumoto be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Matsumoto included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Matsumoto, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Matsumoto, and we will answer with a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone, or, if you would rather travel independently, an Expert Japan Itinerary that plans every day for you.