Matsumae
Matsumae is a small castle town on the southern tip of the Oshima Peninsula in Hokkaido, the seat of the only feudal domain in Hokkaido, about an hour and a half by car from Hakodate.
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Journeys
- One includes Matsumae
overview
The one castle of the north, among ten thousand cherry trees on the Tsugaru Strait.
For most of the Edo period, Hokkaido was Ezo, a land beyond the edge of Japan, and the only Japanese domain on it was Matsumae. The Matsumae clan had the shogun's licence to trade with the Ainu, and from their town at the southern tip of the island they controlled the commerce in herring, kelp, salmon and furs that flowed south to Osaka and Kyoto. Its merchants grew rich on the trade, and the town became the gateway to the north.
The castle that stands today was finished in 1854, ordered by the shogunate to guard the strait against foreign ships, and it was the last castle built in the old Japanese manner before the Meiji era. Fourteen years later, in the Boshin War, it was taken by the forces of the former shogunate who went on to found the short-lived Republic of Ezo. Its keep survived until a fire in 1949 and was rebuilt in 1961; the main gate of the inner citadel is original.
Matsumae is best known in Japan for its cherry trees. Some 10,000 trees of around 250 varieties fill the castle park and the temple quarter behind it, brought north by travellers and settlers over the centuries, and new kinds have been raised in the town itself. The town is quiet, and the walk from the castle through the old temples to the clan's graves is one of the most atmospheric in Hokkaido.
see and do
What to see in Matsumae
Matsumae Castle
The castle of 1854, its three-storey white keep rebuilt in 1961 after a fire and now a museum of the Matsumae clan, its armour, screens and trade with the Ainu. The Honmaru Gomon, the gate of the inner citadel, is the original.
Matsumae Park
The grounds of the castle and the hill behind it, planted with some 10,000 cherry trees of around 250 varieties, including kinds first raised here and found nowhere else.
The temple quarter
A lane of old Buddhist temples behind the castle, their wooden halls among cherry trees and stone lanterns.
Hoto-ji and the Matsumae clan graves
The family temple of the Matsumae lords, with a gate of the eighteenth century, and the graveyard where the stone tombs of the clan stand under the trees, a national historic site.
Matsumae Domain Yashiki
A reconstruction of the town as it was in the Edo period, with the merchant houses, a magistrate's office, a samurai residence and a fisherman's house, furnished and open to walk through.
Cape Shirakami
The southernmost point of Hokkaido, a short drive east of the town, looking across the Tsugaru Strait to the mountains of Aomori on a clear day.
experiences
The best of Matsumae
The castle town on foot
A slow walk with a private guide from the castle gate through the temple quarter to the clan graves, with the history of the Matsumae and their trade with the Ainu told along the way.
Matsumae on the plate
A lunch of the sea at Matsumae: squid, sea urchin and kelp from the strait, and matsumae-zuke, the pickle of kelp, dried squid and herring roe that takes its name from the town.
Among the cherry trees
An afternoon in the castle park among trees of hundreds of varieties, the white keep above them and the sea below.
plan your visit
Matsumae on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- A day from Hakodate is enough for the castle, the temples and the park, and a night in the town suits those who want the quiet of the evening.
- Getting there
- By private car from Hakodate in about an hour and a half along the coast of the Tsugaru Strait, or from Kikonai Station on the Hokkaido Shinkansen in about an hour and ten minutes.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Matsumae
Each journey below includes Matsumae; choose one to see its route, dates and price. For a journey on your own dates, the Custom Tour of Japan can include Matsumae and anywhere else you would like to go.
questions
Matsumae: questions answered
Is Matsumae Castle the only castle in Hokkaido?
It is the only Japanese-style castle in Hokkaido, finished in 1854. The star-shaped fort of Goryokaku in Hakodate is a Western-style fortress, not a castle in the Japanese manner.
How do you get to Matsumae from Hakodate?
By private car in about an hour and a half along the coast. There is no railway to Matsumae; buses run from Kikonai Station on the Hokkaido Shinkansen.
How many cherry trees are there in Matsumae?
Around 10,000 cherry trees of some 250 varieties grow in Matsumae Park and the temple quarter, among the largest collections in Japan.
Is the keep of Matsumae Castle original?
No. The original keep burned in 1949 and was rebuilt in concrete in 1961; the Honmaru Gomon gate is original and an Important Cultural Property.
Can you visit Matsumae as a day trip from Hakodate?
Yes. It is about an hour and a half each way by car, which leaves time for the castle, the park, the temple quarter and lunch in the town.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Matsumae?
The Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido includes a day in Matsumae. The Custom Tour of Japan can include Matsumae on any dates, created around your party alone.
Can Matsumae be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with a Tour Director beside you, and it can include Matsumae. For independent travel, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Matsumae, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Matsumae. We will answer with a journey shaped around it: one of our tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.