Matsumoto walking tour & city guide

The castle and the old town

Matsumoto Castle, completed in the 1590s, has the oldest surviving five-tiered keep in Japan. Its dark walls are reflected in the moat, with the snow-capped Northern Alps behind it on clear days. Inside, steep wooden stairs climb six floors past displays of old guns, and a vermilion moon-viewing room was added in more peaceful times.

South of the castle, Nawate-dori is a short riverside street of small shops with frog statues and toys, and across the Metoba River, Nakamachi-dori is lined with white-and-black namako-walled storehouses, now home to craft galleries, cafés and folk art shops.

Springs, crafts and the Alps

Fresh mountain water flows from wells and fountains around the city centre, and locals still fill bottles at them. Matsumoto has a strong craft and music tradition, with furniture makers, a summer music festival and the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum on its outskirts.

The city is the gateway to Kamikochi, a high valley of the Alps famous for its river walks, and to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route.

Visiting tips

Limited express trains reach Matsumoto in about 2 hours 40 minutes from Shinjuku and about 2 hours from Nagoya. The centre is compact and flat, and the castle is about 15 minutes on foot from the station. In winter the city is cold and dry, often with clear views of the snowy mountains.