Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto Castle is one of 12 original castles in Japan that hasn’t been burnt down and rebuild in the last 100 years, or the inside turned into a modern museum with an ugly elevator glued to the side like a barnacle. “When Japan” recommends visiting at the end of a trip over the Japanese alps during March or April, when you can see the Snow Valley, however a visit in November is also not a bad idea either.
| The Good | The Not-So Good |
| Original castle, well preserved | Not much else in the city |
| Free Guides in English! (check times before going) | Not a day trip from Tokyo (2.5 hours by train) |
| Perfect at the end of Japan Alps trip | Climbing up the castle is not easy |
How to get there and when
“When Japan” recommends visiting Matsumoto Castle at the end of a trip over the Japanese Alps. A day trip from Tokyo is possible (there is a direct train from Shinjuku Station taking 2.5 hours at a cost of ¥6,500 or free with your JR pass). A bus will take you just over 3 hours but will be much cheaper (¥3,800 for JR Bus, or ¥3,000 by Willer Bus). However, 3 hours to see a castle is quite an effort and Matsumoto city is not on the way to anything important unless you are heading to or coming back from Toyama (over the Alps) or to Nagoya City (a major city 2 hours west by train).
Basically, don’t go to Matsumoto without a plan to get in and out over 2 days. “When Japan” includes this in the “Japanese Alps” travel plan so will not recommend anything specific in this article.
In the castle grounds
Take advantage of the English volunteer guides and check the times to make sure you pick a day they are available. The times you want are the link here and here. The third link on that main page goes nowhere. You don’t need to book a guide, just show up and wait.
You will have to take your shoes off to walk in the castle. And as with most Japanese castles, the stairs are narrow and ceilings low. Expect lots of waiting to move between floors. If you can’t handle stairs very well, then perhaps give the interior a miss. There is obviously no air conditioning inside an ancient castle, so the summer months it can get really hot (but “When Japan” told you not to go during the summer months anyway so this is of no concern to you).
