Matsumoto Castle, a Japanese national treasure

I’ve been to a couple of castles in Japan and one of my personal favorites is Matsumoto Castle. Just a 15 min walk (1 km) away from Matsumoto station, you can visit one of the stunning looking castles with its distinct black and white exterior. 

This castle was built in the 1500s and is one of the oldest castles in Japan. It was originally known as Fukashi Castle, but later became Matsumoto Castle during feudal times. It’s also built on a relatively flat area, a unique feature of this castle as most are often built on hills and highlands. With that, there’s not much hiking up so it will be very easy to access for anyone who wants to visit. When you enter the main castle keep, Daitenshu, you can climb up 6 stories high, all the way to the top, to enjoy the panoramic view of the Japanese Alps. 

The castle is surrounded by a moat, and you can enter through the Kuromon gate. It costs about 700 yen to enter the main area where you can enjoy the wide Honmaru Garden with a picturesque view of the Castle keep and its towers. 

If you are interested in castle structures and features, I highly recommend this castle as it gives you a glimpse of the technology of the past. Details of the construction of the foundations, passageways, curved beams and such are a treat for historical architecture enthusiasts. 

As Matsumoto city was designed with the castle at its center, you will notice different districts around the area. There are a few rivers that run though the city, and this also served as a line of defense. If you go south of the castle, there is the Nawate shopping street which was a busy area dating back to the Edo period. The area has been preserved up to this day as a variety of local shops make the street fun and lively.  

Sometimes, even without events, you can catch some cosplayers in samurai armor walking around the area.

Also, the castle holds many events per season so I highly recommend to check their events calendars. There are Noh performances, light up night events and even artillery demonstrations. So its nice to come back from time to time, especially when you can, and enjoy the castle in different seasons.