Central Nagano · MatsumotoNo.761★★★Open in map →

Matsumoto Castle

historyThe classic — done right

A black wooden keep standing on flat ground north-east of Matsumoto Station, doubled upside down in its own moat. The oldest surviving tower of its kind, with a moon-viewing turret added long after the fighting stopped.

FromMatsumoto Station
~10 minTown Sneaker loop bus
Get off atMatsumotojo Shiyakushomae stop (Town Sneaker loop bus)
On foot
Matsumoto Castle

Directions ↗

Where it is

27 more notes in Nagano · open the map →

What to look for — in walking order

The moat and the Northern Alpsthe east bank, where the ridge lines up behind the tower on a clear morning
Kuromon Gatethe black main gate onto the inner bailey, a stone-walled bridge and two gates set in line
The great keepblack boards to the eaves and white plaster above, with arrow and gun ports cut low in the walls
The moon-viewing turretopen on three sides behind thin sliding boards, a vermilion balustrade outside and a boat-bottom ceiling within
The red arched bridgethe north-west corner of the moat, the reflected tower and the standing view from outside the ticket line

How to actually get there

Matsumoto Station, Oshiro exit → Matsumotojo Shiyakushomae on the Town Sneaker loop bus.
Walk to the moat and round the water to Kuromon, the black gate onto the inner bailey.
Buy the keep ticket at the gate and climb before the stairs fill.
Come back out and follow the moat to the red arched bridge for the view from outside.

Town Sneaker loop bus from Matsumoto Station: Leave by the Oshiro (castle) exit of Matsumoto Station and take the Alpico Town Sneaker loop bus to the Matsumotojo Shiyakushomae stop, about ten minutes. A flat fare covers the whole loop, and because the route circles the town centre you can ride it back into the shopping streets afterwards.
Back to Matsumoto Station: The loop bus returns along the same road. Walking is often quicker than waiting: head south-west straight through the town centre and you reach the station. Evening services thin out well before the last trains, so read the board at the stop before you commit to the bus.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Most Japanese castles were raised on a hill or a rock. Matsumoto sits on the flat, so its defence had to come from water and from the wall itself: a wide moat, and black lacquered boards repainted on a cycle to survive the Nagano winter. From the far bank the tower reads as five tiers, but six floors are stacked behind them, and one of those floors has no windows at all — a dark storey under the second roof, used as a store and a refuge. The National Treasure listing covers five buildings rather than one: the great keep, the small keep at the north-west corner, the corridor joining them, and two turrets added a generation later.

How to enjoy it

Doors open at 8:30 with last entry at 16:30, and the gap between arriving first and arriving at midday shows up in the queue for the stairs rather than in the castle. The climb is one-way on steep, narrow flights with no lift, so leave large bags below and wear something you can move in. The park around the moat has no gate, which means the reflection, the red bridge and the mountain line are all available outside the ticket.

Background & history

The keep went up in the closing years of the sixteenth century, when the wars were not yet over and a castle still had to be a weapon. Peace changed what was asked of it. In 1633 the lord Matsudaira Naomasa began work on two additions — a small attached turret, and an open moon-viewing room with a vermilion balustrade on three sides — because the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu was expected to break his journey here on the way to Zenkoji. Iemitsu never arrived. The tower was designated a National Treasure in 1952, additions and all.

Before you go

Cash: Admission is charged for the keep and the rate is published on the official site, while the moat park outside the gate is free to walk. Rates move with the season and with combination tickets, so confirm the figure on the day rather than from an old page.
Good to know: Opening hours shift with the season, and the castle runs extra evening openings during the cherry blossom, so read the official calendar before fixing a time. Inside you climb in socks on bare wood — cold in winter, and slow whenever the tower is full.
Another way: On foot from Matsumoto Station the castle is a straight walk north-east through the town centre, and that walk is worth taking in at least one direction. By car, several municipal car parks sit within a short walk of the gate and are mapped on the official access page.
After you get off: The stop is on the road beside the city hall, off the south-east corner of the castle grounds. Cross to the moat and follow the water round to the black main gate. The tower is in sight the whole way, which makes it hard to get lost.