When you think of tourist spots in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, many people probably think of Matsumoto Castle. Matsumoto Castle is the oldest remaining castle with a five-story, six-story castle tower in Japan and is a designated national treasure.
It is one of the most popular castles in Japan, and is a beautiful castle that has even won three stars in the tourist version of Michelin in the past!
In this article, we will share our impressions of actually visiting Matsumoto Castle!
- You’re planning a trip to Shinshu/Matsumoto and wondering where to go
- You love Japanese castles and want to explore some of the most beautiful ones around the country
- You’re curious to hear honest, first-hand impressions of Matsumoto Castle
Access to Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto Castle is located about a 20-minute walk from JR Matsumoto Station. There are buses from Matsumoto Station to Matsumoto Castle, but we also recommend walking there while strolling through the castle town!
I actually walked there from Matsumoto Station, and it was so much fun just walking around looking at the Matsumoto cityscape that I arrived at Matsumoto Castle in no time.
There was also a unique frog sculpture on Nawate Street. It was really unique…As I walked past the frog sculpture, I arrived at Matsumoto Castle.
To Matsumoto Castle
It’s so beautiful!!! When I saw Matsumoto Castle for the first time, I was overwhelmed by its beauty and greatness, which was even better than I had imagined! The good weather and the contrast between the black of the moat and the castle tower were amazing.
To be honest, at first I thought there was no need to pay to go inside, but when I actually saw Matsumoto Castle in front of me, my feelings changed 180 degrees.
Since I’d come this far, I thought I might as well go up to the castle tower! So I decided to enter the paid area! The admission fee was 700 yen per adult.
If you’re just looking at the exterior, you can get a beautiful view of Matsumoto Castle from the park in the free area.
Matsumoto Castle Tower
If you pay the admission fee, you can go all the way to the top floor of Matsumoto Castle!
However, there are steep stairs inside the castle tower, so I wouldn’t recommend it for those who are not confident in their physical strength, those who are not in good health, or the elderly…
There are no restrooms inside the castle tower, so I recommend using the restroom before lining up!
I head to the top floor while looking at the exhibits.
For safety reasons, photography was not allowed near the stairs, so I don’t have any photos, but the stairs were much steeper than I expected…to be honest, even adults had a hard time.
It takes time to go up and down the stairs, so there are long lines near the stairs.
I definitely don’t recommend going in a short skirt or a tight skirt that makes it difficult to lift your legs. You’ll be climbing in a long line, so it’ll be like a public execution…
You need to take your shoes off inside the castle tower, so you might want to be careful about chipped nails and holes in your socks…
After climbing the 61 degree staircase, we reached the top floor! This is the view from the top floor!!! We could see the whole of Matsumoto. The weather was nice, so the view was amazing!
Illumination of the national treasure Matsumoto Castle
After eating dinner near Matsumoto Station, I thought about heading back to the hotel, but since I had come all the way to Matsumoto, I wanted to see Matsumoto Castle at night! So I went to see Matsumoto Castle’s “night face.”
This was better than I expected!!!
Matsumoto Castle at night is even more beautiful than I imagined and I was really impressed! I could look at it forever…It might be worth going out of your way to see it at night.
The castle tower is lit up until 10pm, and the impressive black of the daytime majesty has faded into a softer, more impressive white atmosphere! Matsumoto Castle was beautiful during the day, but it was even better at night. Personally, I prefer it at night.
Summary: Let’s go to Matsumoto Castle!
Matsumoto Castle is the symbol of Matsumoto and a national treasure. It was a beautiful castle both day and night!
The time required for the tour will depend on the wait time to climb the castle tower. When I went, the wait time was posted as 30 minutes, but since I took my time to look around and take breaks, it took a little over an hour. If you just want to see the exterior of the castle, I think 30 minutes is enough!
If you have a chance to go to Matsumoto in Shinshu, be sure to visit the national treasure Matsumoto Castle♪