Matsumoto



Matsumoto (松本) is a city in Nagano at the eastern end of the Japan Alps. Kamikochi resort area in it has a separate article.

Understand
Matsumoto is best known as the home of Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan's 12 original castles.

Tourist information site
Visit Matsumoto is the city's official multilingual guide site.

By plane


From the closest major airport, Chubu Centrair International Airport near Nagoya, Matsumoto can be reached by rail in roughly three hours by the Meitetsu line and JR limited express train (change in Nagoya). Buses connect Centrair with Matsumoto in around 3½–4 hr for ¥3,500.

From Narita Airport, Matsumoto can be reached in 4½–5 hr by limited express rail service (change in Shinjuku).

By rail
Matsumoto is located on the JR Shinonoi Line. It is four stops away from Shiojiri, the "mid-point" of the Chuo Main Line between Tokyo and Nagoya. There is a tourist information center inside the train station.

Limited express trains run to Matsumoto from Tokyo's Shinjuku station. The Azusa (あずさ) makes the journey in about 2¾ hr (¥6,500). Local trains also make the trip, but it's cheaper and faster to go by bus.

There's also the option of taking the Hokuriku Shinkansen Kagayaki (かがやき), Hakutaka (はくたか), or Asama (あさま) from Tokyo to Nagano station, then taking the Wide View Shinano (ワイドビューしなの) limited express to Matsumoto (2½–3 hr, ¥8,470).

The Wide View Shinano also runs from Nagoya station, where there are connections with the Tokaido Shinkansen (towards Kyoto and Osaka). The run from Nagoya to Matsumoto takes 2 hr on the limited express and costs ¥5,830; local trains cost ¥3,350 and take between 4–5 hr, depending on the available trains and connections.

All of the above-mentioned rail trips are free when using the Japan Rail Pass.

By bus
Highway buses from JR Matsumoto station connect to Shinjuku in Tokyo (3 hr, ¥3,400), Nagoya (3¼ hr, ¥3,460), and various destinations in the Japan Alps, notably the Oku-Hida Onsen Villages (1½ hr, ¥2,300–2,800).

On foot
You can walk to Matsumoto Castle, about a mile northeast of the station, in about 20 minutes.

By local bus
Alternatively, the Town Sneaker Bus by Alpico Kotsu departs from in front of Matsumoto Station every 30 minutes and makes a circular trip to all city sights — it costs ¥200 each time you get off. ¥500 for a day ticket. Half-price for children.

By rail
To visit the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, however, you will have to go by train or taxi or get the Town Sneaker to the City Government Office then walk for 25 minutes.

By bicycle
Bicycles are convenient for visiting sights not accessible by Town Sneaker bus.

Free bicycles are supposedly available daily 08:30–17:00 at various locations throughout town, including the Matsumoto City Museum next to Matsumoto Castle and the Kaichi Gakko Primary School. Ask the Matsumoto Tourist Information staff for details. However, as of 2023, they were nowhere able to be found

Otherwise, you can rent a bike from JR Eki Rent-A-Car beside the station for ¥1,500/day. Or the bicycle station north of the castle near the junction also offers bicycle for ¥1,000-2,000.

Do
Matsumoto is surrounded by numerous campsites and onsen. A hiking map in English can be picked up from the information center, a 5-minute walk south of the castle.
 * Hike to Misuzuko (美鈴湖) – To go down, take the bus from Matsumoto bus station (beside the Epsa supermarket) to Utsukushigahara-kogen (美ヶ原), 51 minutes, ¥930 (May 2009) to Lake Misuzu; walk around the east side of the lake to the Toy Box (もりの国) campsite (start along the main road, take a footpath to the right; when you come to another road, turn left along it until a path goes up to the left; follow this up to and through the campsite). Exit the campsite by its main gate, turn left, at the first guardrail leave the road to the right and follow the path down along a ridge. (Pause in the first section to admire the eagles.) There are no signposts, but the path is clear, with some trail markers; after about an hour you will find yourself among houses uphill from Asama-onsen (浅間); Matsumoto station is another hour and a half, of which part can be along the Metoba River (女鳥羽川). Not having completed the trail I cannot say how to find it from below.

Buy
Stores in Matsumoto offer pickled wasabi leaves, laquerware, and traditional crafts.



Eat
Matsumoto is mildly famous for its soba noodles, hopefully served with a dab of product from the world's largest wasabi farm nearby. You can have them as chilled zaru-soba in the summer, a refreshing way to experience the pure taste of the noodles, or in the winter as toji-soba, where you eat them by dipping a little bamboo basket into a pot of broth.

Matsumoto is also famous for its raw horse meat (basashi).

Drink
The backstreets of Nawate-dōri have small lively places where local people have food with drinks.

Go next

 * Azumino
 * Hakuba – A popular ski resort
 * Oku-Hida Onsen Villages – Some of Japan's best hot springs, 90 minutes away by bus
 * Kamikochi – One of the best hiking points in the Japanese Alps, en route to Takayama.
 * Chikuma - Visit the onsens, mountains and temples of this small city on the Chikuma River — take the Shinonoi railway northeast to Obasute or Inariyama stations
 * Norikura Kogen (乗鞍高原) – An alpine plateau alongside some of Japan's highest mountains and makes for a great day trip or longer stay in the mountains. There are hiking trails, cycling routes, skiing and spectacular mountain roads. There is the renowned milky-water valley onsen at Shirahone and a milky-water onsen at Norikura (near Kanko tourist centre) with mountain views, including Yukemurikan opposite the tourist centre and bus stop. For a day trip from Matsumoto, buy a combined train/bus return ticket from the first machines next to the ticket office — ¥3,300 to Norikura or ¥3,500 to Shirahone — and take the electric railway from track 7 to Shin-Shimashima, then transfer to the Alpico Highland Shuttle right outside the station gate. For Norikura, the best stop is probably "Kanko center mae", outside the tourist office and Yukemurikan. Check timetables first.
 * Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route