It was wet when we were leaving Kanazawa but cleared to beautiful sunshine so we could enjoy the changing scenery on the way to Matsumoto. This trip included our last Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Nagoya, followed by the local train from Nagoya to Matsumoto.
Table of Contents
- Travelling Again
- Great location for a hotel
- Nakamachi Street
- Nawate street
- Matsumoto Jo Castle
- Matsumoto City Museum
- Matsumoto City Museum of Art
- Enjoying local activities
- Shopping
- Takahashi Family residence Samurai house
- Town clock display
- Matsumoto Brewery
- Other activities
- Where to eat
- Where we stayed
Table of Contents
Travelling again
The 80 minutes on the Shinkansen gave us a chance to see yet another style of this type of train. This one had larger luggage racks which meant we were able to keep our bags with us. On some trips, our luggage had to be stored at the end of the carriage. This must be the reason most of the Japanese people we saw had small bags.
This train also gave our girls ( 6 and 8) the character-building experience of learning to use a traditional Japanese style squat toilet on a moving train. Not the fancy high tech ones we expected. We could tell it was different as the picture on the door looked more like a slipper. These toilets are surprisingly more common than I thought. Often found at train stations even in Osaka we had discovered. I did realise later there was a “normal toilet” in the next carriage but it is always good for kids to learn a new skill.
Great location for a hotel.
Arriving in Matsumoto the air was crisp and clear and the scenery was beautiful. We were very impressed with the location of this hotel. Right across the road from the train station. A nice change from some of the long walks we had in other cities.
Once we settled in and got organised, we left for a walk. We had picked up some tourist information at the station and we were keen to explore. I really enjoyed walking around the city, enjoying the mountain views and the fact there again seemed to be very few non -Japanese tourists around. When the sun was shining it was warm but we realised as the sun set that we needed many layers to deal with the cool mountain air even though it was spring.
Stolling through the modern streets around the station it is a surprise when you turn a corner and come to the historic areas around the Metoba river.
Nakamachi street
Strolling along Nakamachi street ( south side of the river) there are lots of food outlets in little white shops with black lattice. The one that most caught my eye was a Sweet potato shop with a queue out the door. I grabbed a quick snack to keep me sustained as we headed over the river.
Nawate street
On the Northside of the river, closer to the castle, Nawate street was mostly closed when we were walking through on our first evening. It seemed to have tourist shops and fruit and vegetable stores. We did find some of the obligatory photo stops that Japan is famous for. The stands with a space to put your head through and take funny photos.
Matsumoto Jo Castle
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I am a big fan of a castle. Japan’s castles are made of wood rather than stone like European castles but are no less impressive.
At over 400 years old Matsumoto is the oldest 5 story castle tower in Japan. Although not all of the Castle is from that time, the central Tenshu (donjon tower) was built approx. 1593-4. It did require renovation work in the early 1900’s to prevent it from becoming a ruin.
We arrived early on our first full day to beat the crowds but realised we had not worn enough layers again. When we entered the castle and had to take our shoes off, the wood was freezing cold.
So many stairs
One of the most distinctive things about the castle was how steep the wooden stairs were. In Himeji castle where we had visited earlier in the trip, there was a lot of staircases. But at Matsumoto between levels 4-5 the stairs have a rise of 40cm. They even required security here to help people keep moving up the stairs and there were signs telling you not to stop and take photos on the stairs.
My favourite room in the castle was the Tsukimi-Yagura (moon observatory scaffold). I loved the idea of having a room available just for Moon viewing. It had sliding doors on 3 sides that opened it to the elements and lacquered wood walls.
When we came out of the castle, we had a slight incident when Miss 8 thought she should try to climb the castle walls but was quickly impeded by security. Luckily not Samurai.
After some photos with people dressed up in costume, we had a quick stop at the gift shop. Matsumoto Hello Kitty socks for everyone and then a stroll past the cherry blossoms to visit the Drum Gate (Taiko -Mon).
The Drum gate and tower
The Drum tower (Taiko-ro), on top of the drum gate, had a Ninja standee you could have a photo with and throw ninja stars. There was a drum that was used to signal time and call people to assemble or during emergencies. The thing that surprised us the most was the that girls were very excited by a video about the reconstruction of the tower and some castle buildings.
Matsumoto City Museum
Matsumoto City museum entry is included in the castle ticket. There was a scavenger hunt/quiz for the girls but it was a little difficult for them to find all the answers when lots of the displays were in Japanese. I found it interesting to find out the history of a city at a museum. The activity kept the girls busy for long enough for me to read about the different periods of Matsumoto history. I really liked the treasure ship of the Seven Deities of Good fortune and the Tanabata dolls which are important at significant life events (like the birth of a child) for Matsumoto families. I also liked the Guardians of the city. These stone carvings found on the borders of the city are said to bring good luck and protect travellers.
Matsumoto City Museum of Art
It was the giant flower sculpture that led us to the Matsumoto City Museum of Art when we saw it in the tourist information. It took us a while to find it and so arrived with only an hour before the museum closed. Luckily this was enough time to visit the permanent collection which was all works by Yayoi Kusama the creator of the flower sculpture out the front and an artist born in Matsumoto.
Yayoi Kusama is famous for her dot paintings and sculptures. I found a children’s book in the museum shop explaining a bit more of her life. Her style was not appreciated in Japan so she moved to NYC. Eventually, she had an exhibition in MoMA before returning to Japan and setting up a studio in Tokyo in 1973. I loved the room full of reflecting chandeliers and dots on soft tubes reflected in a mirrored corridor. I didn’t realise the picture of the Pumpkin covered in spots I had seen in a newspaper years before was her work.
While we were at the museum the staff gave us a notice for the children reminding them not to run, touch and be quiet. Something that I could have used at many of the places we had already been to. The art was interesting enough for us to not need it.
Enjoying local activities
As we were walking past the media centre there was some activity going on with people painting with giant calligraphy brushes on paper and dancing. Our girls were invited to join in. Miss 8 was keen and so put on a big jacket and took off her shoes and socks and gave it a go. She didn’t know what letter she was writing but she had a great time and was keen to do more calligraphy inside.
Shopping
To get away from the cold we enjoyed window shopping in some of the shopping centres around Matsumoto. We looked at the capsule machines to see all the options available. We were looking for a light-up octopus as we had lost one whilst in Kanazawa. The hats for your cat to make it look like a vegetable, Mini toasters and Suzuki Jiminys were hard to resist. Lucky we don’t have a cat! It was always fun to see what surprises the next bank of machines would hold.
We found one shopping centre where we were the only non-Japanese people inside it. It had a pet store on the top floor with puppies behind glass that gave us a way to pass the time smiling at their antics.
More unusual shopping finds
In another shopping centre, close to the hotel, we found a large second-hand market. It had everything from Lego, Toys, figurines, video games, clothes, binoculars, musical instruments and camping equipment. We couldn’t tell if it was a charity shop, Pawn shop or something else.
Exploring the 100 yen shops and could stock up on some snacks including some serious coffee lollies with a samurai on the packet. We also found a fancy department store that seemed to have small shops like booths including one selling anime band merchandise that the girls couldn’t resist.
There are also lots of boutiques on the main street and along the tourist areas selling all sorts of souvenirs and interesting items. One shop we walked past on the way to the art museum seemed to sell art items made of stone including a teddy bear and “swiss army knife”.
Takahashi Family residence Samurai house
On day two we headed past the castle towards the Takahashi family residence. It is believed to be the oldest Samurai House in Nagano Prefecture, built in the early 17th century. The Takahashi family moved into the house in 1726 and in 2004, the last Takahashi donated the building to Matsumoto city. They restored it to how it looked in the early Meji period. The floor plan has some areas with a dirt floor, a kitchen with stone ovens and reception rooms with Tatami mats where you have to remove your shoes. The room layout is based on documents from around 1883 and shows what the life of a Samurai would have been like.
It had free entry and we enjoyed walking around this simple home. There were Japanese books on display and although we didn’t understand them the girls enjoyed making up stories based on the books.
After the Samurai house Mr OTC took the girls back to the hotel to relax giving me a chance to stroll around the streets and explore. Including another visit to my Sweet potato shop. I also found a temple with red gates in the front like the gates we had walked through at Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto but without the thousands of people.
Town clock display
One of the sights of Matsumoto is the Karakuri clock. It looks like a giant ball on a stick. Its design resembles a Temari ball, the symbol of Matsumoto. There are pictures of them all over town including on the manhole covers. However, on the hour the ball splits open and there is a display that reminds me a little of It’s a small world from Disneyland. There are little figures that spin around inside the ball in time to the music. First, there were girls playing with the Temari balls and then it closes and when it reopens it has figures in suit tails “playing” instruments to The Waltz of the flowers.
I discovered it playing on my stroll around the street and then managed to bring the girls and Mr OTC back in the evening before we left so they could see it too.
Matsumoto Brewery
Mr OTC was keen to find Matsumoto brewery. It is also in the Nakamachi area in a little building just off the main street. It had 4 standard beers and one seasonal beer on tap. The girls and I waited outside while he investigated and then bought some takeaway for the hotel. The only issue was no bottle opener. It took visits to about 5 different local stores to try to find one. He said the beer was worth the wait.
Other activities
We spent all our time on the castle side of the station. ( East side). On the other side of the station there is a bus terminal where you could explore some of the options that are further away.
There was the Japan Ukiyo-e Woodblock print museum that I would have liked to visit if I had more time.
The tourist map it showed that there are 5 areas of hot springs in the greater Matsumoto City area. I did find a bathhouse on the castle side when I was exploring but a visit to the Thermal springs in the Alps would have been an amazing experience.
Where to eat
We found lots of fantastic places to eat in Matsumoto. We had breakfast at our hotel each morning but ate out for lunch and dinner most of the nights we were here. All the food we found was delicious and there were so many options we didn’t have time to try them all. Below is the ones we could try.
Oimo Biyori Sweet potato shop
I was in heaven when I discovered a shop that specialised in Sweet potato, my favourite food! I visited it 3 times. The first day I bought a hot sweet potato as a snack that I shared with the family. On day 2 I got the deluxe set which was the sweet and savoury potato. Delicious! The last day I grabbed some of their speciality Sweet potatoes Kenpi a French fry type crisp. I bought the salty flavour but it was available in almost all flavours you could think of. These chips had a ninja and Matsumoto castle on the packet so you know they were good.
What we didn’t get to try was the sweet potato icecream. I know when we go back to Matsumoto Oimo Biyori will be one of my first stops.
Osaka Ohsho dumpling shop
Osaka Ohsho, a Japanese Gyoza restaurant, was our first dinner in Matsumoto. I believe it was a chain of restaurants. My eldest ate 12 out of the 18 we ordered, luckily there were other dishes available for the rest of the family.
I have a limited diet and so am unable to eat dumplings but I did find a delicious chilli stir fried green dish. They also had Konjac noodles on the menu which are low enough in protein for me to eat but unfortunately, they had sold out that night. The only downside of this restaurant was the fact that there were people smoking inside the restaurant. Something that definitely doesn’t happen at home.
Yukiyoshi
We had lunch at Yukiyoshi on Nakamachi street before we visited the art museum. The Nakamachi tourist brochure lists this restaurant as “Japanese/izakaya”. It had large meals for a great price including noodles and yummy vegetable tempura. We enjoyed sitting on the floor in our own little room. We had a meal of Buckwheat noodles/ rice/ tempura/ pickles/ tempura and soup for between 800-900yen. It kept us going all afternoon and we only needed a snack for dinner. The “potato” snack given to the girls was a bit of a surprising octopus flavour.
Matsushita in Nakamachi street
Another lunch on Nakamachi street was a Matsushita. Listed as “Soba restaurant”. We were definitely the only non-Japanese people in this restaurant but they were happy to hand us an English menu. The restaurant was busy but we didn’t have to wait long. The girls ordered cold noodles. My dish of Sansai soba, with mountain vegetables can be hot or cold. These noodles looked like they were homemade. The menu had a description of the history of Buckwheat noodles. The food was delicious. It was disappointing that we wouldn’t be able to eat here again.
Mos Burger
Mos Burger is a fast-food chain that actually has a few outlets in Queensland Australia so we were familiar with them. We went to the restaurant at the station for dinner on our last night. the buns made of rice made these a bit more unusual than standard burgers. Loose mushrooms make the vegetarian option.
They have kid’s meals with toys with smaller “traditional” burgers and fries but have the drink option of fruit and vegetable juice. It is nice to have a Japanese take on a familiar meal.
Where we stayed
Matsumoto Cabin Hotel
This hotel was very impressive. It was the smallest hotel of the trip and much smaller than our last hotel in Kanazawa. There was enough room for us all. The fact that it was across the road from the train station so only a 5-minute walk was a definite win.
The reception was on floor 10 where the restaurant was and the rooms were below. We were able to get tables by the window which gave us an amazing view of the mountains while we ate breakfast. There were lots of choices both familiar and a little more challenging, such as horse meat. Google translate gave us the knowledge we needed to explore some of the more unusual and what to avoid. We tried the cold soba noodles for lunch one day because the information at breakfast explained how to enjoy this local speciality
Need to visit again
We managed to fit in lots of sights in Matsumoto in only 3 nights. Despite being far colder than we expected it was a beautiful city to explore on foot. If we had more time we could have explored further afield and seen more of the other local sights as well. All four of us are looking forward to the chance to visit again when we are able to get back to Japan.
Have you visited Matsumoto or have you added it to your list after finding out a bit more about it? I would love to hear what your experiences are. Comment below or send me an email.
