Matsumoto Castle

... bit of central Japan for 6 days. The trip took us to Magome (old fashioned town), Tsumago (old fashioned town), Matsumoto (cool castle), Komaga-take (mountain), Niigata (port), Sadoga-shima (island), and Tokyo (big city!). Along the way we rode the train ...

... nights bathing experience, another crack of dawn start to drop my bag in the station locker and a 30 min walk to the castle in Matasumoto. A lot smaller than Himeji-Jo and less impressive, the best thing about the castle is the setting. The back drop ...

... there's a fair bit of history left here and there. But the real reason to swing through Matsumoto is to pay a visit to its historic castle. One of the twelve remaining original castles in the country, Matsumoto-jo is really magnificent. Shorter and ...

... 30 pounds. We got a bit fed up with the expense of Japan at this point! On the last day we visited the castle in Matsumoto, and were given our very own tour by an extremely enthusiastic guide who was very happy to practise his English on us. We were ...

... where the chef is focused and only working on mastering one dish.   We spent most of our time in Matsumoto at the World Heritage Castle.  The castle is only one of a few ancient wooden castles left in Japan, since most of the others ...

... get filled with concrete! Talking of such matters - urban planning is crazy here - the centre is quaint with it's 400 year old castle and weaving streets, and near us it just changes nicely from city to country in about 10 minutes of walking, but to the ...

... must drive the staff mad.  Not much here though, just another castle here amid the mountains.  It is the oldest wooden castle in Japan so one of the "big 4".  One interesting feature is the hidden 3rd floor - not visible from the outside - ...

... 's house to downtown Matsumoto, which took about an hour, with lots of brief stops along the way. We went to the castle, Matsumoto's principle attraction, and had lunch at a Nepalese restaurant, buffet style. It was there that Jeff told me I was possibly ...

... girls dressed up in traditional garb.  There were some nice trees with colorful leaves too. We finally made our way to Matsumoto castle.  I've seen pictures of it but seeing it in person was truly awesome.  One of the reasons why I came to ...

Matsumoto Castle Former Kaichi School

... springs. It was good to be in a place that didn't have like 10 seperate subway lines. My first destination was Matsumoto castle. This castle is one of 4 castles declared national treasures (and all the brochures don't let you forget it). It is an ...

... in another locket, walked from the station only getting lost for a few minutes and made it there by 4:20. Matsumoto-jo castle is the oldest castle in Japan and is very impressive with its all black walls and the Alps in the background. It was 300 yen to ...

... shinkansen to Nagano, then another slow train to Matsumoto.  Signs of civilization at the Matsumoto station - a Starbucks! Hoping that I can find the castle tomorrow. The ryokan has bicycles to lend, so I'm going to try and save some money ...

... home laden with presents from the staff. It was a great night. Next morning we shook off our hangovers by visiting Matsumoto Castle. It is a beautiful black castle set amidst gardens and moats with huge carp. It is the originally built castle, which ...

... my demons, fail some more experiences and then fix all these tiny things that need to be done--lease, pictures, mail--the list goes on an on. But before that: tomorrow is Matsumoto castle and Nagao Zenkoji temple. And then onto Tokyo. -mike

... , or barashi, though. Finally, tourist office said Kamikochi would be the same weather for the next couple of days so I'll stick with my original plan and do some alpine hiking tomorrow and then hit Matsumoto castle and Nagano the day after. -mike