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Matsumoto attractions
Matsumoto attractions
Matsumoto Castle (松本城 Matsumoto-jō). Completed in 1614, this stately landmark is considered one of Japan's Top 3 Castles. Visitors can climb up precarious stairways all the way to the top, and the castle also houses a comprehensive exhibit on the history of firearms in Japan. Located 15 min north of Matsumoto station on foot, admission ¥600, open 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily. Tickets include admission to the Matsumoto City Museum on the castle grounds, with artifacts documenting the history of the city.
The Matsumoto Folkcraft Museum. This is a very small museum filled with a variety of arts and crafts that the museum's own pamphlet describes as not being of much value either artistically or monetarily. The museum is basically the collection of a private individual, Taro Maruyama, who ran a folkcraft shop in Matsumoto in the 1950 and 1960s. He presented the museum to the city of Matsumoto in 1983. While some of the crafts and artwork are interesting, the museum is probably not worth visiting unless you are spending a considerable amount of time in the vicinity or are particularly interested in Japanese Folkcrafts. (On an interesting side note, a home near the museum, owned by a school principal, has a beautiful garden and is quite pretty, employing some traditional Japanese architecture. Our tour guide said many people found the home of more interest than the museum.) Admission is ¥300 for adults. School children can get in for free and the museum offers group rates for groups over 20. Hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday. The museum is also closed from December 29 through January 3. You can take the bus on the Utsukushigahara line for 15 minutes and get off that the Folkcraft Museum bus stop.
Featuring over 10,000 pieces of ukiyo-e (traditional woodblock prints), the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum is the largest private museum of its kind in the world. Though the building housing the museum is imposing, a rather small selection of the pieces is shown at any time (2 rooms, about 40 prints). Also reprints of famous Ukiyo-e are on display. The collection was begun over 200 years ago by Yoshiaki Sakai and was subsequently added to by succeeding generations of the Sakai family, including the current owner and CEO of the museum, Nobuo Sakai. The collection includes many pieces from the most famous ukiyo-e artists in history as well as works that are believed to be the last remaining examples of their kind. English signage at the museum is limited, but an English-language pamphlet is available. In addition to Matsumoto Castle mentioned above; a must-see for those looking for something truly 'Japanese.'
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Matsumoto Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.