Chubu & Japanese Alps · Matsumoto
Matsumoto: wasabi in the field, Yayoi Kusama, the frog street and the Crow Castle
The city of the Alps, with the original black castle from 1594, a museum of the polka-dot artist who was born here, a street of white storehouses, Nagano soba, and in the morning Japan's largest wasabi farm.
One day in Matsumoto, the city of the Alps, and in Azumino next to it. You start at the Daio wasabi farm, half an hour by train, while it is still quiet, and are back in town at 10:30. From there everything is on foot, in one line: the art museum of the city where Yayoi Kusama was born, Nakamachi Street, soba on Nawate Street, the castle, and the Kaichi School just north of it. After a rest at the hotel, dinner near the station. The only ride is to the farm and back, on the JR Oito Line, ¥350 each way, and the trains there run about once an hour, so the morning is built around the 07:48 train and the 10:03 train. If you are going into both the castle and Kaichi, buy the combined online ticket, ¥1,600 instead of ¥1,800, valid for two days.
The day on a map
7 stops, in order
- Stops
- 7
- Walking minutes
- 50
- Daio Wasabi Farm, then Train 60 min
- Matsumoto City Museum of Art, then Walk 6 min
- Nakamachi Street, then Walk 4 min
- Lunch break on Nawate Street, then Walk 10 min
- Matsumoto Castle, then Walk 8 min
- Former Kaichi School, then Walk 22 min
- Dinner near Matsumoto Station
The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.
Getting there: You start with the 07:48 train from Matsumoto Station to the wasabi farm, which means after a night in Matsumoto: if you leave Tokyo or Nagoya the same morning, you arrive after 09:00, and start at the art museum. From Tokyo: the Azusa limited express from Shinjuku, two and a half hours to two hours and 45 minutes on most trains, ¥6,730 with a reserved seat (covered by the JR Pass). From Nagoya: the Shinano limited express, about two hours, ¥6,160 with a reserved seat. From the station to the castle it is about 1.3 km, 16 minutes on foot, or the Town Sneaker bus on the northern route, ¥220.
Stop 1NatureRecommended
Daio Wasabi Farm: 15 hectares of wasabi in cold water
You start at the Daio farm in the town of Hotaka: 15 hectares of wasabi grown in cold spring water. According to the Rurubu guide, it is the largest in Japan. Wasabi beds under black nets, the water wheels that were built for a Kurosawa film, and wasabi ice cream. Admission is free. From March to November it is open 08:00 to 17:00, and in the morning it is still quiet here. On the 07:48 train from Matsumoto you get off at Hotaka after 26 minutes, and from there the farm is 2.3 km: a taxi takes about 10 minutes, or it is 30 minutes on foot. Bicycles for rent near the station, ¥300 per hour. From December to February the farm opens only at 09:00: take the 08:27 train, which terminates at Hotaka, come back on the 10:46 train, and the whole day shifts by 45 minutes.
Back to Matsumoto, to the museum
Stop 2MuseumRecommended
Matsumoto City Museum of Art: Yayoi Kusama in the city where she was born
The giant polka-dot flowers at the entrance and the polka-dot vending machine announce the city's daughter: Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto in 1929, and there is a permanent wing here with the infinity rooms and pumpkins. ¥700 for the collection with an e-ticket and ¥800 at the ticket office, more with an exhibition. Open 09:00 to 17:00. Closed on Mondays, and then you walk from the station straight to Nakamachi.
On to Nakamachi
Stop 3StreetRecommended
Nakamachi Street: the white-walled storehouses
Walk along Nakamachi from east to west, about 400 meters. It is a street of kura storehouses with black-and-white lattice walls, and today they hold woodcraft shops and cafes. The street itself is free.
Across to Nawate for lunch
On the way you can stop at:
- The Matsumoto Brewery taproom: The local brewery's taproom, on Nakamachi Street itself, with draft beers. According to the city's tourism site it opens at 12:00, and according to the street association at 13:00. Closed on Tuesdays.
- Yohashira Shrine: A small shrine between the river and the shopping street, known as a shrine that grants wishes. Free.
Stop 4LunchMust
Lunch break on Nawate Street
Nawate-dori runs along the river: frog statues (the frog shrine), old toy shops and taiyaki stalls. Nagano is soba country, and the buckwheat is milled in town, so lunch here is soba. If you do not want soba, look for sanzoku-yaki, a huge piece of fried chicken, Matsumoto's dish. The options:
Up to the castle
Stop 5CastleMust
Matsumoto Castle: the original 'Crow Castle'
This is one of Japan's five original castles, not a reconstruction: black, from 1594, with a moat and swans. Inside you climb six floors on very steep stairs, 60 degrees, in your socks, and there is a collection of matchlock guns. The ticket is ¥1,200 online, with a date and entry time, and ¥1,300 at the ticket office. At midday the line to climb is an hour long, so buy the online ticket ahead for this time. Open 08:30 to 17:00, last entry 16:30. In spring there are cherry blossoms around the moat.
North to Kaichi
Stop 6Historic buildingIf there is time
Former Kaichi School: Japan's first Western-style school
A building from 1876 in the style of 'Europe as imagined by a Japanese carpenter', a National Treasure, with angels on the sign and Chinese lanterns. It was closed for earthquake reinforcement and reopened in November 2024. Open 09:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30, ¥700 at the ticket office and ¥600 with an e-ticket. From March to November it is closed on the third Tuesday of the month, and from December to February every Tuesday, and then you see it from outside.
Break
A rest at the hotel before dinner
This day starts with the 07:48 train and ends in the evening. From the Kaichi School to Matsumoto Station it is about 22 minutes on foot, or the Town Sneaker bus on the northern route, ¥220. If your hotel is near the station, rest there for about an hour and a half, and dinner is near the station. If you are staying near the castle, you are already close to your hotel, and in the evening you can eat at Shizuka, in the Ote district, which is one of the options.
Down to the station
Stop 7DinnerRecommended
Dinner near Matsumoto Station
You finish near the station. In Matsumoto people eat horse meat (basashi, the locals eat it, not compulsory), fried insects for the brave (inago), and sanzoku chicken. A meal at an izakaya costs ¥3,000 to ¥4,000. If you want to see the black castle lit at night and reflected in the moat with the red bridge, it is about 16 minutes on foot from the station: the park is open, free, and empty. Tomorrow: Kamikochi (an hour and a half by bus, April to November) or the limited express to Nagoya. The options:
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