Matsumoto

The second half of our day on Saturday was spent in Matsumoto. Matsumoto is a city surrounded by mountains in the Nagano prefecture. It was about a 1.5 hour drive from the Snow Monkey Park.

The highlight of our visit to Matsumoto was the Matsumoto Castle. This castle was unlike any castle I have ever seen. Mainly because it was a Japanese castle.

The weather in the afternoon was perfect allowing for excellent lighting on the castle. We were amazed with the perfect weather we had all day. Clear in the morning so we could see Mt. Fuji, snowed while we were visiting the snow Monkeys and then perfect clouds in Matsumoto.

The Matsumoto Castle is listed as a National Treasure of Japan. It is often referred to as the “Crow Castle” because it’s black color and roof line give the image of crow wings.

The castle was built during the Sengoku Period and completed between 1593-1594. For 280 years, the castle was ruled by 23 different lords until the Meiji Restoration abolished the feudal system. In 1873, the castle was sold at auction and prepared for restoration. The main structure was experiencing a significant starboard list. Since 1873b, two significant renovations have occurred. One between 1903-1913 and the other between 1950-1955. An earthquake in June of 2011 caused 10 cracks to form in the walls of the main structure and potential renovations are being discussed.

Upon entering the castle, visitors are asked to remove their shoes. You are provided slippers to wear while walking around. Dave had a little bit of a struggle finding a pair to fit his size 12.

The Castle has 6 floors. Each floor is connected by a set of narrow and steep stairs! I wasn’t able to photograph each set because of the crowds. These will give you an idea.

The view of the surrounding mountains from the sixth floor was beautiful.

After exploring the castle, we walked around the gardens and had a couple unique photo opportunities.

We had a little bit of time before needing to catch the bus, enabling us to explore the city of Matsumoto. We found this beautiful temple and I purchased another temple book. Two reasons – 1. I only have 3 spots left in my book. 2. I forgot mine. Ugh. Rookie mistake!