Must see attractions in Matsumoto

Must-see Matsumoto-jō is Japan's oldest wooden castle and one of four castles designated National Treasures – the others are Hikone, Himeji and Inuyama…

Housing more than 100,000 woodblock prints, paintings, screens and old books, this renowned museum exhibits but a fraction of its collection. The museum…

Nawate-dōri, a few blocks south from the castle, is a popular street for a stroll. Vendors along this riverside walk sell antiques, souvenirs, and…

This sleek museum has a good collection of the work of Japanese artists, many of whom hail from Matsumoto or whose art depicts scenes of the surrounding…

Atop Utsukushi-ga-hara-kōgen plateau you'll find this seemingly random sculpture garden with some 350 pieces, mostly by Japanese sculptors. The…

Adjacent to the better-known Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, amid fields and rice paddies beneath the gaze of the Alps, stand these five examples of striking late…

A few blocks north of the castle, the former Kaichi School is both an Important Cultural Property and the oldest elementary school in Japan, founded in…

Home to Japan's largest pendulum clock (on the building's exterior) and over 300 other timepieces, including fascinating medieval Japanese creations, this…