Locations: Matsumoto castle, Nawate shopping street
This is the fifth and final post describing my journeys through central Japan. Although I spent the last three days in Matsumoto, underlined on the right side of the map, two of them were effectively shut down due to typhoon rains. Fortunately, I was able to spend my last half-day somewhat dry, exploring the most noteworthy parts of the city before departing back to Osaka.
I spent my three nights in Matsumoto at Ryokan Seifu-so, a more modern building located on the riverfront in the suburbs about a 30 minute walk from the city center. Reviews had listed it as a comfortable home base for exploration, so I chose it with that in mind despite its distance from historical sights. Due to the typhoon rains, however, it ended up not making a difference at all. The only excursions I made out of the building for the first two days consisted of brisk walks to the ramen restaurant down the street for dinner. Otherwise, I spent my time resting from my previous mountain adventure, and sorting photos from the first leg of the trip.
On my final day in Matsumoto, the rain finally stopped (although the sky remained mostly overcast), and I had roughly 6 hours to utilize before I had to catch my bus back to Osaka. Thus, I decided to allocate the majority of my time to exploring Matsumoto castle, the primary point of interest in the city.
Matsumoto castle is one of the most famous castles in Japan due to the fact that it has survived centuries of military struggle and maintained its original wooden interior and stone exterior foundation. Most other castles in Japan have had to undergo extensive renovation and reconstruction, especially on the inside. Also, Matsumoto castle is located on a plain (thus typically more prone to battle), unlike most surviving Japanese castles which were built on hilltops. With these facts in mind, I entered through the main entrance to the castle grounds.
Immediately after I purchased my ticket, I passed by a tent of "volunteer English guides", and a very kind old man instantly approached me and offered to give me an extensive tour of the place completely free of charge. There turned out to be no catch at all; these were local people genuinely interested in explaining their culture and history to tourists! The man introduced himself as "Show", which was awkwardly English-friendly both because of its spelling (rather than the typical romanization of Shou) and because it was his first name. Despite my familiarity with basic Japanese customs and names, he insisted that I simply call him Show, so I obliged.
As we passed through the outer castle gates, we were greeted with an awesome view of the castle from the front. Since all other administrative structures around the castle were leveled in the past and never rebuilt, the surrounding emptiness added to the impressive exterior of the castle, whose wooden walls were painted black (unlike most white Japanese castles). The inside was very dark, despite the numerous windows and various openings in the walls, so I couldn't get any decent pictures. Since almost the entire framework of the castle was made out of wood, the interior felt like a maze of wooden pillars and beams. As we went, Show explained the history of the castle in broken, but understandable, English. By the end of his tour, we even started discussing classical music, and I learned that he is currently learning to play piano. Before I left, I gave him a few technique tips, and he thanked me with a pocket tissue holder made out of traditional Japanese cloth by his wife. To commemorate our meeting, we got our picture taken in front of the castle!
Afterwards, I walked to a shopping alley on the riverfront to get a late lunch. The alley, called Nawate Dori, consisted of many small traditional cafes and stores selling various handcrafted goods. Presumably due to its proximity to the river, the mascot of the area was a frog, and many small frog statues, shrines, and frog-themed crafts were scattered all along the alley. Since I was pretty burned out from traditional Japanese cuisine by this point, and since there was an overwhelmingly delicious scent of garlic bread on the street, I succumbed to a French cafe for lunch. It wasn't amazing, but still enjoyable enough; it's tough to go wrong with pastrami and garlic bread.
This is the fifth and final post describing my journeys through central Japan. Although I spent the last three days in Matsumoto, underlined on the right side of the map, two of them were effectively shut down due to typhoon rains. Fortunately, I was able to spend my last half-day somewhat dry, exploring the most noteworthy parts of the city before departing back to Osaka.
I spent my three nights in Matsumoto at Ryokan Seifu-so, a more modern building located on the riverfront in the suburbs about a 30 minute walk from the city center. Reviews had listed it as a comfortable home base for exploration, so I chose it with that in mind despite its distance from historical sights. Due to the typhoon rains, however, it ended up not making a difference at all. The only excursions I made out of the building for the first two days consisted of brisk walks to the ramen restaurant down the street for dinner. Otherwise, I spent my time resting from my previous mountain adventure, and sorting photos from the first leg of the trip.
On my final day in Matsumoto, the rain finally stopped (although the sky remained mostly overcast), and I had roughly 6 hours to utilize before I had to catch my bus back to Osaka. Thus, I decided to allocate the majority of my time to exploring Matsumoto castle, the primary point of interest in the city.
Matsumoto castle is one of the most famous castles in Japan due to the fact that it has survived centuries of military struggle and maintained its original wooden interior and stone exterior foundation. Most other castles in Japan have had to undergo extensive renovation and reconstruction, especially on the inside. Also, Matsumoto castle is located on a plain (thus typically more prone to battle), unlike most surviving Japanese castles which were built on hilltops. With these facts in mind, I entered through the main entrance to the castle grounds.
Immediately after I purchased my ticket, I passed by a tent of "volunteer English guides", and a very kind old man instantly approached me and offered to give me an extensive tour of the place completely free of charge. There turned out to be no catch at all; these were local people genuinely interested in explaining their culture and history to tourists! The man introduced himself as "Show", which was awkwardly English-friendly both because of its spelling (rather than the typical romanization of Shou) and because it was his first name. Despite my familiarity with basic Japanese customs and names, he insisted that I simply call him Show, so I obliged.
As we passed through the outer castle gates, we were greeted with an awesome view of the castle from the front. Since all other administrative structures around the castle were leveled in the past and never rebuilt, the surrounding emptiness added to the impressive exterior of the castle, whose wooden walls were painted black (unlike most white Japanese castles). The inside was very dark, despite the numerous windows and various openings in the walls, so I couldn't get any decent pictures. Since almost the entire framework of the castle was made out of wood, the interior felt like a maze of wooden pillars and beams. As we went, Show explained the history of the castle in broken, but understandable, English. By the end of his tour, we even started discussing classical music, and I learned that he is currently learning to play piano. Before I left, I gave him a few technique tips, and he thanked me with a pocket tissue holder made out of traditional Japanese cloth by his wife. To commemorate our meeting, we got our picture taken in front of the castle!
View of Matsumoto castle from across the moat, looking dramatic even in cloudy skies
In the castle grounds, which used to contain other administrative buildings
After the tour with Show, my local guide!
Afterwards, I walked to a shopping alley on the riverfront to get a late lunch. The alley, called Nawate Dori, consisted of many small traditional cafes and stores selling various handcrafted goods. Presumably due to its proximity to the river, the mascot of the area was a frog, and many small frog statues, shrines, and frog-themed crafts were scattered all along the alley. Since I was pretty burned out from traditional Japanese cuisine by this point, and since there was an overwhelmingly delicious scent of garlic bread on the street, I succumbed to a French cafe for lunch. It wasn't amazing, but still enjoyable enough; it's tough to go wrong with pastrami and garlic bread.
One of the cute frog statues along Nawate Dori
A frog "shrine" along the riverfront
Small shops and cafes line this riverside alleyway
At the exit, two samurai toads seem to be battling it out on top of a larger, clearly displeased toad
After my lunch, I made one final loop through Nawate Dori, looking out for any last interesting souvenirs or snacks I could snag, and then started my way towards the bus terminal. Cloudy skies once again limited any scenic views I may have had on my way back, since the bus route went along both the central and southern Japanese Alps. 6 hours later, I returned home to my apartment in Osaka, exhausted but extremely satisfied with the trip. Since I had enjoyed my time in Takayama (first part of the trip) so much, I immediately started planning for a return trip in the winter. In the meantime, however, labwork was calling me back, and so the next morning I returned to my alchemical journey in Osaka!
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