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MATSUMOTO |
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Some 50km southwest of Nagano across the Hijiri Kogen mountains is
the prefecture's second largest city, MATSUMOTO , justly famous for its
splendid castle , Matsumoto-jo, which has the oldest donjon (central
keep) in Japan, dating from 1595. Also in the centre of this attractive
town - gateway to the Japan Alps - is the Nakamachi area of traditional
white-walled houses, many now renovated into ryokan and shops, while to
the west is the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum , where beautiful traditional
prints are displayed inside a surprisingly ugly modern building.
Matsumoto also has a reputation as a centre for classical music. It was
the home of Dr Suzuki Shini'ichi (who died nine months short of his
100th birthday in 1998), an internationally famous music teacher who
encouraged children to learn to play instruments by using their natural
gift for mimicry. His "Suzuki Method" is taught in the town's Suzuki
Shin-ichi Talent Education Hall, around 1km east of Matsumoto Station.
Every September Matsumoto also hosts the ten-day Saito Kinen, a
classical music festival in memory of another local talent, Saito Hideo,
celebrated conductor and mentor to many famous musicians, including
Ozawa Seiji, director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
North of Matsumoto is the picturesque rural area of Hotaka , known for
its wasabi (horseradish) farms and also a starting point for hikes up
into the nearby Japan Alps. Serious mountaineers head straight from
Matsumoto west to the beautiful lake and mountain resort of Kamikochi ,
popularized by British missionary Walter Weston at the turn of the
century. The mountains get so much snow that Kamikochi is only open from
late April to the end of October, when it can be very busy. A less
crowded alternative is the nearby onsen and ski resort of Norikura Kogen
. The fabulous Skyline Road runs through this area, across to Takayama
in neighbouring Gifu-ken ; drive along it and you'll see why Nagano-ken
is known as the "roof of Japan".
The City
Matsumoto's castle is its big attraction, but you'll find some nice
surprises as you make your way to it. Check out the old houses along
Nakamachi-dori, which runs parallel to the southern bank of the Metoba
River. Among the white-walled inns, antique shops and restaurants, look
out for the Nakamachi Kura-no-Kaikan, a beautifully restored sake
brewery with a soaring black-beam interior and traditional
cross-hatching plasterwork outside. Cross over the river by any of
several bridges and return to Daimyo-cho-dori along the colourful market
street Nawate-dori. The castle grounds are just a couple of hundred
metres north of here.
One of the great pleasures of approaching Matsumoto's castle is that it
remains hidden from view until the very last moment. Matsumoto-jo (daily
8.30am-5pm; ¥520), also known as Karasu-jo (Crow Castle) because of its
brooding black facade, makes its sudden dramatic appearance as you enter
the outer grounds and approach the moat on which swans float by. The
castle was started by the Ogasawara clan in 1504, but it was another
lord, Ishikawa, who remodelled the fortress in 1593 and built the
five-tier donjon that is now the oldest keep in Japan. You must take
your shoes off before clambering up the dark, steep wooden stairs to the
donjon's sixth storey (it has the traditional hidden floor of most
Japanese castles) from which you can look out over the town and
surrounding mountains. The entrance fee to the castle also includes
access to the quirky Japan Folklore Museum (daily 8.30am-5pm), which is
just before the moat. Inside, the displays include a good model of how
Matsumoto looked in feudal times.
If you have time, head north of the castle for around 500m until you
reach the attractive Kaichi Gakko (Mon-Sat 8.30am-4.30pm; ¥310), the
oldest Western-style school building in Japan, dating from 1876. It's
just a dusty Victorian school inside, but the handsome, pale-blue
facade, decorated with temple-style plasterwork, is worth a look.
Matsumoto's other main sight is the hideously modern glass-and-concrete
Japan Ukiyo-e Museum (Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; ¥900), some 3km west of the
station, which houses 100,000 woodblock prints, including works by the
great masters Hiroshige Utagawa and Hokusai Katsushika. Only a fraction
of the museum's splendid collection is ever on display, and an English
leaflet is available to help guide you around. The simplest way to reach
the museum is to hop in a taxi, which will cost around ¥2000 from the
town centre.
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