13 Sights in Matsumoto, Japan (with Map and Images)

Matsumoto Castle , originally known as Fukashi Castle, is one of Japan's premier historic castles, along with Himeji and Kumamoto. The building is also known as the "Crow Castle" due to its black exterior. It was the seat of Matsumoto Domain under the Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture.

Wikipedia: Matsumoto Castle (EN), Website

The Kaichi School in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture was one of the first schools in Japan. It opened in a temporary building in May 1873, the year after the first major education reforms were introduced by the new Ministry of Education. The school moved to new premises in April 1876. This western-style building, fused with Japanese elements, was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1961. Relocated two years later during work on the nearby Metoba River, in 1965 the old school building was turned into an education museum.

Wikipedia: Kaichi School (EN)

Agata no Mori Park (Agata no Mori Kōen) is an urban park (district park) located in 3-chome, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The facilities of the former Matsumoto High School remain. Cedar and zelkova are planted. Many of these cedars were planted by botanist Chutaro Oto, the second principal of Matsumoto High School. The lawn, pond, and playground equipment are installed in one corner, making it a place of relaxation for children and adults alike. It has an area of about 61,000 square meters.

Wikipedia: あがたの森公園 (JA)

The Ogasawara clan castle sites were a number Sengoku period yamashiro-style Japanese castles located in what is now part of the city of Matsumoto, Nagano prefecture. These fortifications were built in the Muromachi period by the Ogasawara clan, who ruled the area at the time. Two of the castle ruins, that of Igawa Castle and Hayashi Castle, have been protected collectively as a National Historic Sites since 2017.

Wikipedia: Hayashi Castle (EN)

Gofukuji Temple (牛伏寺) is a temple of the Shingon sect Chizan school located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The mountain number is Kinpuzan. The main statue is the eleven-sided Kannon. It is located on the western side of Mt. Hatsubushi (1,929 meters). Known as a temple of Shugendo since ancient times, it is one of the largest and most cultural properties in the prefecture.

Wikipedia: 牛伏寺 (JA)

Tosenji Temple (兎川寺) is a temple of the Shingon sect Chizan school located in Satoyamabe, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The mountain number is Mt. Ehi Takateru. The main statue is Senju Kannon. Shinshu Seven Lucky Gods' Elderly Shrine. For details, it is called Ehi Takateruyama Usagawa Reizuji Temple.

Wikipedia: 兎川寺 (JA)

The Four Pillars Shrine (四pillar shrine) is a Shinto shrine located in Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Locally, it is called "Shinto-san" because of the annual festival "Shinto Festival" in October. In addition, there is a tendency in the local area to misread the four pillars as "shihashira".

Wikipedia: 四柱神社 (JA)

Deyun Temple is a Cao Dongzong temple located on the mountain side of Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture. The mountain number is Futian Mountain. When the temple was founded, it was called Deyun Temple, which was the temple of Linjizong. This reverence is an eleven-sided Guanyin.

Wikipedia: 徳運寺 (松本市) (JA)

Fukashi Shrine (深志神社, Fukashi-jinja) is a Shinto shrine located in Fukashi, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The former shrine was a prefectural shrine, and is now an appendix shrine of the main shrine office. It is commonly known as "Tenjin-sama".

Wikipedia: 深志神社 (JA)

Nagano Gokoku Shrine (長野縣護國神社) is a Gokoku shrine located in Misuzu, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It enshrines people from Nagano Prefecture who were martyred in the national crisis from the Meiji Restoration to World War II.

Wikipedia: 長野縣護國神社 (JA)

The Kōbōyama Kofun (弘法山古墳) is a large kofun burial mound located in the Nakayama neighborhood of the city of Matsumoto, Nagano in the Chūbu region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1976.

Wikipedia: Kōbōyama Kofun (EN), Website

The Matsumoto City Museum is a museum located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Approximately 100,000 historical materials related to Matsumoto Castle and folk materials donated by citizens will be on permanent display.

Wikipedia: 松本市立博物館 (JA)

The Ushibushi River French Staircase Works is a French-style erosion control facility built on the Ushibushi River that flows through Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture. A 141-meter-long stone channel has 19 steps.

Wikipedia: 牛伏川フランス式階段工 (JA)