Matsumoto Half-Day Private Tour with Government Licensed Guide
Overview
This value-packed trip with a government-licensed and experienced multilingual tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore Matsumoto!
Matsumoto is an attractive, cosmopolitan city featuring a superb castle, pretty streets, galleries, and cafes. Matsumoto is a great stepping stone on your way to the Northern Alps, or you can simply enjoy the city's fresh air and dramatic scenery of the nearby mountain peaks.
Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a four-hour tour that's best for you!
Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary.
Note*2: National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.
Matsumoto is an attractive, cosmopolitan city featuring a superb castle, pretty streets, galleries, and cafes. Matsumoto is a great stepping stone on your way to the Northern Alps, or you can simply enjoy the city's fresh air and dramatic scenery of the nearby mountain peaks.
Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a four-hour tour that's best for you!
Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary.
Note*2: National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.
Inclusions
- Licensed Local Guide
- Customizable Tour of your choice of 2-3 sites from 'What to expect' list
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Matsumoto Castle, 4-1 Marunouchi, Matsumoto 390-0873 Nagano Prefecture
Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumotojō) is one of the most complete and beautiful among Japan's original castles. It is a "hirajiro" - a castle built on plains rather than on a hill or mountain. Matsumoto Castle is unique for having both a secondary donjon and a turret adjoined to its main keep. The castle structures, in combination with their characteristic black wainscoting, give off an air of grandeur and poise.
Matsumotojo's main castle keep and its smaller, second donjon were built from 1592 to 1614. Both these structures were well-fortified as peace was not yet fully achieved at the time. In 1635, when military threats had ceased, a third, barely defended turret and another for moon viewing were added to the castle.
Admission
610 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Daio Wasabi Farm, 3640 Hotaka, Azumino 399-8303 Nagano Prefecture
The Daio Wasabi Farm (大王わさび農場, Daiō Wasabi Nōjō) in rural Azumino City near Matsumoto is one of Japan's largest wasabi farms and a popular tourist destination. The farm has multiple large fields with a meticulously maintained network of small streams that constantly provides each wasabi plant with clear, flowing water from the Northern Alps. Only under such pristine conditions is wasabi cultivation possible. From May to October, the fields are protected from the sun by black tarp sheets.
The farm has been attractively developed for tourists with walking trails between the fields. Within the farm stands the Daio Shrine, which enshrines the spirit of an ancient local hero, Hachimen Daio, after which the farm has been named and who is considered the farm's protector. Nearby the shrine is also a small cave related to the local hero's legend.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, 2206-1 Koshiba, Shimadach, Matsumoto Nagano Prefecture
The Japan Ukiyoe Museum (日本浮世絵博物館, Nihon Ukiyoe Hakubutsukan) exhibits ukiyoe (woodblock prints) from the vast collection of the Sakai family. One of Matsumoto's wealthiest merchants of his time, Sakai Yoshiaki started collecting ukiyoe and other pieces of art roughly 300 years ago. His descendants have been enlarging the collection to over 100, 000 pieces, making it one of the world's largest private art collections.
Compared to the size of the collection and the museum building, the number of works exhibited in the Japan Ukiyoe Museum is rather small, partly due to the fact that the building was originally built solely for storage rather than exhibition purposes. English descriptions for the exhibits are brief.
Admission
1000 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Nakamachi Street, Chuo, Matsumoto 390-0811 Nagano Prefecture
A short walk from the castle, Nakamachi-dori (中町通り, Nakamachi-dōri) is a small section of Matsumoto's town center with streets lined by nicely preserved, old buildings. The buildings include a number of warehouse-type buildings (kura) with large white-painted walls. The area is where the city's merchants used to live during the Edo Period, and today, the types of buildings here reflect this history. Some of the buildings house small shops, restaurants and ryokan.
Running parallel to Nakamachi across the river lies "Frog Street", a pedestrian-only lane of shops and cafes housed in small, traditional-style buildings. The street got its nickname in the Meiji Period after the construction of Yohashira Shrine for which it serves as the main approach. Businesses sprung up, allowing people to buy items and return home after worshipping. The two acts sound phonetically identical to the word for frog (kaeru) in Japanese, thus spawning the street's colloquial label. Today, a frog statue stands at the entrance to the street to protect the businesses.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Matsumoto City Museum of Art, 4-2-22 Chuo, Matsumoto 390-0811 Nagano Prefecture
The Matsumoto City Museum of Art (松本市美術館, Matsumoto-shi Bijutsukan) is a museum in Matsumoto dedicated to showcasing the work of artists associated with the city. The museum's main attraction is its collection of works from the world famous Matsumoto-born artist Kusama Yayoi. Kusama was born in 1929 and is internationally known for her hallmark bright and vivid pieces that include one of her most famous works, Pumpkin, on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture.
The collection of the artist's works exhibited at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art include various paintings and sculptures that were created in her typically vivid and colorful style. Yayoi's work is also exhibited outside the building's main entrance in the form of a large sculpture of tulips that was erected with the museum's founding in 2002. The works of other artists are showcased in a separate section of the museum with exhibits that rotate throughout the year. The museum also houses a shop selling various souvenirs and goods relating to the art.
Admission
410 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Matsumoto City Timepiece Museum, 1-21-15 Chuo, Matsumoto 390-0811 Nagano Prefecture
The Matsumoto Timepiece Museum (松本市時計博物館, Matsumoto-shi Tokei Hakubutsukan) is a museum in Matsumoto dedicated to timepieces from inside and outside of Japan. The museum, which is spread over three floors, showcases watches and clocks of many different kinds. Exhibits include watches linked to certain professions, such as train conductor and nurse watches, and ornate timepieces from different countries, like European and Asian grandfather clocks from past centuries. There are also various clocks with quirky design elements and even sundials.
While the first two floors house the museum's permanent collection, which also includes a small exhibition of gramophones and musical records, the third floor holds temporary exhibitions of clocks connected through a particular theme. A symbol of the museum and embedded on its outside wall is the largest pendulum clock in Japan.
Admission
300 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Nawate Shopping District, Matsumoto Nagano Prefecture
Nawate-dori is known as the place to come in Matsumoto if you want to shop up a storm.
This is one of the most traditional shopping streets in the city and also runs along the scenic river bank, making it the perfect place to go for a walk.
The stores along the road sell a range of goods such as antiques, traditional snacks and memorabilia such as secondhand books.
Make sure to check out the frog sculpture here which is said to be the official mascot of the street.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Matsumoto Folkcraft Museum (Matsumoto Mingei-kan), 1313-1 Satoyama, Matsumoto 390-0221 Nagano Prefecture
The Matsumoto Folkcraft Museum is not one of the largest museums in the city but it is still a great place to come to learn all about the arts and crafts in this part of Japan.
The pieces on show here belong to the private collection of Taro Maruyama who collected folk pieces throughout his life and it will give you a window into some of the less well known folk handicrafts that would have been made in the days of old.
There are also tour guides here who will take you around the museum and explain some of the pieces on show.
Duration: 30 minutes
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Matsumoto Castle, 4-1 Marunouchi, Matsumoto 390-0873 Nagano Prefecture
Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumotojō) is one of the most complete and beautiful among Japan's original castles. It is a "hirajiro" - a castle built on plains rather than on a hill or mountain. Matsumoto Castle is unique for having both a secondary donjon and a turret adjoined to its main keep. The castle structures, in combination with their characteristic black wainscoting, give off an air of grandeur and poise.
Matsumotojo's main castle keep and its smaller, second donjon were built from 1592 to 1614. Both these structures were well-fortified as peace was not yet fully achieved at the time. In 1635, when military threats had ceased, a third, barely defended turret and another for moon viewing were added to the castle.
Admission
610 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Daio Wasabi Farm, 3640 Hotaka, Azumino 399-8303 Nagano Prefecture
The Daio Wasabi Farm (大王わさび農場, Daiō Wasabi Nōjō) in rural Azumino City near Matsumoto is one of Japan's largest wasabi farms and a popular tourist destination. The farm has multiple large fields with a meticulously maintained network of small streams that constantly provides each wasabi plant with clear, flowing water from the Northern Alps. Only under such pristine conditions is wasabi cultivation possible. From May to October, the fields are protected from the sun by black tarp sheets.
The farm has been attractively developed for tourists with walking trails between the fields. Within the farm stands the Daio Shrine, which enshrines the spirit of an ancient local hero, Hachimen Daio, after which the farm has been named and who is considered the farm's protector. Nearby the shrine is also a small cave related to the local hero's legend.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, 2206-1 Koshiba, Shimadach, Matsumoto Nagano Prefecture
The Japan Ukiyoe Museum (日本浮世絵博物館, Nihon Ukiyoe Hakubutsukan) exhibits ukiyoe (woodblock prints) from the vast collection of the Sakai family. One of Matsumoto's wealthiest merchants of his time, Sakai Yoshiaki started collecting ukiyoe and other pieces of art roughly 300 years ago. His descendants have been enlarging the collection to over 100, 000 pieces, making it one of the world's largest private art collections.
Compared to the size of the collection and the museum building, the number of works exhibited in the Japan Ukiyoe Museum is rather small, partly due to the fact that the building was originally built solely for storage rather than exhibition purposes. English descriptions for the exhibits are brief.
Admission
1000 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Nakamachi Street, Chuo, Matsumoto 390-0811 Nagano Prefecture
A short walk from the castle, Nakamachi-dori (中町通り, Nakamachi-dōri) is a small section of Matsumoto's town center with streets lined by nicely preserved, old buildings. The buildings include a number of warehouse-type buildings (kura) with large white-painted walls. The area is where the city's merchants used to live during the Edo Period, and today, the types of buildings here reflect this history. Some of the buildings house small shops, restaurants and ryokan.
Running parallel to Nakamachi across the river lies "Frog Street", a pedestrian-only lane of shops and cafes housed in small, traditional-style buildings. The street got its nickname in the Meiji Period after the construction of Yohashira Shrine for which it serves as the main approach. Businesses sprung up, allowing people to buy items and return home after worshipping. The two acts sound phonetically identical to the word for frog (kaeru) in Japanese, thus spawning the street's colloquial label. Today, a frog statue stands at the entrance to the street to protect the businesses.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Matsumoto City Museum of Art, 4-2-22 Chuo, Matsumoto 390-0811 Nagano Prefecture
The Matsumoto City Museum of Art (松本市美術館, Matsumoto-shi Bijutsukan) is a museum in Matsumoto dedicated to showcasing the work of artists associated with the city. The museum's main attraction is its collection of works from the world famous Matsumoto-born artist Kusama Yayoi. Kusama was born in 1929 and is internationally known for her hallmark bright and vivid pieces that include one of her most famous works, Pumpkin, on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture.
The collection of the artist's works exhibited at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art include various paintings and sculptures that were created in her typically vivid and colorful style. Yayoi's work is also exhibited outside the building's main entrance in the form of a large sculpture of tulips that was erected with the museum's founding in 2002. The works of other artists are showcased in a separate section of the museum with exhibits that rotate throughout the year. The museum also houses a shop selling various souvenirs and goods relating to the art.
Admission
410 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Matsumoto City Timepiece Museum, 1-21-15 Chuo, Matsumoto 390-0811 Nagano Prefecture
The Matsumoto Timepiece Museum (松本市時計博物館, Matsumoto-shi Tokei Hakubutsukan) is a museum in Matsumoto dedicated to timepieces from inside and outside of Japan. The museum, which is spread over three floors, showcases watches and clocks of many different kinds. Exhibits include watches linked to certain professions, such as train conductor and nurse watches, and ornate timepieces from different countries, like European and Asian grandfather clocks from past centuries. There are also various clocks with quirky design elements and even sundials.
While the first two floors house the museum's permanent collection, which also includes a small exhibition of gramophones and musical records, the third floor holds temporary exhibitions of clocks connected through a particular theme. A symbol of the museum and embedded on its outside wall is the largest pendulum clock in Japan.
Admission
300 yen
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Nawate Shopping District, Matsumoto Nagano Prefecture
Nawate-dori is known as the place to come in Matsumoto if you want to shop up a storm.
This is one of the most traditional shopping streets in the city and also runs along the scenic river bank, making it the perfect place to go for a walk.
The stores along the road sell a range of goods such as antiques, traditional snacks and memorabilia such as secondhand books.
Make sure to check out the frog sculpture here which is said to be the official mascot of the street.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Matsumoto Folkcraft Museum (Matsumoto Mingei-kan), 1313-1 Satoyama, Matsumoto 390-0221 Nagano Prefecture
The Matsumoto Folkcraft Museum is not one of the largest museums in the city but it is still a great place to come to learn all about the arts and crafts in this part of Japan.
The pieces on show here belong to the private collection of Taro Maruyama who collected folk pieces throughout his life and it will give you a window into some of the less well known folk handicrafts that would have been made in the days of old.
There are also tour guides here who will take you around the museum and explain some of the pieces on show.
Duration: 30 minutes
Additional information
- Infant seats available
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Wheelchair accessible
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.