Nagano Prefecture · Japan
Where to stay in Matsumoto
Matsumoto is a city in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, home to about 239,000 people. This guide covers 2 hotels in Matsumoto.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 2
- Nearest airport
- MMJ9 km · Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport
- Currency
- JPYyen
- Time zone
- Asia/Tokyo
- Language
- Japanese
About
About Matsumoto
Matsumoto is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a core city since 1 April 2021.
Matsumoto is best known as the home of Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan's 12 original castles. Visit Matsumoto is the city's official multilingual guide site.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Matsumoto
See
- Matsumoto Castle
- Matsumoto Folkcraft Museum
- Japan Ukiyo-e Museum
- Uchibuse River French Waterfall
- Japanese Court and Open-air Architectural Museum
- Matsumoto City Timepiece Museum
- Matsumoto City Museum of Art
Do
Matsumoto is surrounded by numerous campsites and onsen. A hiking map in English can be picked up from the information center, a 5-minute walk south of the castle.
- Shiionoyu
- Shiraito No Yu Onsen
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Matsumoto
2 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay |
|---|
| Toyoko Inn Matsumoto Ekimae Hommachi hotel |
| Toyoko Inn Matsumoto-eki Higashi-guchi hotel |
When to go
The best time to visit Matsumoto
Matsumoto has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; July is the wettest, with about 256 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Matsumoto: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport (MMJ), about 9.1 km from the city centre in a straight line; Toyama Kitokito Airport (TOY, 84 km) and Komatsu Airport / JASDF Komatsu Air Base (KMQ, 141 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
You can walk to Matsumoto Castle, about a mile northeast of the station, in about 20 minutes. Alternatively, the Town Sneaker Bus by Alpico Kotsu departs from in front of Matsumoto Station every 30 minutes and makes a circular trip to all city sights — it costs ¥200 each time you get off. ¥500 for a day ticket. Half-price for children. Japanese IC cards don't work on buses in Matsumoto. However, contactless payment with major credit cards except for Mastercard is possible. Tap on with the card when entering from the rear of the bus and tap off again when leaving at the front.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
MMJ · Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport
TOY · Toyama Kitokito Airport
KMQ · Komatsu Airport / JASDF Komatsu Air Base
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Matsumoto
Eat
Matsumoto is mildly famous for its soba noodles, hopefully served with a dab of product from the world's largest wasabi farm nearby. You can have them as chilled zaru-soba in the summer, a refreshing way to experience the pure taste of the noodles, or in the winter as toji-soba, where you eat them by dipping a little bamboo basket into a pot of broth. Matsumoto is also famous for its raw horse meat (basashi).
Drink
The backstreets of Nawate-dōri have small lively places where local people have food with drinks.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Matsumoto: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Matsumoto?
Matsumoto has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; July is the wettest, with about 256 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Matsumoto?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport (MMJ), about 9.1 km from the city centre in a straight line; Toyama Kitokito Airport (TOY, 84 km) and Komatsu Airport / JASDF Komatsu Air Base (KMQ, 141 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Matsumoto?
yen (JPY).
Nearby
Destinations near Matsumoto
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.