The very last stop of the Nagano day trip was Matsumoto. From the Nagano City station, we took the train to Matsumoto. It was said that the scene along the Nagano City to Matsumoto was one of the best views in Japan, but unfortunately it was raining and foggy, so we couldn’t see anything except for white clouds of mists.
From the Matsumoto station, took a bus to the Matsumoto Castle. Hailed as one of the most beautiful castle in Japan, and one of the top three apart from Himeji and Kumamoto Castle, we have had our own expectations of it.
Compared to the Himeji Castle, this one was like a black beauty. Not very large but the gardens surrounding it were well kept.
We headed in to get out of the freezing cold and rain. One thing about the castle was that the steps were a challenging height apart. We had to hold on tightly to the railings, and it does not make for an easy feat if you are in a rush.
Interior was pretty bare.
The castle also had a special area named the ‘Moon Viewing Pavilion’, where the owners could sit by the window and gaze upon the moon in the night sky. What blissful life back then!
Overall it was a very short tour, and we wrapped it up quickly before moving on to the museum nearby. We lingered there for a long time because it was warm and we were sick of the cold weather, and partly because we had a long time to wait before the next bus back to our cities.
By late afternoon, we walked wearily back to the Matsumoto station to head back to Nagano city. Saw my senior off back to Tokyo, and I took the 8pm bus back to Osaka, thus concluding my Nagano adventure.
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