Todays adventure is mainly Matsumoto-jo (jo meaning castle). It’s one of only 12 remaining castles in Japan that still exist in their original form, and it is the only remaining 6 story castle. Due to its black exterior it is called the “crow castle”. We had a rather grey day unfortunately, with on and off rain, so the photos aren’t peehaps what they could be.
After touring the castle we went into town a bit, to the “frog street” shopping area. A variety of small shops and temporary stalls were set up. In particular we patronized the senbei (rice cracker) and taiyaki (fish-shaped sweet-bean paste filled pastry) shops.
A small stone stairway led down to the river that runs through town. Across the river was a district full of “kura” or storehouses. Thick walled and covered in plaster to resist fire, merchants built these to protect their goods. They can be found in preserved merchant towns, and Matsumoto had quite a few. Even our ryokan had design elements from kura.
Our ryokan was quite far from the city center in a neighborhood that had many small onsen hotels and also a large public onsen, which seemed to be used by locals as much or more than by tourists.
Out and About 