On Saturday the 13th of February 2021, in cooperation with local tourism organizations, Welcome-Matsumoto introduced you live from Matsumoto City some of the city’s most interesting sites, including the famous historic castle. Let’s get back behind the scenes with this Matsumoto Video Backstage Passport. Watch the video How did the project come about? In these times of worldwide health crise, it has become impossible to travel to Japan and enjoy the authentic charm of this ancient country. It was on this simple (and unfortunately quite sad) observation that the project was born. Initiated by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the Nagano Prefecture, and more precisely the Nagano Prefecture Tourism […]
With the onset of spring comes the much-anticipated cherry blossom season. The Japanese know how to celebrate this event as it should! Matsumoto City is adorned with the most beautiful pink and white pigments. But do you know what happens after dark? Matsumoto and its historic castle are lit up for an even more impressive sight! Join us for a night walk through the Sakura at Matsumoto Castle. The interior garden of the castle The grounds inside the castle are normally closed after 4:30 pm. But during the Night Time Cherry Blossoms Festival, access is permitted to the interior garden of Matsumoto Castle for a limited time. It is from […]
Spring has once again come to Matsumoto! The air is warmer, the evenings are longer, and the trees are exploding in white and pink. Everywhere you turn you’ll see these famous flowers called ‘sakura’. But if you want to find the most beautiful cherry blossoms in Matsumoto, it’s good to know where to look. Lucky for you, we know exactly where to go! Matsumoto Castle – of course! Yes, this is a given! Matsumoto Castle is a beautiful sight on its own. Surrounded by sakura, Japan’s oldest extant castle keep takes on an aura of fairytale proportions. And yet there’s more than just the main castle itself. Take a walk […]
During the Meiji Restoration, Japan established a network of special secondary schools to nurture the country’s best and brightest young minds. There were only forty-one of these ‘Higher Schools’ in Japan. Matsumoto was home to one of them. Most of these schools no longer exist, but you can still walk these halls of history right here in Matsumoto, at the Old Higher School Museum in Agata-no-Mori Park. Life of the Higher Schools When Japan opened its ports to the world in 1868, a deluge of western ideas came pouring in. To more deeply understand the ways of the west, Japan established a network of Imperial universities where students took science, […]
We are pleased to announce the release of the Tamayura collection of poems – “I listen to myself attentively in silence” – available today! Take an opportunity to discover a local poet in bilingual French and Japanese. Shizuka Miyatsu invites you to share his unique vision of the world around him through his poetry. Meet the poet of Matsumoto! Shizuka & Miyatsu “I am giving you a part of Me, so that you no longer feel alone. In the world, one is with the other.” Ephemeral Western poets say that life is transitory and beautiful. One example of this is the Japanese tea ceremony, Simple beauty, without excess, but possessing […]
Due to large-scale renovations, the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, the Former Kaichi School and the Matsumoto City Museum will begin their temporary closures from April 2021. Due to the importance of this work, these museums will remain closed for the near future. Please see below for further information regarding Matsumoto’s museums closure notification. The Matsumoto City Museum of Art showcases the works of many Japanese artists and houses a permanent exhibition of the world-renowned avant-garde artist, Yayoi Kusama. This museum will be closed for about one year following April 1st, 2021 due to large-scale renovations. Read our article Built at the beginning of the Meiji Period, The Former Kaichi […]
