A stroll through Matsumoto's castle town, recommended for a girls' trip.
The castle town of Matsumoto still remains in the city, with Matsumoto Castle, Nakamachi-dori lined with warehouses, and Nawate-dori with its row-home style stores. It is a ten-minute walk from Matsumoto Station to the center of the city where Nakamachi-dori and Nawate-dori are located, and to the Ote area near Matsumoto Castle. Depending on how you tour the tourist spots, you can enjoy walking around the city while eating and taking side trips. Here are some spots recommended for a girls' trip where you can enjoy cute goods and delicious food while experiencing retro and fashionable culture.
＜Recommended spots for a girls' trip in Matsumoto
1Shioribi
A retro book café renovated from an electronics store called Takahashi Radio Shokai, the first floor is mainly a café space, while the second floor features a retro interior and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with a variety of books and magazines. Most of the books selected are little presses, published in small numbers. You will find art books that are rarely seen in bookstores, so you will be able to find a book that offers a new sense of values and lifestyle. Once you find your favorite book, relax and read it on a comfortable retro chair or sofa. This café is like a stylish study, where you can experience the unique sense of the little press.
Enjoy mornings and lunches in a relaxed atmosphere
The morning set of toast and drink is a popular item on the café menu, available only from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. Morning meals enjoyed in the unique quietness of Shiori Day are a moment of rest and relaxation. You can enjoy it to your heart's content along with a selection of books.
The coffee is made from beans roasted at KAFE Kofun, a famous coffee shop in Kyoto. The beans are carefully roasted by a roasting craftsman and are sure to please even the most discerning coffee lover. Taste them with baked goods such as donuts and cookies.
2Matsumoto City Museum of Art
Matsumoto City Museum of Art is a 12-minute walk from Matsumoto Station. Near the entrance is an outdoor sculpture by Yayoi Kusama, who is associated with Matsumoto City. In addition, the polka dot pattern that symbolizes Yayoi Kusama is painted on the walls of the Property, welcoming visitors with its unique use of color and form.
The museum mainly exhibits and collects works by artists associated with Matsumoto City, and is a popular tourist spot as well as a place where local residents can easily come into contact with art.
Exhibitions with a wide variety of artworks
The permanent exhibition room on the third floor displays paintings and three-dimensional works by Yayoi Kusama, calligraphy by famous calligrapher Shinzan Kamijo, and paintings by Kazuo Tamura, who loved the mountains of Shinshu. The exhibits are changed three times a year so that visitors can encounter many works of art. In another exhibition room, the curators decide on a theme from the collection and change the exhibits three times a year, which is also a fun experience.
The museum store offers a variety of products, from Yayoi Kusama tenugui hand towels that can only be purchased at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art to original products named after the artists whose works are on display, as well as crafts unique to Matsumoto, a city famous for its craft fairs.
- Matsumoto City Museum of Art
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4-2-22 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
12 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
From Matsumoto Station, take the Alpico Kotsu Bus "Kita City Line East-bound" and get off at Matsumoto City Museum of Art.
From Matsumoto Station, take the Town Sneaker "East Course" and get off at Matsumoto City Museum of Art.
9:00-17:00 (admission until 16:30)
Mondays, Year-end and New Year holidays
Collection Exhibition: Adults 410 yen, college and high school students 200 yen, junior high school students and younger free
0263-39-7400
Free of charge
3Soba Club Sasaki
This is a famous restaurant where you can taste valuable native buckwheat noodles from the Sei Kogen and Togakushi areas of Shinshu. The soba is characterized by its smaller size, flavor, and more delicious taste than ordinary buckwheat noodles.
The buckwheat is purchased in its hull, kept at a low temperature to bring out its sweetness, and then ground in-house. The soup is made with the finest natural broth, including dried bonito flakes from Shizuoka, grilled horse mackerel from Ogasawara, and kelp from Rausu, and is further enhanced by the aromatic soy sauce from the local Okubo Brewery.
The most popular "Morisoba", which allows you to enjoy the original aroma of soba, is best tasted first with salt (Himalayan rock salt). The rich aroma and sweetness of the buckwheat can be felt straight away.
In addition, you can enjoy side dishes such as "smoked chicken breast, liver, duck, deer, etc.".
A stylish soba bar at night
In the evening, it becomes a soba (buckwheat noodle) bar where you can enjoy drinks, snacks, and soba (buckwheat noodles). The owner carefully selects local sake, shochu, and local beer to be served in a space where jazz music is played. Enjoy a drink with a side dish from the menu, which changes depending on the day's stock, such as soba salad or beef cheek stewed in red wine. Finish off your meal with a bowl of fine soba.
The restaurant is a 10-minute walk from Matsumoto Castle and 5 minutes away from Nakamachi-dori and Namite-dori, making it a convenient location to visit for lunch or dinner.
As you can see from the indigo-dyed curtain of the store, it is a popular place with long lines of customers on weekends and holidays.
- Soba Club Sasaki
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- 4-8-3 Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 13 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
- Lunch 11:30-14:00 (close when sold out)
Evening 18:00 - 20:00 - Sunday, Monday, Tuesday night (reservations can be made on Sunday)
- 0263-88-3388
4Taiyaki Furusato
Located on Matsumoto's famous Nawate-dori street, where every day is like a fair, this taiyaki specialty store was established in 1946. The most popular item is the classic taiyaki, filled with sweet bean paste. The taiyaki is large, thick, and filled with red bean paste all the way to the tail. The crispy texture of the thin crust and the moderate sweetness of the red bean paste make it a perfect dish for when you are tired from walking around.
There are three types of taiyaki: the standard red bean paste, custard flavor, and sausage taiyaki flavored with mayonnaise. In summer, we also recommend the Taiyaki Ice Cream (250 yen), which is red bean paste topped with ice cream and sandwiched between taiyaki monaka.
Ippon-yaki, the old-fashioned way
Taiyakis are "natural products," meaning that each fish is baked one by one in a single baking die. Each taiyaki is carefully baked using traditional methods. The baking die is made of cast iron, which has been used since 1970. The red bean paste is made from high-quality azuki beans produced in Hokkaido. The flour is made from a variety of flour called Shirane from Nagano Prefecture, which has a strong flavor and firmness.
Although lines are inevitable during the tourist season, Nawate-dori, a street lined with row-house-style stores, has a retro Showa-era atmosphere, and it is fun to wait in line and watch the baking process.
- Taiyaki Furusato
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- 4-1 Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 13 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
- 10:00-18:00
- Tuesdays (Temporary closing is available)
- 0263-39-5552
5Raijindo, Matsumoto Nawate-dori Store
The store is known for its hand-baked rice crackers, made mainly from Yamagata rice and other domestically produced rice, which are baked one by one. The crackers are further savored by dipping them in a blend of "re-finished soy sauce," which has a rich taste and aroma. In addition to rice crackers, there are always about 70 varieties of arare (rice crackers), kakimochi (rice cakes with sweetened beans), and other products available in the store.
The "Ewari Senbei" (250 yen) in a paper cup is recommended as an accompaniment to a stroll along Nawate-dori Avenue. The sweet taste and savory smell of the rice used to make the rice crackers will whet your appetite. They can be purchased in the store, so why not stop by when you are hungry?
Unique rice crackers with twice-dipped soy sauce, raw garlic, etc.
The store is crowded with products, both in the storefront and in the store itself. The most popular item is "Nurekari Mochi," a rice cracker that is cracked open and soaked with flavor inside like a wet rice cracker, using two kinds of soy sauce and a proprietary process. There are also a wide variety of split rice cakes, such as those with grated garlic.
The "Shinshu Miso Senbei" is made by baking the rice crackers, coating them with a combination of soybean paste, and then drying them. 15 to 16 varieties are available, but the most popular are the "Zarame Miso," a perfect match of sugar and soybean paste, the "Walnut Miso," which has a nice walnut texture, and the limited time only "Ume Miso," which uses homemade ume plum jam.
Since the crackers are available in various flavors and textures, you are sure to find your favorite flavor here.
- Raijindo, Matsumoto Nawate-dori Store
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- 3-3 Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 10 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
- 10:00-19:00
- Thursdays
- 0263-35-0333
6Frog store RiBBiT
The symbol of Namote-dori is a frog. The "Frog Great Myojin" dedicated in the center of the street, stone statues of frogs, face panels, and other frog-related items can be seen along the street, and there is also a store specializing in frog goods. This is the "Frog Shop RiBBiT.
When you enter the store, you will be surrounded by frogs of various tastes. The owner, who loves frogs, has collected a wide variety of goods, from works by local artists to imported and vintage items purchased at auctions. As the owner says, "I want to make people happy just by stopping by," many unique and exciting goods are lined up.
A wide variety of unique frog goods that will make your eyes glaze over
The frog-themed goods include fabrics, stationery, accessories, and other crafts and sundries of all genres. We recommend the "cork coasters" designed by MARIE, a native of Matsukawa Village in Azumino. All are hand-drawn, each one with a different picture and message.
Also popular are the "Frog Pattern Cotton" made in the U.S. These 54 x 50 cm cloths come in 225 different patterns. Buy your favorite frog pattern and make your own handmade items to create the world's one and only frog goods. There is also a wide variety of reasonably priced items such as pouches that you will want to use on a daily basis.
- Frog store RiBBiT
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- 4-3 Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano MAP
- 12 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
- 11:00～sunset
- Closed on weekends and holidays
- 0263-88-2626
7Chez Momo
Walking along the Otowa River, you will stop at the adorable exterior of the shop, which looks like it is nestled in an alley in Europe. This store is popular for its handmade confiture and scones. The owner, who has spent time in France, makes additive-free confiture with a taste that sets it apart from others, using a combination of several kinds of fruits and adding spices. Except for citrus fruits, the other fruits used are locally grown peaches, grapes, apricots, and other seasonal fruits, and the presence of the plump fruit is breathtaking.
The confiture repertoire consists of more than 150 varieties. About six of them are always on display at the store.
There is also a full lineup of imported confectionery such as chocolates, caramels, candies, and gummies.
Fresh fruit confiture
Visitors can sample the confiture in the store, so it is a great way to compare different flavors. The freshness and aroma of each confiture is so distinctive that it is as if you are tasting the fruit itself, and the taste is irresistible. The rare confitures, such as "Lemon and Whiskey Confiture" and "Banana, Caramel, and Pepper," which combine fruit and whiskey, are all available only at this shop, which makes them even more special and stimulates the desire to buy them.
The homemade scones are filled with eggs, butter, and yogurt. They are soft and melt in your mouth without being dry, and are a perfect match for the confiture.
The confiture and scone set makes an ideal souvenir or small gift.
8Agata no Mori Park
Agata no Mori Park, with its spacious grassy Peace Plaza, Japanese garden-style pond, and playground equipment, is a place for citizens to relax. In the park, visitors can enjoy the seasonal scenery of fresh greenery and autumn leaves. The park is also known as a filming location for movies, TV dramas, and information programs, and many tourists stroll through the park while envisioning the scenes.
The Himalayan cedar tree-lined avenue connecting the park entrance and the grassy Peace Plaza is a symbolic spot of the park, with 56 cedars planted at equal intervals over a distance of approximately 150 meters. Benches are placed between the trees, and visitors can take a rest under the shade of the trees while strolling, relaxing in the pleasant green surroundings.
Wooden buildings from the Taisho era still remain in the park
Within the park is the old Matsumoto High School building, designated as an important cultural asset. The building is an impressive pastel blue building that partially retains its Taisho era wooden Western-style architecture. The beautiful appearance can be seen from the front as well as from the back courtyard.
Currently, the building is used as the Agata no Mori Cultural Hall, the Agata no Mori Library, and the Memorial Hall, which can be visited free of charge. The restored principal's office, the massive staircase with wood carvings, and other features in the style of the time when Western architecture was first introduced are worth seeing.
- Agata no Mori Park
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- 3-2102-15 Ken, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- Approximately 23 minutes on foot from Matsumoto Station
- Take a circular bus from Matsumoto Station, Town Sneaker East Course, and get off at "Former Matsumoto High School" stop.
- 0263-34-3254
9Toxiraz
Chicken hot pot and kaiseki cuisine restaurant located on Nakamachi-dori, a street lined with warehouse buildings, is a renovated warehouse built in 1892 (Meiji 25) with impressive large beams in a modern Japanese style. The restaurant's signature chicken hot pot is served around a sunken hearth table, which is also the work of a woodworker who handles Edo shimono, traditional Japanese furniture. The rich broth of this Kyoto-style chicken nabe, made with a secret collagen soup made by boiling down chicken bones and chicken wings, and flavored with high-quality kombu (kelp), is a delicious dish that will linger in your mouth. The chicken meat is also superb, with just the right amount of texture and full of flavor.
At the counter, you can enjoy omakase counter kaiseki. The seven-course kaiseki menu, with a touch of French cuisine, is made with seasonal ingredients.
A relaxing space cut off from the outside world
The main building is an open-air space with a vaulted ceiling, with counter seating on the first floor and tatami room seating on the second floor overlooking Nakamachi-dori. The alcove is decorated with plaster with ears of rice planted in it. The separate storehouse is a private room with a capacity of 8 people, where diners can enjoy their meals in a peaceful setting detached from everyday life.
In this atmospheric warehouse space, you can soak up the atmosphere of Matsumoto, which was explored during the castle town stroll, and enjoy a delicious hot pot. This is the perfect place to finish your historical stroll.
MAP
- ＜Recommended spots for a girls' trip in Matsumoto
- Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Noe Inagaki Matsumoto Hai Kara Girl's Club
