Matsumoto Castle

It is one of Japan's premier historic castles. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan. Completed in the late sixteenth century, it maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is a flatland castle. Lots of people here, careful with personal belongings. Very popular place. Plenty to see inside and outside. Wear comfy shoes, hat, sunscreen, take water. While outside is even terrain and easy walking, inside you have lot of steep stairs and crowds. Headroom is limited on some stairs. Fee charged for entry. Great place for photography. Lovely museum exhibits at each level

Gorgeous castle both in the day and at night. Suggested buying timed tickets in advance else you'll need to line up (it was 100 minutes on the day we were there), but we just walked through, scanned and were in the castle within a few minutes. Once inside its a museum of sorts with displays of weapons the castle was designed to protect against (flint lock etc) and although it was busy if you wanted to read the displays simply allow people to go ahead of you and enjoy your own pace. We really enjoyed it!

The castle is absolutely gorgeous, and the surrounding grounds and gardens are beautifully maintained. It’s also very easy to get to. Unfortunately, on this visit I didn’t get to see the inside, as the wait time was 80 minutes. It’s a shame, but as with many popular spots here in Japan, there are simply too many tourists for you to really enjoy it to the fullest. Still, it’s well worth the trip.

Having seen a few other castles, this one is at the top of my list of favourite ones. Beautiful grounds (mostly, as unfortunately the red bridge was closed), beautiful castle from the outside, and interesting/fun on the inside. I really very much enjoyed it. Also, there weren't too many visitors as you can see in my pictures, so that made the visit even more enjoyable. Also, highly recommended, take a walk at night from your hotel and enjoy the nighttime view. There are benches to sit and enjoy it.

We visited the castle in February during winter. The castle premises are truly beautiful, and both day and night views are worth experiencing. We were lucky to catch the illumination event—it was a stunning display! However, the inside of the castle wasn’t very interesting for us. Also, visiting in winter is tough as shoes are not allowed inside and the floors are extremely cold—we rushed through the tour just to get out quickly. We missed reading reviews beforehand, which had warned about this. Overall, a beautiful place, but better enjoyed from the outside in winter.

Nagano Castle is a beautiful place to visit. Depending on the time of year, you can enjoy its snow-covered landscape, or in the summer, its beautiful reflection in the lake. At night, depending on the season, you can also enjoy the castle's light show. It's a great place to learn about Japanese history and culture. There are some paid parking lots nearby, about a 5- to 10-minute walk from the castle. Depending on the day, you may have to wait about an hour to see the castle inside.

The castle itself is fantastic, impressive from the outside as much as it's interesting on the inside. The garden is amazing too. But the ticket website isn't available (or working) in English to get tickets, so you have to queue and during summer time a lot of people are coming to visit. Expect to queue about 50-60min.

Enjoyed visiting the castle and its grounds on a Monday afternoon, was not too crowded. It's not too big, and the climb up the top floor whilst steep, isn't arduous for a reasonably fit person. Great views on a clear day. Also worth walking through the grounds at night, but keep in mind the castle spotlights shut off at 10.00pm.