Matsumoto Castle (Matsumotojo)

Before I went to Japan, my buddy Reno asked me which places in Japan I'd like to visit. One of the first places I'd mentioned was Matsumoto Castle. I saw a picture of it on the web, and it looked pretty amazing. So on Day three of my arrival into Japan, that's where we went.

Matsumoto is the second largest city in Nagano Prefecture. We traveled there by train from Nagano City and it took about an hour or more to get there. My main purpose was to see Matsumoto Castle, (Matsumotojo) one of Japan's original castles, but it's also a really interesting city as well, with all kinds of good shops and places to eat.

When we finally got to the Castle, I was in awe! It's this huge, dark, and very intimidating looking castle, built on a massive stone platform that sits in the middle of a pond! It's no wonder why in Japan they refer to it as 'The Black Crow' (or Possibly 'The Black Raven', as sometimes the translation is difficult). Built for defense, this castle is every bit as impenetrable as it looks.