Traditional sake and castle exploration in the heart of the city!

Matsumoto brings together two threads of Japanese tradition: the stone and timber of defensive architecture, and the rice and water of sake brewing. This tour connects both, starting at one of Japan's most striking original castles before moving through historic streets to a small sake brewery where spring water has shaped local craft for generations. The experience offers a glimpse into how Matsumoto's past still informs the city today.

Discover all the secrets of Matsumoto Castle

The tour begins at Matsumoto Castle, known as "Crow Castle" for its black lacquered exterior. Built in the 1590s during Japan's Warring States period, the fortress was designed for defense: steep stairs, narrow passages, stone-dropping openings, and gun ports mark the main keep as a structure meant for survival. The castle's purpose shifted after the wars ended. Around 1633, feudal lord Naomasa Matsudaira added the tsukimi yagura, a moon-viewing room, to welcome the shogun, transforming part of this military fortress into a space for contemplation and ceremony.

The tsukimi yagura opens on three sides to frame the night sky and the moat below. Lords and retainers once gathered here during autumn moon-viewing festivals to compose poetry and drink sake, watching the harvest moon rise over the water. A saying captures the scene: from this room, you can see the moon three times: once in the sky, once reflected in the moat, and once in your cup of sake. The tradition speaks to sake's role in Japanese culture long before the modern era, connecting seasonal rituals, aristocratic leisure, and this popular national beverage.

Historic Nakamachi Street and Hidden Former Sake Brewery

From the castle, the route leads to Nakamachi Street, once the main business district of Matsumoto's castle town. During the Edo period, this street sat on the Zenkoji Kaido route connecting Zenkoji Temple to Nagoya and Kyoto, and travelers stopped here at inns while wholesale dealers sold sake and kimono. The tour pauses at Kurassic-kan, a former sake brewery built in 1888. Your guide will explain the layout and function of a traditional brewing operation: the koji room, the storage areas, the layout that shaped production for centuries.

Kurassic-kan's architecture reflects the period when Western influences began reaching Japan. The building combines traditional kura storehouses (thick-walled, fireproof structures built to protect valuable goods) with Meiji-era design elements that marked Japan's opening to foreign trade and ideas. Walking through the compound, you see how brewers adapted their spaces while maintaining the essential forms that defined sake production.

Enjoy a Guided Sake Tasting in as small active local sake brewery

The tour concludes at a small sake brewery that still operates in central Matsumoto. The brewery draws from one of the city's many spring wells, part of a network of natural water sources fed by runoff from the surrounding mountains. Matsumoto's spring water is recognized for its clarity and mineral content, qualities essential to sake brewing where water affects fermentation, texture, and flavor. Combined with locally grown rice, the water becomes the foundation for the brewery's production, maintaining a connection between place and product that defines regional sake traditions.

The owner will guide you through a tasting of several sake varieties produced on-site, each reflecting different rice strains, fermentation methods, and aging processes. Beyond sake, the brewery offers tea brewed with the same spring water used in production, allowing you to taste the water's character directly. The setting feels less like a commercial tasting room and more like a neighborhood shop, the kind of place where regulars stop by to refill bottles and exchange news. The tour ends here, offering a chance to sit, sample, and understand how sake remains part of daily life in Matsumoto.

Additional Information

Meeting Location: Tour begins at Matsumoto Castle. Your guide will meet you at 9:00am.

Group Type: Group Tour (Private Tour Option available)

Allergies: Please let us know if you have any food allergies or other restrictions.

Important information:

• This is a walking tour and includes a moderate walk.
• Please note that the stairs to reach the top of Matsumoto Castle’s tower are steep and narrow.
• please note, the legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years and over. Persons under that age are not allowed to consume alcohol on this tour.
• Our Matsumoto Castle Tour & Sake Tasting experience offers an easy way to taste local sake and does not include a tour inside the brewery. If you wish to have a more insightful experience, please see our Local Sake Brewery Tour & Guided Tasting page.

The tour itinerary includes the following visits:

• Matsumoto Castle Tour (90 minutes)
• Nakamachi Street including Kurassic-kan walking tour (30 minutes)
• Guided Sake Tasting (60 minutes)

Please note that the above times are estimates and that the tour may end
earlier or later.

Cancellation Policy: To receive a full refund, cancel up to 24 hours before the experience start date in the local time zone. No refunds will be given after that time period.

Terms & Conditions: Please see our Terms & Conditions