Shimane · MatsueNo.818★★★Open in map →
Matsue Castle
An original castle keep in the middle of Matsue, black-boarded above a moat that still carries boats. The walled bailey around it is free and opens well before the ticket desk for the tower itself begins selling.
- FromJR Matsue Station
- ~10 minLakeline loop bus
- Get off atKokuho Matsue-jo Otemae (Lakeline loop bus)
- On foot
- Matsue Castle
Where it is
14 more notes in Shimane · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Otemae approach and the second baileythe main route up from the bus stop, climbing the stone terraces of the ninomaru
- Honmaru and the outside of the towerthe walled inner bailey, free to enter, with the black weatherboarded keep at its centre
- Tsukeyagura entrance turretthe attached turret you pass through to reach the keep, built as a trap for attackers
- Tengu-no-ma top storeyan open watch floor with a hand rail, looking over the town and Lake Shinji
- Horikawa boat landing and Shiomi Nawatethe moat boat pier below the castle and the old samurai street along the north side
How to actually get there
- JR Matsue Station → Kokuho Matsue-jo Otemae by Lakeline loop bus, or walk north across the Ohashi river.
- Enter the free bailey through the Otemae gate and circle the tower from outside first.
- Buy a ticket at the window in the bailey and climb to the Tengu-no-ma watch storey.
- Leave by the north side for the moat boat landing and the Shiomi Nawate street.
- Lakeline loop bus from JR Matsue Station
- The Lakeline sightseeing loop leaves the north side of JR Matsue Station and reaches Kokuho Matsue-jo Otemae in 10 minutes. A single ride is 250 yen, and transport IC cards such as ICOCA are accepted. Through the day the loop comes round at roughly half-hour spacing.
- Return on the same loop
- The Lakeline runs one way around the city, so the trip back to the station continues past the lake rather than retracing the outward route. Service ends in the early evening; after that, walking down through the old streets takes about as long as the bus.
About the place
The tower stands on a low hill in the middle of Matsue, ringed by a moat that still holds water. Only twelve original keeps survive in Japan — built in the Edo period or earlier, and never lost to fire, war or demolition. Matsue's is dark rather than white: most of its outer wall is clad in thick black weatherboard instead of plaster. Inside, short pillars running two storeys at a time carry the load in place of one great core pillar, a workaround for a timber shortage that later helped make the case for its National Treasure listing. The bailey around it is a public park.
How to enjoy it
The keep's ticket desk starts at 8:30, and last entry is half an hour before closing — 18:00 from April to September, 17:00 through the winter half of the year. The bailey gate opens earlier and shuts later than the keep, so the walls and the outside of the tower can be walked outside those hours. Shoes come off at the entrance and travel with you in a bag.
Background & history
The Horio family moved their seat down from the mountain fortress of Gassan-Toda to the plain by Lake Shinji, and the tower was finished in 1611. The domain later passed to a branch of the Matsudaira house, which held Matsue to the end of the Edo period. Most Japanese castles were taken down after the Meiji Restoration or burned during the war; this one came through both. It was designated a National Treasure in 2015, after prayer tablets found in the building pinned down its date.
Before you go
- Cash
- The bailey is free. The keep itself is ticketed, and at the time of writing the official site listed 1,200 yen for adults, with elementary and junior-high pupils admitted free. The window inside the bailey takes credit cards and transport IC cards. A Lakeline one-day pass at 700 yen also brings discounts at museums nearby.
- Before you go
- The keep opens every day of the year, though event days can shift the hours. The stairs inside are steep and wooden and you climb them in socks, so keep a hand free. The top storey is an open watchtower with a rail instead of walls, which makes it cold in winter.
- Another way
- You can also simply walk from the station: about 25 minutes north across the Ohashi river and up to the bailey gate. Since the loop bus starts later in the morning, walking is the only way to be there for the first opening. On the Ichibata line, Matsue Shinjiko-Onsen Station is closer to the castle than JR Matsue.
- After you get off
- From the Otemae stop the main approach is straight ahead. The climb through the second bailey to the tower takes a few minutes on stone-paved slopes.