Matsumoto Castle Samurai Tour (2026): What to Know

What to expect on the Matsumoto Castle samurai tour

Matsumoto Castle can be visited without a tour. An adult e-ticket costs ¥1,200 (¥1,300 for a paper ticket at the gate), the castle is about a 15-minute walk from Matsumoto Station, and free volunteer guides work from a Guide Station near the park entrance. The keep was built between 1593 and 1594, it is the oldest surviving five-tiered, six-storey castle tower in Japan, and the floors inside are the original timber.

A plain ticket doesn’t come with an explanation. The keep has 115 openings for arrows and guns and 11 stone-dropping ports, and it is easy to walk past them without knowing what they were for. One reviewer wrote that they had passed key spots on their own earlier in the day without realising their significance. A guide fills that in, starting on the walk from the station, and this tour adds an hour with a sword teacher, which the admission ticket doesn’t cover.

Guides score 4.9 out of 5 in GetYourGuide’s category ratings. Value for money scores 4.7. Shin, Tom, Matt, Akiko and Naomi are the guides reviewers name most often, with Kei and Miharu among the sword teachers. Some reviewers were the only people booked on their date and had the guide to themselves.

We haven’t taken this tour. This page is based on the listing, its booking notes and the tour’s reviews in every language they were written in, with the handful of lower-rated ones read closely. There are four things to know before you book:

The keep’s stairs are steep and narrow, and you climb them in socks with your shoes in a bag.
In several reviews the sword teacher instructs in Japanese and the guide translates. One recent low-rated review said the guide also spoke little English.
The two hours at the castle are an estimate, and the tour can run longer on weekends and holidays when the castle is busy.
The sword session is a short beginner lesson with wooden swords.

Fewer than one rating in fifty is below four stars, and more than nine in ten are five stars.

The tour makes the most sense on a first visit to Matsumoto when you want the castle explained and something hands-on in the same half day. It leaves little time for the old town streets.

Castle and samurai tour or the castle town walking tour?

Matsumoto Experience runs both. The Matsumoto Castle Town Walking Tour also takes about three hours from Matsumoto Station with castle admission included. It started from $62 per person when we checked, and it is rated 4.9 out of 5 from more than 75 reviews. It follows a samurai route through the castle town and finishes in the old shopping streets, with no sword lesson (read our breakdown).

The samurai tour makes more sense if the hands-on hour is the part you would remember. The walking tour suits you better if you want more of the town, such as Nawate Street and Nakamachi, for about $25 less per person.

If you only want the keep explained, the castle’s volunteer guides are free to book, though you may be asked to cover any costs your guide incurs, and availability varies by season and language. Our guide to English guided tours at Matsumoto Castle compares them with the paid options. A separate samurai sword and archery session is also listed on GetYourGuide, but it has only a handful of reviews so far.

Tips for booking the castle and samurai tour

Pick a weekday if you have a train to catch afterwards. The booking notes say the tour may end earlier or later depending on how busy the castle is, especially on weekends and during holidays.
Book a morning start in July and August if heat bothers you. Summer reviewers mention the heat, and one suggests starting before the day warms up.
Ask the operator whether your sword teacher speaks English. If not, your guide translates, and most reviewers who had that arrangement found it easy to follow.
Leave a margin on your train into Matsumoto. The meeting point is inside Matsumoto Station. Look for the front of the JR Line ticket office, by the Starbucks Coffee on the second floor. Two reviewers arrived late, one after a missed train and one after not realising that Matsumoto is a different city from Nagano, and both still did the tour.
Wear shoes that slip off easily and socks with some grip. Bring a warm pair in winter.

How the three hours are organised

The guide meets the group at Matsumoto Station and walks to the castle, about 15 minutes at a normal pace. The listing allows about two hours for the castle and one hour for the sword session. Start times appear in the booking calendar, and reviewers mention both morning and afternoon starts.

Most reviewers did the castle first and the sword lesson second, but two describe the reverse order. The lesson takes place at a separate venue near the castle. The listing doesn’t state a group size. One reviewer found their group a little large, which meant more waiting between turns.

Several reviewers mention their guide taking photos for them at the castle and during the sword lesson, so hand over your phone if you want pictures of yourself in costume.

Stop 1: The walk from Matsumoto Station

The guide starts talking on the way to the castle. Reviewers mention learning how the city developed, what the castle area once looked like, how the moat was built, and everyday details such as how people cross the road in Japan. Some guides bring printed sheets of pictures and maps to show what has changed.

For a first visit this is useful context, and it is the part of the day you would miss if you walked straight to the gate with a ticket.

Stop 2: Matsumoto Castle and the keep

The listing gives the castle about two hours, admission included. The guide covers the Matsumoto samurai lords, the city’s history, the different classes and residential areas, and the castle’s defences, across the grounds, the moat and the keep. The keep is kept as an original building, so one reviewer pointed out that it has fewer exhibits than a reconstructed castle such as Osaka.

The keep has about 140 steps to the top floor, with a maximum gradient of about 61 degrees, and there is no elevator. Visitors take off their shoes at the entrance and carry them in a bag handed out there, so the climb up and back down is done in socks. The listing says the tour isn’t suitable for people with mobility impairments or wheelchair users. On busy days slower climbers can hold up the line on the narrow stairs. A family who brought children of different ages said the climb was harder for their five-year-old than for the ten-year-olds, and in winter the wooden floors are cold underfoot.

If anyone in your group struggles with stairs, our accessibility guide covers what you can see from the grounds without the climb.

Stop 3: The samurai sword lesson

The listing describes the lesson as dressing in a samurai outfit, choosing a sword, then learning basic attacking and defensive stances from a samurai master. Reviewers describe kimono and hakama, wooden swords, drawing and sheathing drills, and a few set sequences of moves. At the end the teacher gives a short demonstration and there is time for photos.

It is a beginner session. Reviewers who booked it range from families with children of six upwards to a couple in their mid-seventies, and several families with teenagers single it out as the best part of the day. One reviewer would have liked a bigger room, with space to spar or watch a bout.

Other practical things to know

Meals, snacks, souvenirs and travel insurance are not included.
Most of the tour is indoors, apart from the walk from the station and the castle grounds, so an umbrella covers a wet day.
Reviews from December, January and February show the tour runs in winter. Castle opening hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:30 p.m.), extended during Golden Week and for about a week in mid-August.
Cherry blossom season in early to mid April and autumn foliage from late October are the busiest times at the castle. Our best time to visit guide has the month-by-month detail.

Is the Matsumoto Castle samurai tour worth it?

Yes, if you want the castle explained and an hour of sword practice in one booking. The $87 price per person covers castle admission (¥1,200, about $8 at current exchange rates), a guide for around two hours, and the lesson with outfit and sword rental. If you would rather spend the time in the old town, the castle town walking tour from the same operator costs $62. If the keep’s stairs would be hard for anyone in your group, a grounds-only visit is the better plan. For a quick look at the keep on your own, a ¥1,200 ticket and a free volunteer guide cost far less.

If you are coming from Tokyo for the day, our Tokyo to Matsumoto Castle guide shows which trains leave enough time for a three-hour tour.

How we put this together

We haven’t taken this tour. We built the page from the GetYourGuide listing and its booking notes, the castle’s own visitor information, and the tour’s reviews at every rating, read in English, German, Dutch, French and the other languages travellers used. For the castle half we also read the reviews of the same operator’s castle town walking tour. Prices and ratings were checked on 12 October 2026 and change over time. We earn a commission if you book through our links, at no extra cost to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the Matsumoto Castle samurai tour?

About three hours: roughly two at the castle and one for the sword lesson. The listing says these times are estimates and the tour can end later when the castle is busy, especially on weekends and holidays.

Is castle admission included?

Yes. The $87 price includes Matsumoto Castle admission, the sword session, the samurai outfit and sword rental, and an English-speaking guide. Meals, snacks and souvenirs are not included.

Do you have to take your shoes off in Matsumoto Castle?

Yes. Shoes come off at the entrance to the keep and you carry them in a bag, so you climb the steep stairs in socks. The listing says the tour isn’t suitable for people with mobility impairments or wheelchair users.

Is the samurai lesson taught in English?

It depends on the teacher. Some teach in English, and when the teacher speaks Japanese the guide translates. If this matters to you, ask the operator before you book.

Is the tour suitable for children?

Reviewers with children from about six years old, and many with teenagers, describe the sword lesson as a highlight. The keep’s stairs are the harder part for young children.

Where does the tour start?

Inside Matsumoto Station, at the front of the JR Line ticket office by the Starbucks Coffee on the second floor.

Sources: Matsumoto Castle official site, visitor information, Matsumoto Castle, volunteer guides, the GetYourGuide listings for this tour and the castle town walking tour (checked 12 October 2026).

Matsumoto Castle Tour & Samurai Experience: What to Know Before You Book