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The town of Matsumae, known as Little Kyoto of the North, was the northernmost castle town in the samurai period.
The prosperous, 30,000 person town attracted merchants, and was protected by a garrison at Matsumae Castle "Matsumae-jo", the only Japanese style castle to have been built on Hokkaido Island. As with many Japanese castles, Matsumae Castle's original keep was destroyed several times over the centuries. The current three story high structure is a rebuilt castle from the early 1960s with large concrete stairs inside. |
Matsumae Castle
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The grounds are quite pretty. The area is a famous cherry blossom viewing spot, with 250 different varieties of cherry trees and boasts 8000 blossoming cherry trees at the end of April.
Due to the large variety of cherry trees, Matsumae has a long blooming season that lasts from late April to late May. During the summer, the walkways are lined with blooming hydrangeas. Admission fee for adults is 360 yen. Along the western edge of Matsumae Park is the Matsumaehan Yashiki. It is a recreation of a small Japanese village with several buildings including merchant houses, a magistrate’s office, a shipping agent and a guard station. |
Shirakami
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Unlike some Edo villages in Japan, this one is well kept which makes it a good place to get some pictures.
In Hakodate before leaving for Matsumae you can visit the Tourist Information Center to pick up a guidebook. When you go to the Matumae castle, you can get a free English map of the area as well. It is about a 10 minute walk up from the castle. Admission fee for adults is 360 yen. The area is dotted with temples, shrines, and graveyards. |
Fukushima Town Port Area
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Fukushima Town is located on the eastern side of Cape Shirakami from Matsumae. The town is notable as the northern end of the 53.85 kilometer long Seikan Tunnel, previously the longest and deepest undersea rail tunnel in the world, which connects Hokkaido with Aomori Prefecture.
Seikan Tunnel Museum is housed in a building designed like a section of the undersea tunnel. The museum exhibits information and photographs about the project and displays equipment used during the tunnel's construction. The Seikan Tunnel Museum is located in Fukushima Town in between Kikonai and Matsumae and served by the bus to Matsumae. Get off at the Seikan Tunnel Kinenkan-mae bus stop "takes about 55 minutes". |
Tsugaru Strait
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There are three direct buses per day between Hakodate Station and Matsumae "takes about 3.5 hours".
Alternatively, from Hakodate, take the JR Hokkaido Shinkansen to Kikonai. "it takes anywhere from 40-65 minutes depending on the train you take". A bus leaves that station bound for Matsumae "takes about 90 minutes to get to Matsumae Castle". Matsumae Castle is not the last stop so be alert when you enter the town. As you drive along the coast, you can see the castle to your right. When you can see it, ring the bell to get off. Then walk for about 10 minutes up the hill towards it. |
Seikan Tunnel Museum
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So far there is no Muslim friendly hotel in Mastumae. For booking random hotels you can search with Hotels.com.
If you would like to rent a car use the search engine here and book a car in advance. Fill out the details; pickup and drop-off places, date and time, and press search. You will be redirected to Rental Cars website where a list of available cars will be shown to you to choose from. |
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Matsumae-cho - Oshima Sub-prefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture
