Expect exceptional service and rustic, European Alps–styled rooms in this historic red-gabled lodge completed in 1933. Prices are elevated, but a wide range of stay plans are available, and the hotel occasionally offers excellent packages including French haute cuisine. You may have to book a year ahead.
Kamikochi Imperial Hotel
Matsumoto & the Northern Japan Alps
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
19.03 MILES
Must-see Matsumoto-jō is Japan's oldest wooden castle and one of four castles designated National Treasures – the others are Hikone, Himeji and Inuyama…
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16.9 MILES
This popular art museum showcases the work of Chihiro Iwasaki (1918–74), who became world-renowned while specialising in children's-book illustrations…
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21.74 MILES
This merchant and moneychanger's house, dating from the 1890s, showcases the striking craftsmanship of traditional Takayama carpenters. Inside is a…
21.61 MILES
On display here are over 300 shishi (lion) masks, instruments and drums related to festival dances. The main draw is the twice-hourly puppet show where…
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17 MILES
Fancy some wasabi wine or ice cream? This farm, a 15-minute bike ride from JR Hotaka Station, is a must for wasabi-lovers. An English map guides you among…
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21.7 MILES
This nostalgia bonanza from the Shōwa period (1926–89) focuses on 1955 to 1965, a time of great optimism between Japan's postwar malaise and the 1980s…
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17.11 MILES
Housing more than 100,000 woodblock prints, paintings, screens and old books, this renowned museum exhibits but a fraction of its collection. The museum…
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19.06 MILES
Nawate-dōri, a few blocks south from the castle, is a popular street for a stroll. Vendors along this riverside walk sell antiques, souvenirs, and…
Nearby Matsumoto & the Northern Japan Alps attractions
5.42 MILES
Admission to Hirayu Onsen's only attraction, a quaint museum of folk memorabilia, includes entrance to a rather lovely and lesser-known little rotemburo …
15.74 MILES
Ten minutes' walk north from JR Hotaka Station, Rokuzan Bijutsukan showcases the work of Meiji-era sculptor Rokuzan Ogiwara (1879–1910; aka the 'Rodin of…
16.9 MILES
This popular art museum showcases the work of Chihiro Iwasaki (1918–74), who became world-renowned while specialising in children's-book illustrations…
17 MILES
Fancy some wasabi wine or ice cream? This farm, a 15-minute bike ride from JR Hotaka Station, is a must for wasabi-lovers. An English map guides you among…
5. Matsumoto Open-Air Architectural Museum
17.07 MILES
Adjacent to the better-known Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, amid fields and rice paddies beneath the gaze of the Alps, stand these five examples of striking late…
17.11 MILES
Housing more than 100,000 woodblock prints, paintings, screens and old books, this renowned museum exhibits but a fraction of its collection. The museum…
18.96 MILES
A few blocks north of the castle, the former Kaichi School is both an Important Cultural Property and the oldest elementary school in Japan, founded in…
18.99 MILES
Home to Japan's largest pendulum clock (on the building's exterior) and over 300 other timepieces, including fascinating medieval Japanese creations, this…