In business for more than 220 years, this charming, family-run ryokan is one of a kind. With only two guest rooms, Echigo-ya provides an opportunity to experience the Japanese art of hospitality in its most undiluted form. You'll feel as though you've stepped back in time. Some Japanese-language ability will help make the most of your stay. Book well ahead. Cash only.
Echigo-ya
Top choice in Central Honshū
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
20.87 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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26.36 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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19.68 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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20.61 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…
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20.58 MILES
This sleek museum has a good collection of the work of Japanese artists, many of whom hail from Matsumoto or whose art depicts scenes of the surrounding…
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Utsukushi-ga-hara Open Air Museum
26 MILES
Atop Utsukushi-ga-hara-kōgen plateau you'll find this seemingly random sculpture garden with some 350 pieces, mostly by Japanese sculptors. The…
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Waki-honjin (Okuya) & Local History Museum
29.34 MILES
This waki-honjin (rest stop) for the daimyōs' (domain lords') retainers was reconstructed in 1877 by a former castle builder under special dispensation…
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Matsumoto Open-Air Architectural Museum
19.62 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…
Nearby Central Honshū attractions
0.14 MILES
This wonderfully preserved former merchant's house and garden looks as if it has stood still while time has marched on.
9.97 MILES
This is a reconstruction of one of the most significant checkpoints on the Edo-period trunk roads. From its perch above the river valley, it's easy to see…
3. Matsumoto Open-Air Architectural Museum
19.62 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…
19.68 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…
20.54 MILES
Home to Japan's largest pendulum clock (on the building's exterior) and over 300 other timepieces, including fascinating medieval Japanese creations, this…
6. Matsumoto City Museum of Art
20.58 MILES
This sleek museum has a good collection of the work of Japanese artists, many of whom hail from Matsumoto or whose art depicts scenes of the surrounding…
20.61 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…
20.87 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…