Matsumoto’s most valuable and perhaps most popular historical attraction is the national treasure, Matsumoto Castle. But if that is the only historical attraction on your itinerary, you might be missing out! Within 5 km of the castle, there are a couple more museums with different themes that you might want to check out when you visit Matsumoto.
Below is a list of interesting museums. They are listed in the sequence according to their distance from Matsumoto Station.
- Matsumoto Timepiece Museum (松本市時計博物館)
- Matsumoto City Hakari Museum (松本市はかり資料館)
- Matsumoto Folk Art Museum (松本民芸館)
- Japan Ukiyo-e Museum (日本浮世絵博物館)
- Baba Family Residence (馬場家住宅)
Matsumoto Timepiece Museum (松本市時計博物館)
South of Matsumoto Castle, there is a building with Japan’s biggest pendulum clock. You might not feel its significance when you stare at it from afar, but when you look up at it from underneath, you will definitely be overwhelmed by this 11-meter-tall clock!
Just like the museum’s name, the facility is all about timepieces. From the sundial that is said to be the origin of timepieces to fire clocks to mechanic clocks, it is a great attraction for those passionate about timepieces.
To us non-Japanese, the Japanese clock corner on the second floor is quite fascinating. The way the clocks inform us of the time is just so unique. Plus, the zodiac was used on the clock face instead of numbers!
One interesting fact about cuckoo clocks is how the Japanese renamed them.
If it is directly translated into Japanese, it should have been Kankodori (閑古鳥) Clock. However, because the bird has the meaning of lacking business opportunities and/or customers, the Japanese call the cuckoo clock “pigeon clock” (Hato Tokei, ハト時計).
The History of Matsumoto Timepiece Museum
The museum started when Honda Chigazō (本田親蔵) donated his lifetime collection of old clocks to Matsumoto City in 1974. As a researcher and an engineer of the old clocks, he wished more people could gain a good understanding of timepieces.
Initially, the collection was exhibited in Matsumoto City Museum. However, Matsumoto’s citizens donated more and more old clocks, and in 2002, the Matsumoto Timepiece Museum was opened!
The Best Time of the Day to Visit Matsumoto Timepiece Museum
The museum’s technician completes screw winding and maintenance each morning. So most of the exhibits are working and thus will inform us of the time if it is a part of the design!
The best time to visit the museum during the day is around 5 – 10 minutes before round hours. It will be quite an experience when the minute hand strikes twelve because about 110 clocks in the museum will go off all at once!
Some will also go off once every 30 minutes (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ.
Furthermore, a small concert is held by the gramophones in the museum at 2 pm for around 10 minutes on weekends and public holidays.
Matsumoto Timepiece Museum’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
- The last admission is at 4:30 pm.
- If Monday is a public holiday, it will close the next business day.
- The museum also closes from the 29th of December to the 3rd of January.
- The admission fee is
- 310 yen for senior high school students and above
- 150 yen for junior high school students and below
- From JR Matsumoto Station (松本駅), it is a 10-minute walk.
- If you are taking the Town Sneakers’ East Course (東コース), get off at Ōtemon Chūshajō (大手門駐車場)
- Refer to our Matsumoto City article for more information about the Loop Bus Town Sneakers.
Matsumoto City Hakari Museum (松本市はかり資料館)
A unique place to visit in Nakamachi Shopping Street (中町商店街) is the Matsumoto City Hakari Museum, which is full of measuring instruments. It is one of the best places to learn about various scales and weights used across the globe from various eras.
There is also an interactive area where you can play around with the scales and weights used until a few centuries ago!
The museum was the Takeuchi Weights and Measures Shop (竹内度量衡店) from 1902 to 1986. After the shop was closed due to the decline of sericulture, the building and historical documentaries were gifted to Matsumoto City. The city then renovated it into a museum and opened it to the public in 1989.
In addition to the scales, there are also interesting exhibits, such as instruments to determine the silkworms’ cocoons’ gender and hair hygrometers. Together, there are more than 600 items on display!
Apparently, if a male is inside the cocoon, it will be 10 mg lighter for silkworms.
Making Your Scale Was Forbidden
Until today, scales are used for various occasions such as trading, taxes, astronomy, weather, and calendars. So it was not something anyone could make for his pleasure but was strictly regulated and controlled in Japan.
In the Edo period (1603 – 1867), only two clans in the entire country were allowed to manufacture and repair the scales (the Shiyuzui clan (守随家) in Tokyo and the Jin clan (神家) in Kyoto). If you suddenly became innovative and started making scales without permission, you would commit a crime with the same severity as counterfeiting currency.
The 8th century was when the measurement was unified across Japan. However, people in different regions started using their measuring systems over time.
As you can imagine, the unification of the measuring system was a challenging task. A leader who could influence the entire country was needed to make this a reality. After all, who would want to use a different system that one wasn’t used to?
So it wasn’t until Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s era that he made the entire country use the measuring system that was adopted in Kyoto. In the Edo period, the measures and scales were standardized with the absolute power of the Tokugawa shogunate.
In the Meiji period (1868 – 1912), the Western measuring system was introduced to Japan, and the Japanese started using meters to measure length. But it wasn’t until 1966 that the Japanese completely abandoned the traditional measuring system (since it was banned by law to use the old system on land and in property trading and certification documents).
Matsumoto City Hakari Museum’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
- The last admission is at 4:30 pm.
- If Monday is a public holiday, it will close the next business day.
- The museum also closes from the 29th of December to the 3rd of January.
- The admission fee is
- 200 yen for senior high school students and above
- Free otherwise
- From JR Matsumoto Station (松本駅), it is a 10 to 15-minute walk.
- If you are taking the Town Sneakers’s East Course (東コース), get off at Hakari Shiryōkan (はかり資料館)
- Refer to our Matsumoto City article for more information about the Loop Bus Town Sneakers.
Matsumoto Folk Art Museum (松本民芸館)
If you are interested in handicrafts, stop by the Matsumoto Folk Art Museum, which has a collection of Japanese and International folk art.
The museum was founded by the first owner of Chikiriya Folk Art Shop, Maruyama Tarō (丸山太郎) on Nakamachi Street in 1962 to support the Folk Art Movement (民芸運動). The movement aims to promote the value of the folk arts and ceramic ware made for daily life. Instead of the artworks created by famous artists, folk art museums were opened across Japan to advocate the beauty found in craftworks that are used daily.
In 1983, Tarō’s collection was donated to Matsumoto City. His museum then became a branch of Matsumoto City Museum in 1992 and re-opened after a major renovation in 2003.
In the museum, you will find around 500 – 600 items that were commonly used in the last century. This includes jars, lacquerware, ceramics, woodwork, and glassware from mainly Japan, with some from around the world.
One thing to note is that English descriptions are limited in the museum. But that shouldn’t be a major issue as only a Japanese caption is usually provided for the exhibits. You won’t miss out on the experience just because you can’t read Japanese.
Matsumoto Folk Art Museum’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
- The last admission is at 4:30 pm
- If Monday is a public holiday, it will close on the next business day.
- The museum will also close from the 29th of December to the 3rd of March.
- The admission fee is
- 310 yen for senior high school students and above
- Free otherwise
- From Matsumoto Bus Terminal (松本バスターミナル) in front of JR Matsumoto Station (松本駅), take the Utsukushigahara Onsen Line (美ヶ原温泉線) and get off at Matsumoto Mingei-kan (松本民芸館).
- Please refer to HERE and click “時刻表” for the timetable.
- “平日時刻表” means weekday timetable, and “土休日時刻表” means timetable for weekends and public holidays.
Japan Ukiyo-e Museum (日本浮世絵博物館)
For those who are really passionate about Ukiyo-e, you might want to venture out of Matsumoto’s city center to Japan Ukiyo-e Museum. With thousands of Ukiyo-e painting collections, the museum praised itself as one of the biggest collectors of Ukiyo-e in Japan.
First opened in 1982, the private museum exhibits the paintings collected by the Sakai Family (酒井家) over the span of 200 years. While the number of paintings placed in the exhibition room is only a small number of the museum’s collection, it is where you can see the Ukiyo-e painted by masters such as Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) and Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿)
Another good thing about the museum is the detailed English descriptions for each painting. Also, the documentary on the production of Ukiyo-e in the video room is where you can gain valuable information about the type of painting.
The catch about the museum is its price and location. Some people find the amount of effort to get there and the ticket price not justified by their experience in return in the museum.
Tip: There is a Hokusai Museum in Obuse on the other side of Nagano Prefecture. The town is also known for its chestnut desserts! For more information, please refer to our article on Obuse!
Japan Ukiyo-e Museum’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- Japan Ukiyo-e Museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
- The last admission is at 4:30 pm.
- The admission fee is
- 1,000 yen for adults
- 500 yen for high school and university students
- Free otherwise
- From Matsumoto Dentetsu’s (松本電鉄) Ōniwa Station (大庭駅), it is a 15-minute walk.
- You can also take the Town Sneaker’s West Course from JR Matsumoto Station (松本駅) and get off at Ukiyoe Hakubutsukan Rekishi no Sato (浮世絵博物館・歴史の里).
Baba Family Residence (馬場家住宅)
While not located in Matsumoto’s city center, we thought to include Baba Family Residence in this article. The dwelling style where the Baba family still resides represents the residence of rich and powerful families a few centuries ago.
One thing to keep in mind when you visit the attraction is to refrain from entering the closed areas. Only the west side of the complex was donated to Matsumoto City in 1992. The east side of the residence is still the Baba family’s property.
The majority of the residence was completed in the 1850s. Just from the ridge decoration of its front gate called Sparrow Odoshi (Suzume Odoshi, 雀おどし), one can already tell this complex belongs to an influential family.
Suzume Odoshi is a feature found in the southwest of Nagano Prefecture. But not everyone could have this beautiful decoration on their roof. Only those with high social status at the time could have their houses built that way.
The charm of the entire residence isn’t limited to the buildings. The small forest and the nature surrounding the residence are other important elements. This is why in 1996, when the residence was designated as an Important National Cultural Property, it included not just the architecture but the entire ground of the residence and the field at its west.
In spring, the rape blossoms in the field will be blooming. If the weather is good, you can get a stunning photo of the collaboration of the yellow flower field and the snow-capped Northern Alps in the back.
On the ground of the residence, there is a small shrine. The shrine’s god is looking after the dwelling and the Baba Family. The giant Zelkova tree at the back of the worship hall is determined to be more than 800 years old!
From the main building, you can overlook the water garden and tea room. Although we won’t be able to take a stroll in the garden normally, when tea ceremonies are held, you might be allowed to participate.
A Brief History of the Baba Family
The Baba Family originated in Kai Province (甲斐国), today’s Yamanashi Prefecture. The family was a distant relative of Baba Nobuharu (馬場信春), one of the four senior vassals of Takeda Shingen (武田信玄), the powerful feudal lord of the province in the mid-16th century.
After the destruction of the Takeda Clan, the Baba Family moved to Matsumoto in 1582 and became wealthy farmers and landlords who owned vast fields in the Edo period. At the same time, the family had a close connection with Takashima Domain’s feudal lord, who visited the Baba family from time to time.
To ensure the lord received the highest hospitability during his visit, the Chūmon Gate (中門) leading to the residence’s garden was built for and only used when he visited the residence. Unfortunately, the gate is inaccessible to the general public except on the 1st of May (the anniversary of Matsumoto’s municipalism) and the 21st of September (Matsumoto City’s Museum Day).
Baba Family Residence’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- The Baba Family Residence is open from 9 am to 5 pm except on Mondays.
- The last admission is at 4:30 pm.
- If Monday is a public holiday, it will close the next business day.
- The residence will be closed from the 29th of December to the 3rd of January.
- The admission fee is
- 310 yen for senior high school students and above
- Free otherwise
- From Matsumoto Bus Terminal (松本バスターミナル) in front of Matsumoto Station, take the Uchida Line (内田線) and get off at Babake Jūtaku Higashi (馬場家住宅東).
- Please note the service only operates on weekdays.
- Please refer to HERE and click “時刻表” for the timetable.
- On weekends and public holidays, please take either Kotobukidai Line (寿台線) or Matsuhara Line (松原線) and get off at Kotobukidai Higashigu (寿台東口). The bus stop is 1 km from Baba Family Residence.
Explore Other Fascinating Attractions in Matsumoto City
Wonder what else in Matsumoto is worth your time? Check out our list of selected attractions in Matsumoto that you won’t want to miss out on.
There are a couple of places where you can source delicious natural water from in the city center, an art museum filled with Kusama Yayoi’s eye-opening contemporary artworks, places perfect for cherry blossom and fall foliage hunting, and a lot more!
For more information, please refer to our article on Matsumoto!
