Matsumoto Overview Back to all places Sitting on a plateau ringed by snow-capped mountains and watched over by the famous “Black Crow” castle, Matsumoto is the gateway to some of the country’s most spectacular scenery. Connects with Japan TakayamaIt’s best-known for its picture-perfect preserved town centre and elaborate spring-and-autumn festivals, but if you ask us, Takayama’s real treasures are found in the surrounding alpine countryside. Japan Kiso Valley & NakasendoPicture Japan as it was hundreds of years ago: small villages of wooden buildings surrounded by mountains cloaked forest and shrouded in mist; streets filled with little more than foot traffic and the voices of shopkeepers selling their wares. Welcome to the Kiso Valley.