Winding Roads & Never Ending TalesFamily trips, wrong turns and the places we still talk about.
Matsumoto, Kamikochi and Mount Fuji: Our Favourite Japan Detour
We reached Matsumoto thinking we had given it enough time. By the time we were leaving, I was already regretting that. This small town turned out to be one of our favourite places in Japan.
This covers Days 10-12, including the last-minute detour for Mount Fuji on the way back to Tokyo.
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Travelled in May 2026. Part 3 of our Japan family travelogue. Prices, menus and ticket rules can change.
Days 10–11: Matsumoto and the place we wanted to stay
Day 10: A festival we had not planned
We came from Kyoto and checked into the Richmond Hotel on Sunday, 17 May. There was a festival going on, with performances, costumes and floats in the streets. We had come for the town and mountains, and landed in the middle of all this as well.
We spent much of the afternoon watching the performers and walking from one street to another. Then we reached Matsumoto Castle. The dark building reflected in the moat was so beautiful that we kept stopping for photographs from different sides.
There were still places on our list, but we were quite happy spending time here. No great urge to rush off to the next one.
Day 11: Taisho Pond to Kappa Bridge
Next morning we took an early bus to Kamikochi and got down at Taisho Pond. Our plan was to walk from there towards Kappa Bridge. The first thing that struck us was how clear and still the water looked, with the mountains behind it.
We followed the Azusa River, sometimes on boardwalks, sometimes through the trees. In the shade it was cold, then a sunny patch would warm us up again. We kept stopping to look into the water. You could see so clearly through it.
At Kappa Bridge we sat by the water with the mountains in front of us. After the cities and theme-park plans, it felt very good to have nothing more urgent to do for a while. Could happily have stayed longer.
Our return involved a bus to Shin-Shimashima and the Kamikochi Line train to Matsumoto. Ticket correction for fellow travellers: do not rely on Suica for that train or the Kamikochi mountain bus. Alpico's current FAQ lists those services as outside IC-card coverage. Its June 2026 announcement schedules Kamikochi Line Suica introduction for around spring 2027; confirm the actual position before travelling.
Back in Matsumoto we tried the 7-Eleven smoothie machine, which soon became a family favourite. Later we walked along Nawate-dori, with its frog theme, and went into a shop selling traditional dolls.
The elderly owner spoke little English and our Japanese was hardly any better. Google Translate zindabad! We used it along with hand gestures and smiles to keep the conversation going. We got talking about the dolls and eventually chose one to bring home.
Such a warm person. We had only gone in to look, and ended up spending time talking to him. This little shop is still one of my clearest memories of Matsumoto.
Over dinner I told my wife I could live here. I meant it too. Of all the places we had visited on this trip, this was the one I was least ready to leave.
Day 12: A farewell walk, a Fuji detour and Shinjuku after dark
Around 6:30 the next morning I went back to the castle on my own. The festival crowds were gone and it was quiet around the moat. Took more photographs, of course. Leaving Matsumoto was not looking like a very good idea just then.
But the Tokyo train was booked, so back we went. During the journey we checked the Mount Fuji visibility forecast. It was looking promising. We had missed seeing it from Hakone, and here was another chance.
So the easy day back in Tokyo started changing. Could we fit in a detour to Gotemba? Apparently we were not quite finished adding things to this trip.
At Shinjuku we put the bag we were carrying into storage and took a highway bus to Gotemba Premium Outlets. Sort out the luggage and return bus before doing this kind of detour; locker sizes, charges and access times are not all the same.
And this time there it was, Mount Fuji, clear against the sky. Finally! Chalo, Fuji darshan ho gaye. We had come to an outlet mall, but spent a lot of time looking at the mountain from the complex and the connecting bridge. After Hakone, this felt worth the extra journey.
We ate at the Hill Side food hall with Fuji still in view. Very happy with that lunch stop. Shopping was not really the main attraction for us that day.
Back in Shinjuku, we saw the giant 3D cat near the East Exit, took photos at the LOVE sculpture and looked up at Godzilla above the cinema. Then we walked through Omoide Yokocho, with its narrow lanes and lit-up counters. We liked the atmosphere, though finding dinner for our diet there did not look straightforward.
Finally we collected the bag and went to the hotel. Our easy day had become another busy one, but we had seen Fuji! We were lucky with the weather. I would not count on the same view just because the detour worked for us.
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