Photo: Zairon / CC BY 4.0Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
The keep stands on Katsuyama, 132 m above the middle of the city, with turrets and gates around it and a view to the Inland Sea. The hilltop enclosure is free; the keep is a museum inside.
Below the hill are Bansuiso, a French-style villa of 1922 (¥400, closed Mondays), and the Ninomaru Historical Garden (¥200).
Four things the plaques won't tell you
- Be at the ropeway station an hour before the keep’s last entry: that is the castle’s own advice.
- The chairlift stops in rain; the ropeway runs.
- From the top station the path to the keep is uphill with steps; the castle says wheelchair users need two or three helpers.
- The ropeway’s top station, Chojagahira, takes cash only; the station at the bottom takes cards and IC cards.
Below the hill are Bansuiso, a French-style villa of 1922 (¥400, closed Mondays), and the Ninomaru Historical Garden (¥200).
More in Matsuyama
Spot guideDogo Onsen from the cruise berth
The 1894 bathhouse, fully open again, at the end of the tram line
Open the guide
Spot guideIshite-ji, Temple 51
A pilgrimage temple with a National Treasure gate, beyond Dogo Onsen
Open the guide
Spot guideBotchan Ressha, the Botchan train
A replica steam tram on the city tracks, weekends and holidays only
Open the guideQuestions people ask here
How do I get up to Matsuyama Castle?
By ropeway or chairlift from the Shinonome-guchi station, about 5 minutes on foot from Okaido tram stop: ¥520 return, one ticket for either. From the top it is about 8 minutes uphill to the keep, our estimate.
Is Matsuyama Castle open every day?
The keep closes only on the third Wednesday of December. It opens 09:00–17:00, to 17:30 in August and 16:30 in December and January; the ropeway runs every day from 08:30.