Skip to content
LarkTours

Routes · Asia

Warsaw to the Japanese Alps: Matsumoto and Kamikōchi

Warsaw → Matsumoto → Kamikōchi

Kamikōchi
"Kamikōchi, Hida Mountains range, Nagano Prefecture; September 2007 (09).jpg" by skyseeker, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence
Skyscrapers of Shinjuku 2009 January (Tokyo)
Photo: Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A black castle & an alpine valley Best season (general guide): May–Oct

The Japanese Alps rise steeply in the middle of Honshu, with castle towns at their feet and alpine valleys above. This route spends three nights in Matsumoto and three in Kamikōchi. From Warsaw you'll connect to Tokyo, then take the train west. Matsumoto Castle, with its black wooden keep, is one of the few original castle towers in Japan and is designated a National Treasure.

How to pace it: Spend days one to three in Matsumoto: day one, train from Tokyo; day two, Matsumoto Castle; day three, old town and the wasabi farm. Then spend days four to six in Kamikōchi: day four, train and bus to Kamikōchi; day five, Kappa Bridge and riverside trails; day six, Myōjin Pond.

Near the city, a large wasabi farm grows the plant in cold spring water. Kamikōchi is a high valley in the Hida Mountains, along the clear Azusa River under the Hotaka peaks. It is closed to private cars, so visitors arrive by bus or taxi. Flat trails follow the river from the Kappa Bridge, and the valley is a base for climbs into the high mountains.

The valley is open from spring to autumn and closes in winter; May to October is the season. Matsumoto Castle's keep dates from the late sixteenth century and is the oldest surviving five-tiered keep in Japan. Kamikōchi lies within Chūbu-Sangaku National Park. Walter Weston, an English missionary who popularised mountaineering in Japan, is remembered with a memorial in the valley, and a Weston festival is held each year.

Mount Yake, an active volcano, stands above the valley, and Taishō Pond was formed when an eruption dammed the river in 1915. Shinshu soba, buckwheat noodles from Nagano, are the local dish. Matsumoto is also home to the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, with a large collection of woodblock prints, and the Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre hosts a summer music festival founded by Seiji Ozawa.

Safety: Canada's advice for Japan is to exercise normal security precautions (updated 29 Sep 2026), and the US rates Japan Level 1 (15 May 2025).

Suggested outline

  1. Warsaw

    Start

  2. Matsumoto

    By air · 3 nights suggested

    A castle town at the foot of the Alps.

    Matsumoto Castle
    "Inui Kotenshu roof details seen from the Dai-Tenshu, Matsumoto Castle, 2016.jpg" by DimiTalen, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

  3. Kamikōchi

    By train and bus · 3 nights suggested

    A high valley under granite peaks.

Day by day

  1. Day 1 · Matsumoto — Arrive; train from Tokyo· Warsaw → Tokyo (by air) — long-haul; may arrive the next calendar day, then Tokyo → Matsumoto (by train)
  2. Day 2 · Matsumoto — Matsumoto Castle
  3. Day 3 · Matsumoto — Old town and the wasabi farm
  4. Day 4 · Kamikōchi — Train and bus to Kamikōchi· Matsumoto → Kamikōchi (by train and bus)
  5. Day 5 · Kamikōchi — Kappa Bridge and riverside trails
  6. Day 6 · Kamikōchi — Myōjin Pond
  7. Day 7 · Kamikōchi — Travel home from Kamikōchi· Kamikōchi → Tokyo (by train and bus), then Tokyo → Warsaw (by air)

A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.

Flights, leg by leg

Each button opens a live, dated search. We don't show stored fares here: check today's price on the booking site.

Showing dates about a month ahead — change them when you search.

Matsumoto

Nearest airport: Tokyo Search fares · Tokyo ↗

Partner links may earn LarkTours a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, availability and terms are set by each partner.