About this location: Matsuyama Castle
Matsuyama Castle, atop Mt. Katsuyama (132 m), is one of 12 surviving original tenshu (1627). Its striking black-and-white connected keep ranks among Japan's top 100 cherry blossom sites. Take the ropeway or chairlift up — the view from the keep over the Seto Inland Sea is essential.
Key features
- Great Keep and Connected Keep — the 1854 great keep, with lesser keep, southern and northern corner turrets connected around a central platform, a rare structure nationwide
- Ropeway and Chairlift — three minutes from town to summit; the open chairlift offers an immersive panoramic ride
- Cherry blossom site — the rebuilt 1854 keep paired with 500 Yoshino cherry trees; the Honmaru plaza in early April rivals any in the Top 100 Castles
- Seto Inland Sea view — the keep's observation deck commands the Matsuyama Plain, the Inland Sea, and the Ishizuchi range (West Japan's tallest at 1,982 m)
- Stone walls — Keicho-period high stonework, plus the Tonashimon, Taikomon, and other 21 Important Cultural Property structures — a paradise for fortification fans
