Walk Matsumoto around its castle

Matsumoto is a city in the Japanese Alps with one of the few original castles left in Japan, black and white above its moat. FOG starts the map dark and clears only what you walk, and the centre is small enough to finish.

The castle

Matsumoto Castle is one of twelve original castle keeps surviving in Japan and a National Treasure. Its black walls have earned it the name Crow Castle. You can climb the steep wooden stairs inside to the top floor.

The castle grounds have a wide moat with a red bridge, and the mountains of the Northern Alps rise behind it on clear days.

Old streets

Nakamachi Street, south of the castle, is a street of white walled storehouses with black tiles, now shops and cafes. Nawate Street, along the Metoba River, is a short row of small stalls in old style, known as Frog Street.

The Kaichi School, one of the oldest Western style school buildings in Japan, stands north of the castle.

Coverage

Matsumoto is flat and compact. A loop from the station to the castle and back through Nakamachi covers the centre.

Winters are cold, summers are warm and dry. The town is a base for the Alps and the Kamikochi valley.

How FOG keeps score here

FOG starts with the whole world under fog. Every place you physically walk clears a circle of roughly 120 metres around you, and that ground stays clear for good. It keeps working with the app closed and the screen off once you allow background location, so the walk to dinner counts as much as the planned loop.

There is no account, no sign-up and no cloud. The trail lives on your phone and nowhere else, and you can export a GPX backup whenever you like. Exploring is free; one purchase of FOG Unlimited adds the higher ranks, all five character paths and history import, with no subscription.

Questions people actually ask

Start with a dark map.

FOG is free to explore. No account, no subscription, and your map never leaves your phone.

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