Tourism Matsumoto to increase castle fees, introduce accommodation tax

[thomas]

Matsumoto City has announced plans to raise entrance fees for Matsumoto Castle and implement an accommodation tax to address the surge in tourism following the end of COVID-19 restrictions. Mayor Yoshinao Gaun stated that the city aims to use the additional revenue to improve the tourist experience. Despite the fee increase, the city has pledged to maintain equal pricing for domestic and foreign visitors. The current entrance fee is ¥700 for adults and ¥300 for children, generating an estimated ¥540 million annually. The mayor indicated that the fee hike will likely take effect next April, pending approval from the city council.

The fee hikes to enter Matsumoto Castle will be the first since January 2020, following the results of a quake-resistance diagnosis for the main tower keep. The study found the keep would not withstand an earthquake with an intensity of 6 to 7 on the Japanese seismic scale. The added revenue from the ticket price increases was needed to cover costs to deploy additional personnel to prepare for emergency situations. The hikes this time are for "building a comfortable environment for tourists to see around the castle," Gaun said. According to city officials, around 900,000 tourists visited the castle last fiscal year, about the same as pre-pandemic levels. Foreign visitors accounted for about 160,000 of the total, a record high. Matsumoto city is reinforcing the main tower keep and restoring the outer moat to preserve the castle, a main sightseeing spot in the city. The total estimated cost for those projects exceeds 7.4 billion yen.

City to raise fees for Matsumoto Castle, set tax for accommodations | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Travel  Matsumoto Travel Guide

Matsumoto (松本) is located in central Nagano Prefecture and used to be a provincial capital from the eighth century. It was the base of the senior branch of the Ogasawara clan (小笠原氏), the shugo (守護, military governors) of the Shinano Province during the fourteenth and the fifteenth century. It...

• JREF
• 8 May 2012
• Category: Nagano