Matsumoto, the Crow Castle

Located in the Nagano Prefecture, the Matsumoto Castle is one of the four Japanese castles designated as National Treasure of Japan, (together with the Hikone Castle, the Himeji Castle and the Inuyama Castle). Matsumoto is one of the Japanese castles with nicknames - because it is one of the few castles with a black exterior, it was nicknamed Karasu-jō 「烏城」, the "Crow Castle". It is said that to this nickname also contributed its shape, with the roofs looking like wings...

Matsumoto was for a long time on my "to go" list - the tenshu (donjon tower) is the oldest 5-story donjon in Japan and it is perfectly maintained in its original form. Yesterday I finally managed to visit it... and I was also lucky to go on a beautiful day, perfect for photography.
The beauty of the castle reflected in the water was breathtaking and I hope that I captured at least a bit of it...