How much time should I set aside for a visit to the castle?

Do you need to buy bullet train tickets to Matsumoto from Nagano in advance? Or you can just buy in person in Nagano station on the day itself?

Is there a tour package i can get - one day trip from Tokyo to Matsumoto castle with English speaking driver?

Do you need to get tickets in advance or can you just go to the castle?

Hi just wondering if there are many many people if you go around 2pm? I would hate it if i was the only one there in the afternoon What time does the special people in samurai uniforms appear? thanks a lot

What is the significance of the fish on the roof

Hi! I plan on visiting Matsumoto from Yudanaka, does anyone know whether the JR lines from Yudanaka to Matsumoto are covered by JR East?

Is it worth to go in? or just take photo from outside?

I have two nights to spend in Matsumoto (coming from Shinjuku) before heading to Kinosaki Onsen and Amanohashidate. How accessible are the tourist areas (eg Norikura Kogen, easy hiking trails) from Matsumoto. Will be visiting 28th September. Any recommendations? Is it better to head to Kinosaki Onsen or Amanohasidate from Matsumoto? Trying to figure out the shortest travel times and hope to use the most direct routes. Thank you>

Hello, two questions; We will be traveling with our carry-on size luggage arriving in the morning and departing in the afternoon at Matsumoto Train Station. Does the station have a storage area for carry-on sized luggage? And since we will be by ourselves, not with a tour group, how long will getting tickets on April 5th(Tuesday) take? Should we pre-buy tickets before we arrive? We can only spend 4 hours there and don't want to be stuck in a 2 hour long line. Thanks!