Matsushiro is a former castle town about 13 kilometres south of central Nagano, preserved well enough to give a genuine sense of what a mid-sized Japanese feudal town looked like. The town served as the domain headquarters of the Sanada clan through the Edo period, and the grid of samurai residences, merchant streets, and temple grounds survives largely intact. The Sanada residence and several other samurai villas are open to visitors, and the old walls and garden of Matsushiro Castle remain as a park.
The town is manageable on foot or by bicycle, and the combination of preserved architecture, an excellent local sake brewery, and the nearby Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters makes for a full half-day excursion from Nagano. The bus from Nagano Station runs about every 30 minutes and takes around 30 minutes. Local guides are available on weekends and can provide context for the samurai district that maps alone cannot convey.