Know the Points 1: Matsumae

This is the first in a series of posts aimed at profiling the different destinations that we hope to hit on our Four Points Tour at the end of September. This post deals with the first point of the four points tour:

Distance from Sapporo: ~350km

Matsumae is located at the extreme south-western tip of our island, and neighbouring Cape Shirakami holds the title of most southernly point in all of Hokkaido. Though all of us on the Four Points Tour have been as far south as the port city of Hakkodate, none of us have ever made it as far south as Matsumae.

With Hokkaido having been officially assumed as a territory of Japan only roughly 140 years ago, our island lacks a number of the hallmarks of older Japanese culture, such as expansive wooden temples, ancient shrines, and Edo-era castles. That is we lack such things everywhere other than Matsumae, which is known for being home to the only Edo-era castle in Hokkaido. When the flowering cherry blossom front finally reaches Hokkaido in the late spring, tourists flock to the castle at Matsumae to take in its gardens full of sakura.

...or at least that's what everyone tells me about Matsumae, and the meager English wikipedia article on the town has little more to comment on other than its population of close to 10,000 souls.

I'll be sure to tell you more about it once I've been there.

Distance to next Point (Erimo): 509km