Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace

Matsudaira-Area

Basic Information
How to Access
Map
Area Information

Add this Spot to My Favorites

$Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace\r\nMatsudaira-go Lookout Terrace\r\nMatsudaira-go Lookout Terrace$

The Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace on Mt. Rokusho, 310 meters above sea level, affords views over the valley of Matsudaira-go, the city of Toyota, and out toward the plains of Nishi-Mikawa. Ise Bay, the Suzuka Mountains, and the skyscrapers of Nagoya are also visible on clear days.

Most of the places central to the history of the Matsudaira samurai family can be viewed from the lookout terrace. These sites include the family’s ancestral home in the valley beneath Mt. Rokusho, the southern and western plains they conquered in the fifteenth century, and the castle town of Okazaki. Okazaki became the Matsudaira seat of power in the first half of the sixteenth century and is the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616), the ninth head of the family and the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. The lookout terrace is a 20-minute walk uphill from the parking lot next to Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine.

Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace

From here you can see a number of places central to the history of the Matsudaira samurai family, as well as several modern-day landmarks in the city of Toyota and western Aichi Prefecture.

Straight ahead in the valley is the village of Matsudaira, the ancestral home of the Matsudaira family. In the fifteenth century, they expanded their power across the plains to the south and west. Just beyond the valley is the city of Toyota, with the distinctive beams of Toyota Stadium and the arches of Toyota Ohashi Bridge backgrounded by a cluster of high-rise buildings around Toyota Station.

To the left of central Toyota is the headquarters of the Toyota Motor Corporation. Still further to the left is the Toyota Arrows Bridge, an 820-meter cable-stayed bridge across the Yahagi River, distinguished by its lofty twin pylons.

Beyond Toyota and to the right lies the city of Nagoya, with the Yoro Mountains on the border between Gifu and Mie Prefectures in the background. Just to the right of central Nagoya stands the 134-meter Higashiyama Sky Tower, a landmark of the city’s Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

Looking to the left from Nagoya and toward the Suzuka Mountains on the horizon, Ise Bay may be visible when the weather is clear. On the opposite side of the bay is the city of Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture. It is easy to spot at night because of its brightly illuminated petrochemical factories.

Further left toward Mikawa Bay lie the cities of Okazaki and Anjo. Both were once ruled by the Matsudaira family, who established their base of power at Okazaki Castle in the first half of the sixteenth century. That fortress was reconstructed in 1959 and is, unfortunately, difficult to see from here with the naked eye.

Basic Information

Address	〒444-2202 Matsudaira-cho, Toyota City
Phone number	0565-58-1629 (Matsudaira-Go Furusato Zukuri Committee Office)
Directions by public transportation	From Meitetsu Mikawa/Toyota Line Toyotashi Station, take the Toyota Oiden Bus bound for Onuma (下山・豊田線［大沼方面］Shimoyama-Toyota Line for Onuma), get off at Matsudaira-go (松平郷) and walk 5 minutes. *About 15 minutes walk from Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine to the Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace.
Directions by car	15 min. from the Tokai-Kanjo Expressway Toyota-Matsudaira Interchange
Related links	Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace (in Japanese)

Map

Get directions with Google Maps

Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace

Matsudaira-go Lookout Terrace

Basic Information

Map

Area Information

Recommended Spots

Sightseeing Spot Search