Matsue Castle stands on the shore of Lake Shinji near the Japan Sea coast, at the heart of Matsue’s central riverside district. Most of its walls are black. All but the keep was dismantled in the Meiji period, but the keep is one of the twelve extant keeps remaining from the Edo period. The castle was built over a period of five years by the daimyō of the Izumo region, Horio Yoshiharu, and was completed in 1611. 

The Kyōbashi River forms a natural moat around the castle compound, which has many beautiful trees, including pines and cherries. You can take a boat ride around the castle.