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.
