🐦 Through the Historic Castle Moats and Samurai Legacies: An 8km Ptarmigan 🐦
Joetsu City in Niigata Prefecture, facing the Sea of Japan, flourished as a prominent samurai capital centered around Takada Castle, built by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu’s sixth son, Matsudaira Tadateru. Celebrated for its seasonal cherry blossoms and vast lotus-filled moats, the city retains its distinct snowy-country heritage. This 8km GPS art course invites you to sketch a Ptarmigan, starting from the historic Sakaki Shrine on the west side of the castle ruins and tracing a precisely ordered loop toward the Sekikawa River.
The historical journey first heads north into the Kitashiro district to visit Kitashiro Sinmeigu Shrine. Turning south from there, the trail guides you near the legendary Alleged Tomb of Tomoe Gozen and the sprawling grounds of JGSDF Camp Takada before entering the main castle park. Within the lush grounds, you will pass cultural landmarks like the Ogawa Mimei Literature Museum (inside Auren Community Center Plaza) and the elegant Kobayashi Kokei Memorial Museum of Art. The final stretch takes you directly past the iconic Takada Castle Three-storey Turret, winding through the outer ramparts before finishing near the refreshing banks of the Sekikawa River.
This flat 8km loop perfectly balances samurai history with regional arts in a smooth, chronological sequence. When the digital bird appears on your map, you will have completed a refreshing cultural run through the heart of historic Echigo.
RESTAURANTS
DETAIL (EXTERNAL LINK)
A PIONEER IN GPS ART.
1st work was authorized by Guinness World Records as “the Largest GPS Drawing”.
He is the only Japanese person to be featured in a Google documentary as an innovator. He is fascinated by the idea of drawing with GPS and has published more than 2,500 works.
