🐎 New Year Horse Walk at Komagata Shrine 🗻
This 7 km GPS-art trail lets you draw a “horse” around Komagata Shrine in Maebashi, Gunma—perfect for a light and refreshing New Year stroll. Komagata Shrine is deeply connected with horses: its unique water pavilion features a horse statue, and its deity Uke-mochi-no-Mikoto has long been worshipped as a guardian of food and agriculture. Historical notes describe how pure soil from four sacred directions was shaped into a horse figure to pray for the protection of wild horses, reflecting the region’s deep equine heritage.
The shrine grounds form a horseshoe shape, and legend holds that the hoof of Minamoto no Yoritomo’s beloved horse “Surusumi” is enshrined here. This cultural richness makes the shrine a rare and charming destination for horse-related traditions.
The 7 km route loops through the southwestern area near Komagata IC, gently winding through residential streets and local neighborhoods. With minimal elevation changes, it is easy to enjoy even during a casual shrine visit. As you walk, your GPS trace gradually forms the mane, legs, and outline of a horse—creating a satisfying New Year memory.
A modest distance with meaningful cultural depth, this walk offers a refreshing way to welcome the year with the spirit of a galloping horse.
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.
