🐦 Silk City Heritage and Hilly Parks: A 8km Ptarmigan Art in Kiryu 🐦
Kiryu City, Gunma, is a historic textile hub often likened to Kyoto’s Nishijin. Nestled at the foot of the Ashio Mountains, the city preserves a unique landscape of “saw-tooth” roofed factories and merchant storehouses. This 8km GPS art course invites you to sketch a Ptarmigan (Raicho), starting from the iconic Kiryugaoka Zoo. Uniquely free to enter, this zoo, along with the adjacent Aquarium and the nostalgic Kiryugaoka Amusement Park, offers a hilltop sanctuary with panoramic views of the city.
The journey descends from the verdant heights into the heart of the “Silk City.” You will visit Kiryu Tenmangu Shrine, a spiritual landmark dedicated to the deity of learning and textiles. From there, the route weaves through the Kiryu Shinmachi Important Preservation District, where traditional wooden buildings evoke the prosperity of the Edo and Meiji eras. As you trace the silhouette of the bird toward Kiryu Station, you’ll feel the seamless blend of living history and modern community life.
The Ptarmigan is a sacred alpine bird, a relic of the Ice Age that thrives in Japan’s highest snowy peaks. Drawing this symbol of mountain majesty in Kiryu—a gateway to the Gunma highlands—is a poetic tribute to the region’s rugged natural backdrop. The 8km trek features some pleasant undulations, mimicking the bird’s rocky habitat. By the time the digital Ptarmigan appears on your smartphone screen, you will have connected the dots of Kiryu’s industrial legacy and its forested beauty. Lace up your shoes and explore this “Textile Capital” from a fresh, artistic perspective!
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.
