🐎 New Year Horse GPS Art near Kotohiragu Shrine in Kagawa 🗻
A 17km GPS art course has been designed around Kotohiragu Shrine—one of Kagawa’s most popular New Year destinations. This horse-shaped GPS course allows visitors to enjoy hatsumode, sightseeing, and running in the historic town of Kotohira. Optimized for travelers searching for “Kotohiragu Shrine,” “New Year visit,” “GPS art,” and “Kotohira sightseeing,” this course blends culture, nature, and fitness in one experience.
Kotohiragu Shrine, affectionately known as “Konpira-san,” has a deep spiritual connection with horses. The shrine is home to two sacred white horses, Koki and Shirohira, who are sometimes visible in the shrine stable during the New Year period. Historically, the shrine’s deity Ōmononushi-no-Mikoto was worshipped as a guardian of voyages, and ships carrying horses once traveled through the Seto Inland Sea to visit Kotohira. This heritage inspired the creation of this horse-themed GPS art course.
The course begins at the iconic Daimon Gate and follows the bustling Konpira Omotesando, a lively slope lined with shops and traditional inns. Even without climbing the famous long staircase, visitors can immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere of the shrine town. The course also passes the Konpira Grand Theater (Kanamaruza), one of Japan’s oldest Kabuki playhouses, as well as the vividly colored Sayabashi Bridge—both key sightseeing spots for travelers.
As the path continues toward Kotohira Town Hall and Manno Town Hall, the scenery opens into the peaceful fields of the Sanuki Plain, offering a refreshing environment for running and walking. The final stretch circles around Kotohira Station and Kotoden-Kotohira Station, gateways historically used by pilgrims visiting Konpira-san.
With its strong ties to sacred horses, Kotohiragu Shrine provides the perfect backdrop for a New Year horse GPS-art experience. Whether you are visiting for hatsumode, exploring Kotohira’s cultural sites, or enjoying a scenic run, this 17km course offers a uniquely meaningful way to start the year.
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.
