In the fifth episode of the series, Sakdapipanich Natdanai and Baek Eubin, 2nd year students from Thailand and South Korea, look back on a pleasant hike at the Kanayama Castle Ruins in Ota, Gunma.
“On 29 Feb 2024, we said goodbye to our hotel and started the last day of our GSEP off-campus trip. Our destination, located in Ota City, Gunma, was a place of historical importance during the Sengoku period. Once in the past was what only we could imagine as a beautiful fortress now remains the Kanayama Castle Ruins. As it would take some time to reach the top of the 200 meters high hill where the site is strategically located, we decided to buy some lunch on the way so as to have a picnic while we would take in the atmosphere of the castle ruins.
After packing our bags with sandwiches and onigiris from a Lawson, our bus continued its way to scale the hill. Meanwhile, our greatly inquisitive advisor, Prof. Alvin narrated us a tale of a brave granny who defended the ground of Kanayama against evading enemies with her strength and might many years ago. The story filled us with determination and hope as we looked forward to the path ahead towards the peak of the hill.
Soon, the bus stopped, signifying us that we must cover the rest of the path on foot. Before we stepped our foot into the woods, however, we indulged the view of the Ota City to the south of where we all stood. We knew this was not what we came for, thus eventually we made our way forwards through the trees. The hill where the castle used to stand is now protected as a national historic site so our hike through the woods felt especially peaceful in contrast to the busy city life we were all used to. Our footsteps on fallen winter leaves left a rustle that paired nicely with the rustling of the wind, all the while we breathed in the earthy scent of nature.
Although our journey was not purely in silence as we also came across other spirited hikers of all ages. Elderlies, middle-high schoolers alike seemed to be enjoying their voyage to and back from the castle ruins with the lively look of their faces. We greeted in various ways as we passed by each other.
After a little while, we started to see traces of stones stacked in layers neatly as if they were to make a sturdy structure. Oh right! This must have been the ruins of the castle we were seeking for. Our terrain shifted from entirely natural path of dirt and sand into rocks and various gaps but we were still heading for the peak. Up a little bit ahead was a pond called the Moon Pond where there were Koi fish residing in. The pond led us to the main entrance of the castle ruins. More structural stones lined up as we climbed higher, which seemed to be the location where the main rooms of the castle were situated. We settled down a little higher up ahead where we got a view of this whole section of the Kanayama Castle Ruins, including the other pond, the Sun Pond, and set up our picnic area.
The picnic was… not bad. It didn’t fully feel like a proper picnic, however, felt like a fair enough snack break. We had chances to talk to each other and eat our food, which was all great. It might have been better if there was a proper picnic table or better food (not from a convenient store) things might have been better. Still, it wasn’t bad at all; I just think it can be improved in the future, although this time, there wasn’t a place fit to eat.
While some of us were enjoying their lunches, others decided to climb further ahead. Atop of the hills, three shrines greeted us. It was quite a mysterious as to why three different shrines where there together, but we did enjoy the tranquility of the shrines as well as the view of the high grounds from there. Our journey was clearly peaceful, I personally think I never felt peace like this in months. Just wandering in the mountains, in nature, next to this castle. There were many monuments that looked cool and meaningful. In a nutshell, it kind of felt like home, where everything used to be peaceful and quiet.”
