Naoshima, a small island in the Seto Inland Sea between Okayama and Takamatsu, has become one of the world’s most celebrated destinations for contemporary art — a place where world-class museums designed by Tadao Ando are embedded into the island’s forested hillsides and fishing village streets, and where art installations occupy abandoned houses, temples, and shorelines. The transformation from a declining industrial island to a global art destination (initiated by Soichiro Fukutake of Benesse Holdings from 1992) is one of the most remarkable cultural reinvention stories of the late 20th century.
Getting to Naoshima
- From Takamatsu (Kagawa): Ferry from Takamatsu Port (50 min, ¥1,230) or high-speed ferry (30 min, ¥1,160). Most convenient from Kyoto/Osaka direction via Shinkansen to Okayama then limited express to Takamatsu (JR Pass covered).
- From Uno Port (Okayama): Short ferry (20 min, ¥290) or high-speed ferry (15 min, ¥580). Access from Okayama: JR Uno Line to Uno Station (50 min from Okayama), covered by JR Pass.
- On the island: Town Bus connects the main sites (¥210/ride or ¥620 day pass); rental bicycles (¥200–¥500/hour) are ideal for exploring at pace.
Chichu Art Museum (地中美術館)
The centerpiece of Naoshima’s art landscape — Tadao Ando’s 2004 museum built entirely underground (chichu = “underground”), with skylights designed so that natural light illuminates the works differently at every hour and season. Three permanent installations: five of Claude Monet’s late Water Lilies series in a white room whose light conditions were designed specifically for them; James Turrell’s Open Sky installation (a room open to the sky, experienced lying on a stone bench); and Walter De Maria’s Time/Timeless/No Time (granite spheres and vertical paintings in a naturally lit atrium). Entry ¥2,100; advance booking required. The building’s concrete corridors, light wells, and geometric forms are themselves a Tadao Ando masterwork.
Benesse House Museum
The original Naoshima art facility (1992, Tadao Ando) — a museum and hotel combined, where guests sleep surrounded by the permanent collection. The museum contains works by Bruce Nauman, Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, and Richard Long integrated into Ando’s concrete architecture. The outdoor sculpture circuit along the shoreline — including Yayoi Kusama’s iconic Yellow Pumpkin on the pier — is freely walkable. Museum entry ¥1,050; hotel guests have 24-hour access. Kusama’s Yellow Pumpkin was temporarily removed after a typhoon in 2021 and restored; check current status before visiting.