Naoshima & Teshima | Japan’s Art Islands
I first heard of Japan’s art islands when my friends visited a couple years ago and declared it their favorite place in the entire world. The islands of Naoshima and Teshima are set in the Inland Sea, west of Osaka. They require at minimum a train and a ferry– half a day’s travel– to reach, and so they are a bit of a detour from the big cities that so often highlight a Japan itinerary. When I hesitated on actually dedicating the time to visit, my friends insisted, unequivocally, that I go. It was 100% worth it, the highlight of our whole month in Asia, and now I get to urge others to make the trip as well.
We visited Naoshima and Teshima at the beginning of January, just before many of the museums shut down for a break in mid January. It is certainly off-peak to visit in the winter. Many of the shops and restaurants in the surrounding towns are closed for the season, the weather can be very cold and windy, and a certain famous spotted yellow pumpkin was conspicuously absent. But there were no crowds, and it provided a very quiet and contemplative experience that we both really treasured.
Since we were coming from Taipei, we flew directly from TPE to Okayama, a tiny airport in the closest city to where we were headed in Japan. We were the last flight of the day (at 2pm) and encountered some very nice staffers who helped us figure out the correct bus to the train station. After a plane to bus to train, we arrived in the port town of Uno, our home base for the duration of our visit to the Art Islands.
Dinner after we got in on day one: Ocean Village.
We stayed at the Uno Port Inn, conveniently located right across the street from the ports that take you to the art islands. The staff was exceedingly nice and helpful, and breakfast was included each morning. For day one, we decided to visit the hallmark art island of Naoshima.
Beautiful ferry crossings!
We were greeted by a red Yayoi Kusama pumpkin upon arrival at the Miyanoura Port of Naoshima. You can actually walk inside this one! Unfortunately the yellow pumpkin on the other end of the island was actually tucked away in storage for the windy winter season as a preventative measure since it once blew away into the ocean. So we didn’t get to see that one, but that’s ok!
Our first major stop was the Chichu Art Museum, literally middle of the earth, because it is inset in the ground by architect Tadao Ando. This was my favorite art museum I’ve ever visited, and I’ve been to many!
From the port we took a shuttle bus to Chichu. Many people also rent bikes to get around the island, but that was less desirable in the winter.
As with many of the best art experiences on the islands, there is no photography allowed inside the art spaces. So here are just a couple glimpses of the architecture in the entryway leading up to the museum.
Really beautiful use of light throughout.
No spoilers on the actual art inside, other than to say each space is incredibly thoughtfully built and unique. You must come and experience it for yourself.
In lieu of taking any photos inside, I was able to do a couple of pencil sketches. Then we stopped for a drink at the cafe, which has a lovely outdoor terrace overlooking the water.
Then it was on to the site that started the whole art island transformation: the Benesse House, which was the first big museum to be built on Naoshima, also by Tadao Ando. It comprises both the more ‘traditional’ contemporary art museum in the Benesse House Museum, as well as many different outdoor pieces and spaces. It is also a big hotel complex and the main option if you want to stay on the island itself. We decided the cost wasn’t worth it, especially since we would be going between two different islands. But we would consider it in the future, since many parts of the house and grounds are only accessible to hotel guests.
The World Flag Ant Farm 1990 by Yukinori Yanagi
“Always by my side” by Amanda Heng
Walking out to the Seaside Gallery.
And back on a bus to the port and back on a ferry to Uno.
Back in Uno, I had spotted this gigantic supermarket next to the train station, so off we went to explore it!
So delightful! So many things to look at in this Marunaka! Expensive melons: $13.56 each.
Chubby carrots. Lots and lots of delicious king crab legs.
A whole kewpie mayo section. So many more things, not pictured.
Sunset over the pedestrian overpass back to our hotel.
For dinner, another friend’s favorite spot, Oitama. I see their Goodfight stickers! Left their mark!
It’s a super cozy little spot, with Japanese-western homestyle dishes.
Ready for day two! Starting with our Uno Port Inn breakfast and hopping on a different ferry, this time to the island of Teshima. It’s a bigger island than Naoshima but with slightly fewer art attractions.
The main attraction on Teshima is the Teshima Art Museum. The bus wasn’t running in the morning (off season!), but we made the very doable walk up the hill to reach the museum.
The museum is surrounded by rice terraces. Beautiful.
Architect Ryue Nishizawa designed this beautiful space, and it is also uniquely nestled in its surroundings.
First entrants of the day.
A lovely nature walk leads up to the museum space.
Again, no photos inside. It was wonderful to go in knowing absolutely nothing. We spent hours in the space. I did some pencil sketches, while Alex just sat, observing. A very special experience.
A visit to the cafe afterwards.
Luckily the bus was on hand to take us to the other end of the island for our next leg.
These oranges were sooo good! Like extra large and juicy cuties, or thin skinned Sumos. And only $.66 each.
Scenes around Teshima, and evidence of the farming on the island.
The Teshima Yokoo House. A much smaller scale art museum.
Found some gigantic yuzus in the alleyways.
Then we took a break in this coffeeshop… and accidentally ran out of cash for this cash-only place. No working ATMs on a Saturday either! She let us pay with Taiwanese money in the end, oops.
The ferry was also cash only, but I managed to find a group of Americans and venmo’d them for cash. The ferry terminal ladies were also ready to let us take the ferry back, stop by 7/11 on the mainland, and come back and pay though. Thank you, very kind people!
Back to Oitama for the second night in a row. It was lovely, but also there weren’t many other things open in this first week of January.
Some glimpses of my Teshima pencil sketches.
Day three! We initially left this open, in case we wanted to move on to our next destination quickly or double back to something we missed. We decided to go back to Naoshima, since we didn’t have a chance to visit all of the art houses on the eastern side of the island the first day.
Walking around neighborhood.
We booked the earliest time to visit Minamidera, which is a collaboration between Japanese architect Tadao Ando and American artist James Turrell. No photos inside. We enjoyed this the most out of the art houses.
Tadao Ando museum.
A model of Chichu Art Museum.
The rest of the art houses were less notable, but we still visited almost all of them as a part of the ticket package.
Lots of shoshugiban, or literally burnt cedar planks, cladding these traditional Japanese houses.
Eventually, we walked our way over to the passenger boat port at Honmura.
And then it was time to leave this serene island experience for the crazy hustle and bustle of Osaka right as everyone was on their return from the New Year’s holidays. First, a little train from Uno to Okayama.
Then a little bento treat and some Okayama grape and lemon juices on our shinkansen ride from Okayama to Osaka.
I very highly recommend a trip to Naoshima and Teshima for a unique, meditative, transportive art experience like no other. We enjoyed the winter off season, but it might not be for everyone. Book things ahead, especially your museum reservations, and check on your transportation such as ferries and local shuttle buses or bike reservations, as not everything is always running, and Japan really values reserving things ahead of time, even when it’s not peak season. We found staying in Uno to be very convenient for visiting a different island on a different ferry each day, but if you want to spend the money, it could also be nice to stay right on Naoshima in the Benesse House. Finally, do tell me if you end up visiting these wonderful islands! I want to hear all about your experience!
Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She compulsively documents and blogs all of her daily adventures. Follow her on instagram and view more of her professional work at annawu.com.
Part 1: December in Taipei
Part 2: Naoshima & Teshima | Japan’s Art Islands
Part 3: Osaka, Japan
