Naoshima

Yuji and Maasa on the beaches below Benesse House, Naoshima.
April 19, 2008.

Naoshima was a great surprise to me. I had never heard of the place until I read about it in the back of the Wallpaper* Tokyo guide book, in a section called Escapes. These handy little guides are actually pretty cool, even if the hotels they list are way out of my price range. So, I feel that I must thanks the editors, because Naoshima was completely amazing!

Naoshima is an island located in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. It is reknowned for its collection of contemporary art galleries and exhibits. Naoshima is best known for the Benesse House complex. There has been extensive domestic attention to the recently (2006) completed radical Chichu Art Museum. -Wiki


Benesse House, a contemporary art museum and hotel designed by Tadao Ando.






Benesse House dining room: where you get to eat if you are a guest there. You also get exclusive transportation around the island's various art sites in the Benesse shuttle bus. If you stay at the Benesse House, you also get to wander around the museum closes; long after plebs like me have gone off to their 3500 Yen ($35) a night guest house.


The Chichu Art Museum cafe, 4/20/2008


Every single detail has been attended to at the ChiChu, right down to the problem of how to carry your drink and quiche to the outside terrace, without resorting to the all too common prison-style two-handed tray maneuver? Put the drink in a basket, with the quiche over top.


Posting a photograph of one of James Turrell's ephemeral artworks seems almost blasphemous. But here is one form inside the ChiChu, anyway; not to give you the feeling of the piece, but to remind you that there are 4 of his works on permanent display on this wee island that you need to go and see.


ChiChu was also designed by Tadao Ando. The entire museum is set into the ground, so as to not disturb the natural lines of the mountainous island.






In addition to the two fanatastic museums by Ando, there are six Art House Projects, all within renovated traditional houses on this small island.


A detail of the charred wood finish used on one of the Art Houses.


The idea of Naoshima is brilliant: create a series of sublime art experiences on a beautiful island in the inland sea. The idea of wrapping a waffle around a chocolate topped ice cream bar, so that it doesn't drip, seems equally inspired.


If I hadn't been locked in the train and forced to miss my stop, then have to double back, and thus miss the ferry, I would not have met Yuki and Maasa. We had a great time touring all the sites of the island together.


We even had fun with Godzilla in a traditional Japanese bar, just around the corner from our guest house.



This is the ferry terminal on Naoshima. If you ever find yourself in Tokyo, and are a lover of contemporary art and architecture, then you must go to Naoshima. It is just difficult enough to get to to keep away the tour bus crowd, but easy enough for the devoted to make the pilgrimage without getting lost. Here is how I got there: Bullet train from Tokyo to Okayama (4 hours), Okayama-Chayamachi-Uno (40 minutes), Uno ferry to Naoshima (20 minutes).