Naoshima, commonly known as Japan’s art island, is a tiny island located off the southern coast of Japan in the Seto Inland Sea, reachable only by ferry. I made it my mission to visit back in 2019, and it still holds a special place in my heart. Biking around exploring art installations from day to night, the epic scenery, the food, and a multitude of galleries and immersive art experiences. Learn more about the destination and what to expect below.
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Heather Merenda
Image Credit
Naoya Hatakeyama
Artful Archipelago
Until the early 1990s, Naoshima was an isolated island known for its metal refining industry. But thanks to the art-loving vision of Soichiro Fukutake, it has gradually become one of the art world's most unique destinations and an 'island of culture' visited by 400,000 people every year.
Fukutake collaborated with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando who is known for his minimalist sensibility, liberal use of smooth, unpainted concrete, and his masterful control of natural light.
To date, Ando has made numerous buildings on Naoshima, including the Naoshima International Campground (1988), Benesse House Museum (1992), Benesse House Oval (1995), Minamidera (1999), Chichu Art Museum (2004), Benesse House Park & Beach (2006), Lee Ufan Museum (2010), and the Ando Museum (2013).
Ando materializes 'invisible architecture' by deploying a cadence of geometrically defined spaces among the natural topography.
“Architecture exists here solely as a device that sets the human imagination free and initiates dialogues with art and nature.”
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Tadao Ando Associates
Naoshima Port
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Heather Merenda
Japanese duo Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa and their firm SANAA designed the terminal for passengers waiting to disembark the island – giving them a place to park their bicycles or motorbikes or use the restroom before their journey.
Yayoi Kusama, Yellow Pumpkin
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Heather Merenda
Kusama Welcomes You
From the bus to the ferry to the terminal, the presence of Yayoi Kusama is everywhere in Naoshima. Arriving on the island, an enormous, site-specific red pumpkin by the famed artist greets visitors. Big enough to stand inside with a hollow interior, the pumpkin has round entryways for people to enter and explore.
A symbol of Naoshima that sits at the tip of an abandoned pier, 'Yellow Pumpkin' by Kusama, was swept into the sea by a powerful typhoon in August, 2021.
Although the pumpkin was retrieved from the water, it suffered substantial damage and was sent away for repair and still has not returned.
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Captured from video by Taka Aoki
The Naoshima Pavilion
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Heather Merenda
“Located a few meters from the terminal, Sou Fujimoto’s Pavilion appears as a translucent and lightweight diamond.”
The structure is habitable with an interior height of 7 meters, encouraging visitors to enter and experience this reticulated and delicate space. Either in contemplative terms or as a resting place from the intense sun, its irregular sloped shape and materiality generate shadows while allowing the wind breeze to flow through it.
"Minamidera" (south temple), by Tadao Ando
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Heather Merenda
The Art House Project
The architectural treasure hunt that begins at the port as you step off the ferry recommences in Naoshima's Honmura district, the largest village on the island. This quiet residential area has seen half a dozen traditional Japanese houses transformed into modern art installations, many hidden down tiny side streets. The project currently comprises seven locations: Kadoya, Minamidera, Kinza, Go'o Shrine, Ishibashi, Gokaisho, and Haisha.
At "Minamidera" (south temple), architect Tadao Ando used charred cedar for the exterior instead of his signature raw concrete. The wooden structure was built in the same way as traditional Japanese temples.
As visitors walk along the charred exterior and find the entrance, they walk into total darkness. Sat on a bench in the quietness of the space, as your eyes adjust, you gradually see the light of Backside of the Moon, by James Turell, warping every sense imaginable.
BENESSE ART SITE
Designed by Tadao Ando in 1992 based on the concept of nature, art, and architecture coexisting. The project is built on high ground overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and features large apertures that open up the interior to the natural surroundings.
In addition to rotating exhibitions, the Museum also contains permanent site-specific installations that artists have created especially for the building, selecting locations on their own and designing the works for those spaces. The Museum's artworks are found not just within its galleries but in all parts of the building and scattered locations along the seashore that border the nearby forest.
“Benesse House Museum is truly a rare site where nature, art, and architecture come together.”
Chichu Art Museum
Integrating the architecture into the landscape was taken a step further in this subterranean building designed by Tadao Ando in 2004. Chichu literally means "in the ground." Exploring the museum is an art exhibit in itself with its tranquil atmosphere of light and shadow.
The artwork standing at the heart of the Chichu Art Museum is the Impressionist Claude Monet's epic Water Lillies. Over 2 x 6 meters in size, it is a masterpiece defined by its powerful lucid style. There are only eight paintings in the entire world by the artist that exceed these dimensions.
The Claude Monet Space
The acquisition of Monet’s work inspired the concept for the entire museum. As you approach the museum, you cross through a stunning garden outside inspired by Monet, water lilies, and all. Before entering the Monet room, you must remove your shoes as a traditional Japanese custom and gesture that symbolizes leaving the outside behind. In my experience, this allows for a shift in mindset and promotes being fully present as you step onto the ground composed of over 700,000 2cm Bianco Carrara marble tile cubes that cover the floor. Inside the room, the works are illuminated only by natural light, which shifts with the time of day or the seasons—furthering ethereality. The combination of the sensation underfoot, the soft light, the iconic art, and the serenity of the surrounding nature amounts to a revelatory experience—a feeling of perfect harmony that stays with visitors forever.
Chichu Garden
James Turell and Walter De Maria were selected to provide a contemporary perspective. Both have been referred to as "land artists" for works they create in vast and desolate settings. The scale is comparable to Monet occupying entire rooms.
The James Turell Space
The Walter De Maria Space
Art space photos via Chichu Art Museum
Whether changing nature into light, color, or shape, each artist uses a unique method to engage in this process. From more intimate viewing experiences to more monumental installations, the art island journey is one you will not forget.