Naoshima: Art Island

As much as any place we’ve been in Japan, the island of Naoshima is easy to describe, but very hard to describe well, and perhaps even harder to show you because so much of its elegance is in the details, the scale, the sound and the ways in which art interacts with the natural environment around it. Suffice it to say, this is merely a poor summary of this unique and special place.

First, to get here, we took a bullet train from Osaka to Okayama, then a 45-minute taxi ride to the port in Uno, then a 20-minute ferry ride to the island, where we then were met by the van driver from our ryokan, the Roka.

Naoshima is one of many small islands in the Seto inland sea that runs from Osaka in the north to Kitakyushu in the south. The sea is abundant with fish and other marine life that make up the Japanese diet. It’s also a major thoroughfare for giant container ships. It feels a little like Hawaii, although less tropical. The trees and flowers are fantastic, as are the unusual bird sounds.

Ryokan Roka is a brand new hotel with 11 suites, and one of the most serene and beautiful hotels I’ve ever experienced. All the suites have huge windows to make guests feel at one with the natural environment of the island. The hotel also features original artworks in keeping with the theme of the island, which is to showcase art and nature and the relationship between them.

Lobby bar

Welcome tea

In-suite onsen overlooking the garden

Japanese flower arranging is an art unto itself.

Suite entryway with shoes

Front walkway to our suite

The ryokan offers pajamas, yukata robes, slippers, and other amenities. The room smells like essential oils. The 11-course gourmet dinner honestly left me speechless, so I can only tell you it was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

Here again, words don’t do justice to the art installations and museums on this small island. On Saturday night, we viewed James Turell’s Open Space — 45 minutes sitting still watching the light change and the sun set as the artist manipulated the light color all around us.

Kusama’s famous pumpkin started it all in the 1990s. Right on the seaside, it is reminiscent of the octopi that live in the water below. All of her works on the island are really playful and fun.

Chi Chu art museum path inspired by Monet’s water lily paintings. The museum has 5 of them, which we saw inside the gallery. We also viewed two other Turell light installations as well as the works of Walter De Maria.

Sculpture by the sea by Lee Ufan at the Lee Ufan Museum.

 I really liked this Guangyi painting called Great Criticism Disney at the Benessee Museum. The Benessee Foundation is responsible for the development of Naoshima’s art identity.

A garden of Buddhas inspired by Naoshima Pilgrimage of 88 sacred sites, from the Edo Period. In this case, however, the artist Tsuyeshi Ozawa created this sculptures by burning industrial waste that was illegally dumped on one of the local islands.

Kusama’s Narcissis Garden

This last photo is just a quick snapshot of one of many island houses and buildings that use the Shou Sugi Ban method of preserving wood by burning it. It’s primarily Japanese cedar. I find it beautiful.

More at https://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/benessehouse-museum.html

https://roka.voyage/

We highly recommend you come here!