I spent most of my trip to Naoshima, nationally known as Japan’s “art island”, wondering what could have made this small place so distinguished. . In a country so defined by its craftsmanship and artistry, I saw some kind of huge artists’ colony, all flowing kaftans and easels outside. I was wrong.
Arriving from the ferry, my first sight was a local bus – filled with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s signature polka dots – pushing a group of Japanese pensioners to the next stop on a gallery tour. This was not an artists’ retreat, but simply a place where every aspect of daily life is dedicated to the display and enjoyment of contemporary art. It is regarded – along with its neighbours, Teshima and Shōdoshima – as the creative heart of Japan, appreciated by art-loving visitors from all over the country and, even more so, by tourists from abroad too.
Confrontation, as so often happens, fueled the archipelago’s journey to artistic fame. Like much of rural Japan, 20th Century industrialization brought economic hardship to Naoshima, exacerbated by the island’s declining population. In the 1980s, a real way emerged: Fukutake Publishing invested in the land, building a children’s campsite with the help of architect Tadao Ando. A broader vision quickly emerged, and Naoshima soon blossomed into the creative hub it is today.
The south of the island quickly became saturated with galleries and museums, including the Lee Ufan Museum, the Ando Museum, and the famous Benesse House Museum, where visitors can stay overnight, eat, and also bathe among Shinro’s eclectic installations. Ohtake. Near the sandy shore, one of Kusama’s iconic polka dot pumpkins floats out into the sea – an image now synonymous with the island itself.
But Naoshima’s appeal extends far beyond spotty squashes. I spent the day weaving through the Art House Project, where artists have reimagined structures as part of everyday life. Hiroshi Sugimoto built a cascading glass staircase into an abandoned Go’o Shrine, and in an old house, Tatsuo Miyajima covered a small pool that reflects numbered-LED lights – a reflection on the passage of time. Seamlessly integrated, Naoshima’s art goes back but moves forward.
After that, I went to the nearby island of Teshima, where cultural development also began in the 1980s. Today, the island remains a key destination for the Setouchi Triennale art festival; home to the Teshima Art Museum and the Teshima Yokoo House. Here too there are outdoor installations such as “Particles in the Air”, a surreal series of overlapping steel hoops hovering high above the ground.
Despite being the larger of the two islands, there is a recognizable remoteness to Teshima; his vast supply of ignorance only enhanced by art. Like Naoshima, however, Teshima’s art pays homage to the past. When the night was over, I explored the cavernous Needle Factory, abandoned in the 1980s and now housing a 17-meter long wooden hull, once used to manufacture fishing boats from Uwajima.
The next day, I decamped to the last of the three islands, Shōdoshima – one of the only places in Japan where olives can be grown, best explored by bike (cheap rentals are available at the port) . As part of the Setouchi Triennale 2022 art festival, the sprawling rice fields of Shōdoshima gave way to “Zero”, a capacious bamboo structure by Wang Wen-Chih. The installation echoes what makes the islands such a joy to visit: the art and its landscape are intrinsically intertwined. At times, they are almost unrecognizable – the ground mimicking the installations, reminding them that they are all part of a larger whole.
Before jumping back on the ferry, I headed towards the Road of Angels, an intricate sand bar that appears and disappears with the tides – a reminder of impermanence as poignant as any work of art. With an olive-flavored ice lolly in hand, I strolled along the sand; my feet will soon be forgotten by the waves.
Fundamentals
British Airways (ba.com) flies from London to Tokyo from £926 return. JetStar (jetstar.com) flies from Tokyo to Takamatsu for £27 one way. Ferries run from Takamatsu Port to the Seto islands every two hours, with tickets from £3.50 one way (shikoku-guide.com).
Espoir Park Hotel (00 81 90 7616 1734; teshimaespo.com) has double rooms from £65 a night. Benesse House (benesse-artsite.jp) has double rooms from £187 a night.