About two years ago I started seeing articles about Japanese island called Naoshima Island in national magazines.  For example, Pico Iyer, one of the best travel writers ever, did a piece for Wall Street Journal.  And others showed up on blog posts and travel magazines. 

This caught my interest.  I’d been thinking I wanted to go to Japan and this island, devoted to Art  in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea had a real appeal.  So, when Tiny World Travel, owned by a friend, said they were taking a group to this elusive place, it didn’t take me long to sign on.  

The transformation of the island  was started in 1987 when Soichiro Fukutake, chairman of Fukutake Publishing (Now Benesse Holdings) purchased much of the island and started developing it as the now astonishing art destination.   He financed hotels, museums, transpiration and restorations.  

We spent a couple of days there and enjoyed going to museums, exploring outdoor public art and enjoying Art Houses—traditional Japanese homes turned into mini-museums.  The works were all very contemporary—huge slabs of steel,  installations of “light” that are really hard to describe, one single artist museum with eel like ribbons of water slithering across the floor, an old factory converted into a labyrinth-like experience of stimulating lights.  

We experienced underground architecture, lots of buildings by Tadao Ando, Claude Monet’s Water Lily paintings in a huge space with no one else around, a temple with glass staircase, and the iconic piece, a yellow polka dotted pumpkin on a dock.

Everywhere we went we experienced quiet, jaw dropping displays of creativity against a back drop of sea or landscape.  Visitors are limited so there was never a feeling of being rushed or crowded.  In a world rife with Overtourism, Naoshima Island and two smaller islands now being developed was truly unique as a special destination for globe trotting art pilgrims.  

There are limited hotels and they don’t book more than a year ahead so the big tour companies don’t go there.  There are no lines, pushing, shoving, selfie sticks or any of the accoutrements of typical tourist destinations.  No matter where you go, you bump into art on the Island.  While it wasn’t always understandable,  it was memorable and remarkable.

We weren’t allowed to take many photos so I can’t display much of the work here although frankly, it would be hard to translate the three dimensional, sometimes spiritual experiences into two dimensional still photos.  I’ll post some but mostly I can say that going to a large body of land, devoted to art is mostly in my head and heart.  

Images of flags connected by ant tunnels.

Every meal was a work of art

We encountered art everywhere.

Outdoor seascape photography

Tadao Ando Architecture

Bike Storage Shed at the dock

Lee Ufan Museum Installation

Museum Gift Shop

Temple with glass stairs

This Made me Smile