Why art lovers fall in love with Naoshima

What attracts people to Naoshima island is not just white sands and sparkling blue Seto Inland Sea but rather the art and architecture by world-famous artists. Exhibited both indoors and outside among nature, you don’t just view the artwork but ‘experience’ it, using a variety of senses.

Our first stop is Honmura, a small port town on the island’s eastern coast occupied by the Art House Project, a collection of abandoned houses, workshops, a temple and shrine converted into art installations. From the outside, the wooden buildings conform to the traditional architecture that survived the great fires of the Edo period, while interiors have been taken over by contemporary artists and their contrasting works. Here you can witness this longstanding relationship between nature and people throughout the ages.

We then visit the Chichu Art Museum built into the hillside on Naoshima’s southern coast (literally translated to ‘in the earth’). Its steel, glass and concrete structures uniquely house works by artists such as Monet and James Turrell. The building is designed by self-taught architect, Ando Tadao, whose underground galleries impactfully filter natural light to illuminate each piece.

Last stop is Benesse House Museum parts of which untraditionally extend to the outdoors, inspiring you to reflect on how humans are in a way trapped by common sense. It just encourages you to think outside of the box. My favourite memory of Naoshima is when I was guiding someone whose father was the president of an ice cream manufacturer. I recommended he try one of the local ice creams using the island’s own salt and he was absolutely enthralled by it. He even said he would develop a new flavoured ice cream based on it. This just reiterates how travelling can inspire people to do something new.