Art Island: Naoshima, Japan
I sat down with a guest to discuss her stay at Naoshima, one of Japan’s Art Islands, this past December. She flew with her family into Tokyo from JFK, where she spent three nights, then traveled to Naoshima and Kyoto before continuing on to Niseko, where they went skiing. It was her first time in Japan.
On getting there:
We took a three-hour bullet train from Tokyo to Okayama, an hour-long private car transfer from Okayama to the Uno port, and then a twenty-minute ferry to Naoshima. We left Tokyo at 9:30 and arrived at 2:45.
Something worth noting: originally, we had planned to bring our large, checked luggage to the Art Islands, but we decided to ship those bags from Tokyo to Niseko instead. It was definitely the right decision, as traveling to Naoshima with large luggage would have been a nightmare. The ferry was difficult to navigate, even with my small carry-on. We also had to take a funicular up to the room, which would have been challenging with larger suitcases as well. I’d definitely recommend that guests avoid bringing large, checked luggage to the islands.
On the layout of Benesse House:
The hotel is built on a hill that runs up from the beach, with different works of art scattered throughout the property. The architecture itself is just as much of an attraction as the art inside. One of the coolest pieces I saw was a series of framed paintings mounted on the side of a cliff, and you could spot them from the beach. The way pieces like that one interact with the landscape is really intentional by the artists.
On the museum interior:
The Benesse Museum is small, only about two floors, and took around 30 minutes to walk through. When we visited, there was a special exhibition showcasing some award-winning works as well as their permanent collection. I believe everything we saw outside during our two-hour tour was part of the permanent collection.
On their location within the Benesse:
We stayed in the Oval, which they consider to be the nicest area of the hotel, and it was very pretty. To get there, you have to take a five-minute funicular, which is a cool experience, though it might get annoying if you were going back and forth multiple times, given there's only one car. However, we just used it a handful of times, given we were there for just a night.
On the rooms:
The rooms were basic, with not much to them. Each room had different art, but it wasn’t a major focal point. The bathrooms were tiny—one of us likened it to a train bathroom.
Half of our party was in a suite with a beautiful balcony that overlooked the Kusama Pumpkin on the beach. That room was much bigger, with some cool touches, like a balcony door that didn’t slide open but rose from the top down, like a glass wall. Otherwise, the rooms were simple and functional—wood floors in a kind of brownish tone and a bed with a short black wooden headboard. My room was very small, with just a tiny couch and desk—there wasn’t much space to sit or relax.
On dinner:
The hotel has two restaurants on the property: Issen, which serves Japanese cuisine, and a French restaurant located down on the beach. We had dinner at Issen but found it inedible. It was a set-course menu, and while the steak and rice were fine, the fish was disappointing. We did try a sake flight, which was fun and helped make up for the food. The presentation of the dishes, though, was actually quite beautiful.
On breakfast:
Breakfast was a buffet, and you needed a reservation to dine there. We ended up having breakfast at the French restaurant down by the beach, which was very pretty, with a glass wall that offered a full view of the beach. However, the food wasn’t great. It was a mix of Japanese and Western breakfast options—there was all the typical Japanese fare but also eggs, cereal, and other Western choices. It was okay, but nothing to rave about.
On the service:
The hotel wasn’t very accommodating. We wanted to move our dinner reservation to earlier but were told it wasn’t possible, and even for the breakfast buffet, we needed a reservation.
On activities & touring:
We spent the following day touring the rest of Naoshima with a guide and a private car. We started by walking down toward the beach to enter the Lee Ufan Museum. Afterward, we visited the Chichu Museum, which was incredible. Designed by Tadao Ando, like much of the architecture on the island, the spaces were breathtaking—sometimes, the architecture itself felt more impressive than the art inside. There were several James Turrell installations that were immersive and really cool. One of them involved walking up into a room that eventually led you inside a light box, which was pretty mind-blowing.
We spent about six hours touring—10:15 to 4:15—which was plenty of time to see everything we wanted and also check out the 7-Eleven and the Roka Hotel.
I’d recommend setting aside a full day for the tour, especially given the fact we had already toured the Benesse Museum and grounds the previous afternoon.
Tip: Naoshima could also be a day trip from Kyoto. You could catch the first ferry in the morning, tour from about 10 to 6, and then catch the ferry back. It would be a long day—probably departing Kyoto around 8 am and not getting back to your hotel until 9—but it might beat staying at a mediocre hotel. That being said, depending on your priorities regarding hotel and cuisine, spending a night on the island may be worth it.
On the other Art Islands:
Naoshima, where we were, is the main island with the most art. Teshima is the next biggest one. If we had arrived earlier that first day, we could have spent a few hours visiting one of the others, as they are a short ferry ride away.
Overall thoughts:
The bottom line: visiting Naoshima is 100% about seeing the art. You don’t go for the hotel or the food, but the art and architecture of the island itself were some of the most incredible we have ever seen.
