Naoshima

One of our stops on Japan 2019-2020 trip was Naoshima. Naoshima is an Art island of sorts. The Journey to Naoshima was just that- a journey.

We left Kyoto station headed to Okayama. Our journey started out bumpy as a quick smoke before our Shinkansen resulted in us missing our train by mere seconds. Luggage slows you down, and sometimes seconds decide if your journey is running on schedule or behind schedule. I travel with just a backpack- often making travel in colder climates more challenging, but never fatal.

Luckily we had JR passes and we caught a train that was departing a few minutes later. While Shinkansen trains run frequently in heavy traffic areas, a missed train can have larger ramifications on your journey. The missed Shinkansen resulted in our connection at Okayama being missed. This resulted in our ferry being missed.

Great.

Once we arrived at Uno, we collected ourselves and found that there was one more ferry out to the Island. This ferry was not easy to find, and we almost missed this as well. Running to catch the ferry was a sight to behold. We did manage to make it just in time! It was a small ferry and comprised of what looked like fisherman, mainly. We got a lot of stares on the way over. It was late and everyone was tired.

Once on the Island, we found our accommodations. Our host was extremely kind and stayed up to welcome us and make sure we were all settled in.

We woke up the next morning and two of us went for a brief walk around our accommodation.

It was recommended to see the Island via bicycle. Many bicycle shops were unstaffed yet still in operation. The honor system ran strong on the island. The wind was extremely strong which put a stop to renting bicycles.

Once the group was ready to go we headed to the bus station and found some Pumpkin art.

Our first museum stop on the island was Chichu Art Museum (地中美術館). This Subterranean art museum was wicked cool!

We then caught the last bus around the island, and went to an array of small exhibits.

Many exhibitions and museums prohibited photography. So if you want to see the amazing Naoshima art island, you will just have to go there yourself.

Getting To Naoshima

The way to Naoshima is to take Shinkansen to Okayama station. From there you can either take a bus or a local train to Uno station. From Uno station you must head to the shores. At Uno port you will board the ferry headed to Naoshima port. Make sure to research timetables, as being stuck at Uno isn’t exactly preferable.

The ferry ride is quite nice, especially if you get it in the evening.