Beyond Yayoi Kusama's Pumpkin: Exploring Naoshima, Japan's Art Island
Soak up a year’s worth of creative inspiration on one little island.
By Rachel Tan,
Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka are Japan’s most famous cities, but they often come with bustling crowds. For a quieter, more artistic experience, consider visiting Naoshima – a small island in the Seto Inland Sea. Known as Japan’s “art island,” Naoshima offers a unique blend of modern art and architecture, all set against a serene natural backdrop.
HOW TO GET TO NAOSHIMA ISLAND
To reach Naoshima, start your journey from Osaka by taking a bullet train to Okayama. From there, switch to a local train heading to Uno, where a short ferry ride from Uno Port will deliver you to Naoshima.
READ MORE: 22 Cultural Spots To Visit While You’re In Tokyo
The island has two main ports: Miyanoura Port in the west and Honmura Port in the east. Most visitors arrive at Miyanoura Port, which offers easier access to the main attractions. The ferry terminal at Miyanoura also provides an information centre, coin lockers, and bike rentals for exploring the island.
While getting to Naoshima requires some effort, the journey builds anticipation for the unique, remote beauty that awaits.
BEYOND NAOSHIMA
Naoshima is just one in a cluster of art islands in the Seto Inland Sea. To stretch out your trip with more art and architecture, consider also adding nearby islands like Teshima, Inujima, Megijima, and more to your itinerary.
CHICHU ART MUSEUM
Start your visit at the Chichu Art Museum, an underground Brutalist masterpiece by the legendary architect Tadao Ando. Here, concrete walls open up to the sky, allowing art, light, and architecture to play off each other. The sunlight that floods the space illuminates works by Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria in ways that change throughout the day and the seasons.
A highlight is the Claude Monet room, designed for his iconic Water Lilies. To enter, you’ll trade your shoes for slippers and step onto a soft floor. With only a few visitors allowed at once, you can enjoy a close-up, intimate experience with Monet’s five Water Lilies paintings.
LEE UFAN MUSEUM
The Lee Ufan Museum is born from a collaboration between Korean artist Lee Ufan and Tadao Ando. Known for his minimalist work that explores the relationship between objects, space, and perception, Ufan’s art evokes tranquillity, emptiness, and stillness. The museum reflects this ethos, with Ando’s design complementing Ufan’s vision with the use of stone, concrete, and light.
Partially built underground to not obstruct the surrounding seascape, the museum provides a meditative setting to view Ufan’s paintings and sculptures, featuring pieces from the 1970s onwards.
BENESSE HOUSE MUSEUM
Opened in 1992, Benesse House Museum is a unique museum-hotel hybrid designed by Tadao Ando. Perched on a hill with views of the Seto Inland Sea, the museum features huge windows that connect you with the outdoors.
Works by artists like Yayoi Kusama and Richard Long are on display, from paintings and sculptures to photography and installations. But they’re not just in the galleries – art spills into every corner of the building, along the shore, and even in the nearby forest.
As a museum and a hotel, Benesse House offers a truly one-of-a-kind experience: you can stay in rooms with breathtaking views of both the art and the scenery, and get exclusive after-hours access to the galleries.
VALLEY GALLERY
Opened in March 2022, the Valley Gallery is Tadao Ando’s latest and ninth creation on Naoshima. This small, spaceship-meets-shrine-like building sits along a valley, between the Lee Ufan Museum and Benesse House Museum, and across from the Chichu Art Museum.
True to Ando’s signature style, the Valley Gallery has angular concrete walls, topped with an iron roof that lets natural light stream in through narrow slits.
Exhibits include Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden, where 1,000 reflective stainless steel spheres confront the viewer's narcissism, and Tsuyoshi Ozawa’s Slag Buddha 88, featuring 88 Buddha statues made with slag from industrial waste. Take a moment for quiet reflection in this gallery that explores themes of symbiosis, prayer, and rebirth.
Entry to Valley Gallery is included in the ticket for Benesse House Museum.
HIROSHI SUGIMOTO GALLERY: TIME CORRIDORS
The Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery on Naoshima is dedicated to a large collection of photos, designs, and sculptures by its namesake photographer and architect, showcasing Sugimoto’s deep connection to Naoshima.
A highlight is the Corridor of Time, an installation designed by Sugimoto and Tadao Ando, meant to make you ponder time, nature, and existence.
The gallery also has a tearoom where you can enjoy tea and sweets – just make sure to book ahead. It’s ¥1,500 per person for the full experience.
ART HOUSE PROJECT
Reviving forgotten spaces, the Art House Project has transformed seven abandoned houses in Naoshima's Honmura district into immersive art installations. Big names like Hiroshi Sugimoto, Rei Naito, and James Turrell have all left their mark on this project.
Each spot is unique, and you can easily spend a whole day exploring all seven: Kadoya, Minamidera, Kinza, Go'o Shrine, Ishibashi, Gokaisho, and Haisha.
Purchase a multi-site pass for ¥1,050 (S$9.55) at the Honmura Lounge & Archive to visit most of the Art House Project locations. Note that Kinza requires a separate ticket and advance reservation.
NAOSHIMA BATH “I♥︎湯” (I LOVE YU)
I Love Yu is not your average bathhouse – it’s an art installation you can soak in, designed by Ohtake Shinro, known for his scrapbook-style art.
Inside this sento (public bathhouse), you’ll find a cheeky collage of erotica on the bath floor. As you soak, take in the brightly painted glass ceiling, tile murals of female abalone divers, and a quirky elephant statue in the centre.
The art doesn’t stop at the baths. The entire facility, from the changing rooms to the toilets, is decked out with paintings, posters, and collages.
An attached cafe offers a light meal or coffee after your bath, and you can also grab some I Love Yu merchandise and toiletries from the ticket machine by the entrance.
YAYOI KUSAMA’S PUMPKIN
A visit to Naoshima isn’t complete without seeing Yayoi Kusama’s iconic pumpkin sculpture. This bright yellow, polka-dotted gourd, perched on a pier, has been a symbol of the island since its debut in 1994. It also gained international attention when a 2021 typhoon swept it out to sea.
Another must-see is the striking red pumpkin near Miyanoura Port. Large enough to step inside, it features round openings that invite you into its hollow interior.
CAFE SALON NAKAOKU
Run by a native Naoshima islander, Cafe Salon Nakaoku is cosy, homey, and set in a beautifully refurbished traditional farmhouse.
It’s known for its original-blend coffees with a distinctive fruity flavour, and is also one of the few places in town open for dinner, offering a variety of alcoholic beverages, sandwiches, rice omelettes, and Italian dishes.
Note that reservations are recommended for dinner.
AISUNAO
Aisunao offers a vegan Japanese set meal with small veggie dishes and their signature brown multigrain rice. Light, healthy, and beautifully plated, everything here is made with locally sourced ingredients.
Peaceful, and with minimalist decor, it’s a great spot for a relaxed, photogenic lunch. It’s open from 11am to 2:30pm daily except Mondays and Tuesdays, and while seating is limited, the quick service keeps things moving.
SHIMACOYA
Just a three-minute walk from Honmura Port, Shimacoya is a one-of-a-kind book café, gallery, and guesthouse where you can stay in tents – inside the guesthouse. The building itself is a renovated 120-year-old Japanese house, with an interior that honours its traditional roots.
Pick a book from the shelf, kick back in a hammock, and enjoy a laid-back atmosphere with a coffee and sandwich in hand.