Osaka Trip Overview
Naoshima, commonly known as Japan’s art island, is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea and is one of the most popular places in Japan.
Departing from Osaka or Kyoto, you can enjoy the charm of Naoshima for two days.
Additional Info
Duration: 2 days
Starts: Osaka, Japan
Trip Category: Day Trips & Excursions >> Rail Tours
Explore Osaka Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Naoshima, commonly known as Japan’s art island, is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea and is one of the most popular places in Japan.
Departing from Osaka or Kyoto, you can enjoy the charm of Naoshima for two days.
Itinerary
Day 1: From Osaka/Kyoto to Naoshima (Half day sightseeing at Naoshima)
Stop At: Chichu Art Museum, 3449-1, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun Kagawa Prefecture
Chichu Art Museum was constructed in 2004 as a site rethinking the relationship between nature and people. The museum was built mostly underground to avoid affecting the beautiful natural scenery of the Seto Inland sea. Artworks by Claude Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria are on permanent display in this building designed by Tadao Ando. Despite being primarily subterranean, the museum lets in an abundance of natural light that changes the appearance of the artworks and the ambience of the space itself with the passage of time, throughout the day and all along the four seasons of the year.
Taking form as the artists and architect bounced ideas off each other, the museum in its entirety can be seen as a very large site-specific artwork.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Lee Ufan Art Museun, 1390 Azakuraura, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun 761-3110 Kagawa Prefecture
Opened in time for the 2010 Setouchi Triennale, the Lee Ufan Museum (李禹煥美術館, Ri Ūfan Bijutsukan) is one of the more recent additions to Naoshima. The museum features works by the Korean contemporary artist Lee Ufan, who was born in Korea but has been working and teaching in Japan. On display are large installations made of stone, concrete and huge slabs of iron, as well as a number of paintings from earlier in his career.
The museum building was designed by the Japanese architect Ando Tadao, who also designed the other museums on the island, namely the nearby Benesse House and Chichu Art Museum. Just like his other works on the island, the Lee Ufan Museum building mixes geometrically shaped reinforced concrete with nature and open spaces that accentuate the artwork displayed within.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Benesse House Museum, Godanji, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun 761-3110 Kagawa Prefecture
The Benesse House Museum was opened in 1992 as a facility that combines a museum and a hotel with the concept of “coexistence of nature, art, and architecture.” Designed by Tadao Ando, this facility is built on a hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and has a large opening that opens up to the wonderful nature. In addition to exhibiting paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations in the collection, the museum also has permanent site-specific installations created by the artist specifically for the building, where you can choose your own location and space for them. I am designing the work of. The Benesse House Museum is a truly unusual place where nature, art and architecture merge in an environment with many site-specific works created for the natural environment of Naoshima or inspired by the architectural space in which they live.
Duration: 1 hour
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: stay at Hotel light style or similar
Day 2: Half day sightseeing at Naoshima and return to Osaka/Kyoto
Stop At: Art House Project, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun 761-3110 Kagawa Prefecture
Art house project
The Art House Project is an art project underway in the Honmura district of Naoshima Town. It started in 1998 at Kadoya, and now there are 7 places: Kadoya, Minamidera, Kinza, Goo Shrine, Ishibashi, Gokaisho, and Kaisha. In this project, the artist will take up vacant houses scattered in a residential area, turn the space itself into a work of art, and interweave the history and memories of the time when the building lived and was used. Visitors moving from one house to another pass through the Honmura area. A notable feature of the Art House project is that it is a process of not only working on works of art, but also perceiving layers, as everyday life unfolds around them. Time and history woven into the community, and the structure of the lives of the locals. Seeing it means crossing a part of everyday life, acting as a catalyst for interaction between visitors and locals, creating many memorable episodes.
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Ando Museum, 736-2, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun 761-3110 Kagawa Prefecture
ANDO MUSEUM
A Tadao Ando-designed inner space, framed by unadorned concrete walls, infuses new life in this about 100-year-old traditional wooden house in Honmura. Here, contrasting elements of past/present, wood/concrete, light/shadow overlap in this space which condenses the essence of Tadao Ando’s architecture. Learn about Ando’s work and Naoshima history through photographs, sketches, and models, and see how the museum itself has revived this venerable old house.
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.
