Chichu Art Museum, Tadao Ando, Yayoi Kusama, Lee Ufan… Do any of these ring a bell?
What do they all in common? They’re all related to Naoshima!
Naoshima is recently dubbed an “architectural pilgrimage site” drawing visitors from around the world to a small island town off the coast of Uno in Okayama prefecture and Takamatsu in Kagawa prefecture.
Although a small local population, hotels and guest houses host thousands of visitors per day. The island has been in redevelopment by Benesse Corporation and transformed the aging island to a contemporary art hub.
But how do you get there? Neither Okayama nor Kagawa are popular travel spots, and may seem very unreachable to many.
However, it’s actually not too bad! You can get there in half a day.
Here’s the route I took from Tokyo to Naoshima, using the JR Rail Pass and a 25 minute ferry ride:
Tokyo –> Okayama (approx. 4 hours) by JR Hikari Shinkansen
Okayama –> Chayamachi (around 40 minutes) by JR Marine Liner
Chayamachi –> Uno (around 20 minutes) by JR local train to Uno
Uno –> Naoshima (around 25 minutes) by ferry from Uno port
There are two ports in Naoshima, Honmura port and Miyanoura port. Miyanoura tends to have more hostels and restaurants, while Honmura hosts the Art House Projects.
Tune in to the next few blog posts about Naoshima~ Find out more about Art House Projects, Benesse Art Site, where to stay, and more!
Using the JR Rail Pass, even the way to Uno and back can be worth the price!
Contact us if you have any questions! We are happy to arrange train trips from Tokyo to Naoshima.
[ Some photos from the trip there ]
Hikari Shinkansen to Okayama (image above)
Marine Liner to Chayamachi
Local train to Uno
Ferry from Uno to Miyanoura Port
Our lunch on the train (definitely recommend trying “eki-ben” – station bentos!)
