The Ultimate Naoshima Travel Guide: Part 3

Thanks in large part to the Setouchi Triennale, there are now twelve islands in the eastern Seto Inland Sea featuring artwork. Here are four that you can easily reach from Naoshima, including two (Teshima and Inujima) that have museums accessible most of the year, and two others (Ogijima and Megijima) that have less art on non-Triennale years but are worth a visit regardless.

TIP: Check out David Billa’s blog Setouchi Explorer for in-depth articles about all of the Setouchi “art islands.”

Teshima

Teshima Art Museum is a sublime artist-architect collaboration (Rei Naito and Ryue Nishizawa, respectively): a breathtaking exercise in restrained simplicity contrasted with impossible engineering, surrounded by rice paddies and the sparkling sea.

In the port village of Ieura, Teshima Yokoo House is an old house and surrounding buildings that have been radically transformed by artist Tadanori Yokoo. Under the theme of “the Island of Death,” a collection of the artist’s paintings have been re-envisioned as a funeral for Soichiro Fukutake, the principal arts patron on the three main islands (and who, it should be noted, is not dead).

Other art sites on the island include an impressive “readymade” by Shinro Ohtake, a captivating sculptural work by Taiwanese artist Lin Shuen Long on the island’s southern beach, an installation of red threads by Chiharu Shiota in an old house (weekends & holidays only), and a theater operated by the experimental duo Usaginingen. At Shima Kitchen, diners join an ongoing relational art project that brings together tourists, elderly residents, and young volunteers.

Inujima

A tiny island off mainland Okayama Prefecture, Inujima’s Seirensho Art Museum is the spectacular result of a collaboration between artist Yukinori Yanagi and architect Hiroshi Sambuichi. The infamous author and firebrand Yukio Mishima features dramatically in Yanagi’s installation, a sort of otherworldly third contributor. The result is a tense atmosphere of contraditions and competing priorities that somehow coalesces into perfection—truly unforgettable.

The island also features “art houses” with rotating installations by other significant artists like Olafur Eliasson and Kohei Nawa. 

Megijima & Ogijima

Megijima and Ogijima are a pair of islands off Takamatsu Port that host a collection of intimate art installations, including outdoor works and converted, previously-empty homes. Check the Setouchi Triennale calendar for opening times.

Megijima’s sites of interest include a theater built in an old warehouse by artist Yoichiro Yoda. The island is also famous for its “Oni Caves” at the far end of the island.

Ogijima’s small village, perched on the side of a mountain, includes a winding labyrinth of sometimes nearly-vertical streets. Ogijima Library, a community-built project, is a meeting place for creative minds from around the region. A growing collection of creative small businesses by recent migrants gives the little island an exciting atmosphere.

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