In August 2021 Typhoon Lupit swept a giant yellow pumpkin sculpture by Yayoi Kusama off Naoshima and out to sea. Video shows the polka-dotted work tossed and upended by waves; it was recovered and later replaced with a stronger version, underscoring how fragile, prized public art must be protected. Kusama’s pumpkins—several of which dot the island—are part of a wider effort to weave contemporary art into the everyday life of Setouchi’s islands.
Setouchi, an archipelago scattered across the Seto Inland Sea, is mild and fertile—known for citrus and olives—but over the past three decades it has become an international art region centered on the Benesse Art Site. Begun in the late 1980s by businessman Soichiro Fukutake, who opened Benesse House in 1992, the project has grown into museums, galleries, and site-specific sculptures across Naoshima, Teshima, and Inujima. Naoshima, home to the largest collection and many Tadao Ando–designed buildings, draws roughly half a million visitors annually and functions as the area’s cultural nucleus.
At Naoshima’s Miyanoura port the Sou Fujimoto–designed Naoshima Pavilion announces arrival. Ando’s new concrete-clad Naoshima New Museum of Art—dedicated to Asian artists—sits nearby with underground galleries and a lobby displaying local family photos taken with cameras partly built from driftwood. Inside are commissioned installations including Do Ho Suh’s fabric replica of a Korean house and Cai Guo-Qiang’s Head On, 99 life-size wolves leaping in midair. The museum’s eclectic collection reflects Fukutake’s ambition to house works he acquired and to anchor them within a local context.
Benesse’s sites reward slow exploration. The Art House Project repurposes abandoned homes and spaces as galleries; Minamidera, an Ando-built site, contains James Turrell’s Backside of the Moon, an immersive darkness piece that alters perception. Chichu Art Museum, built to accommodate Monet’s Water Lilies and other works, uses architecture to control light; seeing Monet softly illuminated there can feel revelatory. Visitors can encounter high-profile contemporary works alongside quieter, community-rooted projects such as Miyanoura Gallery 6, an archive sharing a century of local tourism with residents.
Getting to Naoshima is straightforward: daily ferries run from Takamatsu on Shikoku, and smaller services operate from Uno; private speedboats and multi-day island-hopping itineraries are offered by local operators like Setouchi Islander. E-bikes are the most pleasant way to navigate Naoshima’s country roads, where sculptures surface amid wooden houses and fishermen still sit by the water.
Accommodation on Naoshima is limited, but staying at Benesse House lets guests move through museum spaces after hours. Newer options include Ryokan Roka, a minimalist inn with blond-wood rooms and soaking tubs, and Perma, a small restaurant tucked into a former barbershop where chef Zempei Fujita prepares inventive local dishes. Some visitors fall in love with island life and stay; former Bay Area graphic designer Andrew McCormick now leads tours here and helps connect travelers with local culture.
Beyond Naoshima, Takamatsu offers deeper history. Ritsurin Garden, a 400-year-old daimyo landscape, links the region’s artistic lineage to daily life. In the postwar era Governor Masanori Kaneko championed arts and craft in Takamatsu, inviting artists like Isamu Noguchi—who spent part of each year here—to work with local materials. Noguchi’s house, studio, and a sculpture garden remain nearby.
Teshima, “abundant island,” suffered toxic waste dumping in the 1970s–80s but has been in slow recovery. The Teshima Art Museum, a collaboration between artist Rei Naito and architect Ryue Nishizawa, is a single, water-droplet–shaped concrete shell set into the ground: a quiet, changing space where rain, light, and silence become the artwork. Local sustainability projects—like the regeneration of old farms—and new ventures such as Teshima Factory brewery and restaurant help reforge the island’s food and cultural economy.
Smaller islands offer distinct experiences. Setoda is prized for cycling and lemon groves; Azumi Setoda, with a notable mosaicked bathhouse, exemplifies luxury rooted in place. Kitagishima’s oyster farms supply prized shellfish enjoyed with mikan orange; Kurashiki, a 19th-century canal town, connects visitors to craft traditions through renovated ryokan and ateliers. Momoshima, with a population of roughly 400, hosts Art Base Momoshima, led by Yukinori Yanagi, which repurposes abandoned buildings—former schools, a movie theater, city hall—into museums, residencies, and galleries. The project doesn’t aim to mimic Naoshima’s scale but instead breathes new life into ghost-like spaces, inviting intimate encounters with art and history.
Food and people animate these islands. Local chefs and small restaurants use regional ingredients—wild boar, sea bream, local asparagus, and foraged items—crafting memorable meals that connect visitors to place. Guides and residents—like Ilse Kerminen on Teshima or long-term locals on Naoshima—offer perspectives that enrich the art-viewing experience.
How to Plan a Trip
– Travel: Direct flights to Takamatsu run daily; alternatively take the bullet train from Tokyo to Okayama (about three hours) then transfer by road to Takamatsu or Uno ports. Ferries connect to Naoshima and other islands; private boats and island-hopping tours are available.
– Tickets: Benesse museum entries and timed experiences often require advance booking; check opening days and hours—many sites are not open daily.
– Operators: Local specialists such as Setouchi Islander and travel planners like Boutique Japan can arrange private boats, guides, and logistics.
Where to Stay
– Naoshima: Benesse House for late-night museum access; Ryokan Roka for minimalist rooms and a calm restaurant.
– Takamatsu: Anabuki-tei, a renovated family ryokan with local culinary guests.
– Other islands and nearby cities: Azumi Setoda (Setoda) for the bathhouse and coastal calm; Kurashiki’s Ryokan Kurashiki and Yoruya for craft-focused stays.
Why It Matters
The Setouchi islands are a rare, ongoing experiment in cultural regeneration: art commissions and museums have been used deliberately to revive declining communities, support sustainability projects, and reconnect residents with place. From monumental installations by Kusama, Guo-Qiang, and Murakami to intimate, site-specific works by Turrell and Naito—and community archives, restaurants, and revived farms—the region shows how art can be woven into the fabric of daily life, creating new narratives without erasing the old. What remains constant is a shared question, hinted at by Noguchi’s legacy here: anything of value left behind is a gift. Across Setouchi, that gift continues to be made.
