A polka-dotted pumpkin was swept out to sea in August 2021—Yayoi Kusama’s large yellow sculpture off Naoshima, overturned and battered by Typhoon Lupit before being recovered and replaced with a sturdier version. The episode was a vivid reminder that the islands’ much-loved public artworks are both fragile and central to a larger experiment: using contemporary art to revive communities across the Seto Inland Sea.
The Setouchi archipelago is a scatter of mild, fertile islands known for citrus, olives, fishing and small farming communities. Since the late 1980s it has also become an internationally recognized art region centered on the Benesse Art Site, a project begun by philanthropist Soichiro Fukutake. What began with Benesse House in 1992 has expanded into museums, installations and site-specific works across Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima. Naoshima, with its concentration of galleries and multiple buildings by Tadao Ando, draws roughly half a million visitors a year and functions as the area’s cultural hub.
Approaching Miyanoura port, visitors are greeted by the Naoshima Pavilion by Sou Fujimoto. Nearby, the concrete-clad Naoshima New Museum of Art—Ando’s work dedicated to Asian artists—holds underground galleries and a lobby displaying local family photos taken with cameras partly fashioned from driftwood. The collection mixes commissioned installations (Do Ho Suh’s fabric house replica, Cai Guo-Qiang’s dramatic Head On: 99 life-size wolves frozen in midair) with pieces acquired by Fukutake, all presented in dialogue with the island’s everyday life.
Benesse’s sites reward a slow pace. The Art House Project repurposes deserted homes into small galleries and interventions; at Minamidera, an Ando-designed space houses James Turrell’s Backside of the Moon, an immersive piece that manipulates light and absence. Chichu Art Museum—built to showcase Monet’s Water Lilies among other works—uses architecture itself to shape how light enters and how paintings are seen, making familiar masterpieces feel startlingly new. Alongside marquee works are quieter community-rooted projects such as Miyanoura Gallery 6, a local tourism archive that connects residents and visitors to a century of island life.
Teshima’s story is different but complementary. Once scarred by toxic waste dumping in the 1970s and ’80s, it has been slowly healing through both conservation and art. The Teshima Art Museum—conceived by artist Rei Naito and architect Ryue Nishizawa—is a single, shallow concrete shell set into the ground; rain, light and the movement of water inside the space become the work itself, offering a contemplative, ever-changing experience. Small sustainability initiatives, the revival of old farms and new businesses like Teshima Factory brewery help rebuild a local food and cultural economy.
Inujima, Setoda, Kitagishima, Momoshima and other smaller islands each offer distinct flavors. Setoda is prized for cycling among lemon groves; Azumi Setoda is known for an ornate mosaicked bathhouse and a calm seaside atmosphere. Kitagishima’s oyster farms supply prized shellfish often served with local mikan oranges. Momoshima, with a population of roughly 400, hosts Art Base Momoshima, led by Yukinori Yanagi, which transforms abandoned public buildings—schools, a movie house, even the old city hall—into small museums, residencies and studios. These projects intentionally avoid Naoshima’s scale, favoring intimate encounters that reconnect places with their histories.
Food and local people animate the experience. Chefs and small restaurants highlight regional ingredients—wild boar, sea bream, asparagus, foraged greens and citrus—creating meals that feel rooted in place. Long-term residents, artists in residence and local guides offer perspectives that deepen an art visit into a cultural exchange; some visitors are so taken with island life that they stay, become guides, or start local projects themselves.
Practical planning notes:
– Getting there: Direct flights to Takamatsu are available; from Tokyo, take the shinkansen to Okayama (about three hours) and continue by road to Takamatsu or Uno. Ferries serve Naoshima and other islands from Takamatsu and Uno; private boats and island-hopping tours are offered by local operators such as Setouchi Islander.
– Tickets and hours: Benesse museums and timed experiences often require advance booking; many sites close on certain days—check schedules before you go.
– Getting around: E-bikes are the most pleasant way to explore island roads. Expect walking, short ferry hops and occasional steep climbs.
Where to stay and eat:
– Naoshima: Benesse House for an immersive stay with after-hours museum access; Ryokan Roka for minimalist blond-wood rooms and soaking tubs. Perma, tucked into a former barbershop, offers inventive local cuisine from chef Zempei Fujita.
– Takamatsu and nearby: Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu connects the region’s long cultural lineage to everyday life; Noguchi’s house and sculpture garden nearby recall the postwar artists who worked with local materials. Azumi Setoda and Kurashiki offer crafted ryokan and ateliers for visitors wanting a broader base.
Why it matters
The Setouchi project is an ongoing experiment in cultural regeneration. Rather than using museums as isolated monuments, artists, architects and local leaders have woven art into community life—reviving farms, repurposing empty buildings, and creating new livelihoods without erasing what came before. From monumental sculptures to sensitive site-specific works and community archives, the islands show how art can be a tool for ecological, economic and social revival. The work here is a reminder of a simple idea Noguchi endorsed: meaningful things can be gifts left for the future. Across Setouchi, those gifts continue to be made, protected and shared.