In August 2021 Typhoon Lupit overturned a giant yellow pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama off Naoshima’s shore. Footage of the sculpture tossed by waves made headlines; the piece was recovered and later replaced with a reinforced version so it could remain a seaside landmark and photo draw. Kusama’s pumpkins are emblematic of how high-profile contemporary works sit within everyday life on Naoshima.
Naoshima is one of several island hubs in the Seto Inland Sea where art has reshaped local identity. The mild climate supports olives and citrus, but for thirty years the islands have also hosted the Benesse Art Site: a spread of museums, galleries and site-specific commissions across Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima. Naoshima, home to the largest concentration, is the network’s nucleus—today roughly half a million visitors a year come to see sculptures on beaches, subterranean installations and museums by leading architects.
The Benesse initiative began in the late 1980s as an arts-led regeneration led by businessman Soichiro Fukutake. It opened Benesse House Museum in 1992 and expanded into multiple venues, many designed by Pritzker-winning architect Tadao Ando, and now includes a Triennale. The newest addition, the Naoshima New Museum of Art, is another Ando concrete building focused on Asian artists. The network also encompasses the underground Chichu Art Museum and the minimalist Teshima Art Museum.
Arriving by ferry or speedboat, visitors often first see Sou Fujimoto’s Naoshima Pavilion near Miyanoura port and Ando’s sloping museum entrances that lead toward galleries below ground. Inside the New Museum a lobby display draws on a local photographic archive created partly with driftwood cameras in a community project coordinated by Motoyuki Shitamachi and Jeffery Lim. Commissioned works range from Do Ho Suh’s 16-foot fabric replica of a Korean house to Cai Guo-Qiang’s 2006 Head On—99 life-size wolves frozen mid-leap—illustrating Fukutake’s aim to house the collection he has acquired and present it as a coherent project.
Most visitors reach Naoshima by ferry from Takamatsu on Shikoku, though private boats and island-hopping tours are available through operators such as Setouchi Islander. Benesse offers island shuttles, but many prefer e-bikes to follow quiet coastal roads and find sculptures tucked among wooden homes and seaside views. With a population of about 3,000, Naoshima settles into a slow rhythm once museums close.
Lodging is limited but distinctive. Benesse House combines hotel rooms with museum access and permits late-night viewings; the hilltop Oval rooms are particularly striking. Ryokan Roka provides a contemporary take on a traditional inn, with minimalist rooms, soaking tubs and an emphasis on refined meals. A Mandarin Oriental project, slated to open private villas in 2027, signals future development, and Takamatsu itself is seeing more hotel growth.
Local life and tourism often overlap. Chef Zempei Fujita’s Perma occupies a former barbershop, serving inventive plates—rapeseed-flower “sushi” and wood-fired sawara among them—that linger in memory. Andrew McCormick, a former Bay Area graphic designer who now gives tours on Naoshima, recalls how openings such as that of the New Museum become community moments when residents and visitors mix.
Not every significant site displays blockbuster art. Miyanoura Gallery 6 houses an archive chronicling about a century of Setouchi tourism with strong local authorship. The Art House Project transforms abandoned houses into galleries; Minamidera, an Ando-designed space, contains James Turrell’s Backside of the Moon, an artwork that immerses visitors in darkness and alters their perception of light. Many Benesse exhibitions require advance tickets, so planning is essential.
Chichu Art Museum was conceived around important acquisitions—Claude Monet’s Water Lilies among them—and built largely below ground so natural light and subterranean spaces reshape how visitors encounter familiar works. The Monet room’s gentle daylight can make an iconic image feel startlingly new. Fukutake purchased Monet’s paintings in the late 1990s and commissioned the architecture to house them.
Takamatsu, the region’s transport hub, has its own long artistic lineage. Ritsurin Garden, a 400-year-old daimyo strolling garden, remains a living cultural site tended by generations of gardeners. Eitaro Anabuki, who runs the renovated ryokan Anabuki-tei, sees the garden as the origin of Takamatsu’s art history. Postwar cultural initiatives by governor Masanori Kaneko helped shape a local arts tradition that attracted figures such as Isamu Noguchi; Noguchi’s house and a small museum near the city preserve that legacy.
Teshima is an example of art aiding ecological and reputational recovery. After suffering toxic waste dumping in the 1970s and ’80s, the island—known for rice, olives and citrus—has used culture to rebuild its image. The Teshima Art Museum, created by artist Rei Naito and architect Ryue Nishizawa, is a simple concrete shell shaped like a water droplet with two oval openings; its quiet interior changes with weather and visitor mood. Nearby regeneration efforts, including Mikogahama Farm and new hospitality projects such as Teshima Factory brewery and restaurant, mirror the island’s wider revival.
Other islands offer varied experiences. Setoda hosts Azumi Setoda, a minimalist ryokan with a mosaicked communal bath tucked among lemon trees and cycling routes; Not a Hotel Setouchi is scheduled to open on nearby Sagashima. Kitagishima’s oyster farms supply luxury hotels around the world. Kurashiki, a 19th-century canal town about an hour and a half from Naoshima, now features hotels such as Ryokan Kurashiki and Yoruya that emphasize local craft and heritage.
Momoshima presents a grassroots alternative. Art Base Momoshima, led by Yukinori Yanagi, repurposes abandoned buildings for cultural use: a former high school became a museum for politically minded works, a family home turned guesthouse and gallery, and the old city hall now hosts talks and residencies. Yanagi’s 1992 neon Hinomaru Illumination, placed inside a 1960s movie theater, signals the project’s activist and conceptual bent. With a population near 400 and few residents in their twenties, Momoshima is unlikely to become a mass tourist magnet like Naoshima, but its interventions bring meaningful renewal to quiet, decaying places.
Across Setouchi, art is frequently presented as an offering to communities and visitors. A sign in Noguchi’s house in Takamatsu puts it plainly: “Anything of value left behind is a gift. What else is art for?” That idea—art as a gift that reshapes place—continues to guide projects across the islands.
How to plan: Direct flights from Tokyo to Takamatsu run daily; alternately take the shinkansen to Okayama (about three hours from Tokyo), then drive to Takamatsu’s ferry terminal (about 1.5 hours) or to Uno port (about 45 minutes) for ferries to Naoshima and neighboring islands. Benesse museum tickets must be booked in advance and opening days vary. Local tour operators such as Setouchi Islander and Boutique Japan can arrange multi-day itineraries, private boats and guided tours.
Where to stay: Naoshima—Benesse House (Ando-designed with late-night museum access) or Ryokan Roka (minimalist rooms, soaking tubs, kaiseki dinners). Takamatsu—Anabuki-tei (a renovated family home offering intimate hospitality). Beyond Naoshima—Azumi Setoda (mosaicked bathhouse, lemon groves), Ryokan Kurashiki and Yoruya in Kurashiki (both rooted in craft and local history).