Art Walking on Naoshima

Arriving at Miyanoura Port, Yayoi Kusama's red pumpkin sculpture greets you. Passing the crowd snapping photos, the first destination is the Honmura area — about ten minutes by bicycle from the port, where art installations are scattered through the village as the Art House Project.

Each renovated old house opens into a space unlike anything outside. Digital numbers flicker in the darkness of Kadoya; light reflects off water inside Go'o Shrine. What makes Naoshima unique is how art, architecture, and village life blend seamlessly together.

The afternoon is for the Chichu Art Museum. Designed by Tadao Ando, the concrete building is buried underground and nearly invisible from the outside. The room housing Monet's Water Lilies, lit only by natural light, changes its impression completely depending on the time of day.