Naoshima

Ah the lovely Naoshima Island! Two good friends and Japan experts, Vicki and Sean, both immediately recommended Naoshima when I asked for a good place to explore between Hiroshima and Tokyo.  The island is home to many contemporary art installations and museums.  It was so much more than walking through hall after hall of oil paintings.  Some installations were part of the landscape, others used various elements or senses, but all were extremely captivating.  We rented electric bikes to go from place to place, a great idea we got from talking for some Dutch folks who recommended it.  The breeze on these fast bicycles on the rolling hills of this hot hot hot place were glorious.

Around the corner of our hostel is a small 8 seat restaurant where the owner blasts blues music and calmly cooks up some very tasty food.  It’s a whole experience that took about two hours.  It’s not a place to go if you are in a rush, you just order a few dishes and let the man do his thing.  It was like having your dad cook something up for you.

Now I’m completely enamored with public bathing, the one in Naoshima is an art exhibit all by itself.  A little more expensive because of the tourists but it was great.

We leave on the 6:40 am ferry to catch our trains to Tokyo, the last leg of our trip!