How to Visit Naoshima – Transport, Food & Art Explained

If you’re adding the art island of Naoshima to your Japan plans and want to make the most of your time, you will want to read this. It lists all the exhibits and their opening times – and, most importantly, explains how to get around the island, as getting this wrong can waste a lot of time. Read on to visit Naoshima like an expert.

Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.

Fitting Naoshima Into Your Itinerary

Naoshima is one of three islands with art exhibits located in the Seto Sea off the South-east coast of Japan.

Naoshima is easy to reach on a day trip from Hiroshima, Okayama, and Takamatsu, but you can also visit it on a long day trip from Kyoto or Osaka.

If you’re planning a Japan itinerary and want to include Naoshima, it would be a good stop between Kyoto/Osaka and Hiroshima, or if you’re visiting the island of Shikoku, stay overnight in Takamatsu and catch the ferry from there.

Getting Your Bearings

Naoshima is a fairly small island (8 square kilometres) with two main towns, Miyanoura and Honmura, on its east and west sides, respectively. You’ll find artwork and facilities like restaurants and hotels in both of these. The ferry from Uno serves both ports, while the ferry from Takamatsu will drop you at Miyanoura.

South of the island, you’ll find the major art museums, several outdoor sculptures and Naoshima’s most recognisable sight – the Yayoi Kasuma giant yellow pumpkin that sits precariously at the sea’s edge. This is also where you find the Benesse House Hotel, the island’s swankiest accommodation.

You can get between these sights using the local bus and the museum shuttle bus, you can hire bikes or small cars, or you can walk around the island. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from Miyanoura to Honmura, another 30 minutes to walk from Honmura to the Benesse area in the south and another 30 minutes to walk back to Miyanoura. Note if you’re cycling or walking, some areas have steep hills.

If you are only on the island for the day, walking might eat into your art viewing time, but it might be necessary if you miss the (slightly infrequent and often quite full) bus that circles the island.

What Art is on Naoshima?

While it’s most famous for the Yayoi Kasuma pumpkins, there’s a lot more art on Naoshima – everything from giant sculptures you can climb into to tiny yarn designs stuck to homes in the village.

Each exhibit has a separate entrance fee. Prices below are for adults. Children under 15 get in free to most exhibits, as do guests of the Benesse House hotel.

Some exhibits require timed reservations, and booking tickets in advance is also slightly cheaper so saves some money. If you want to see as much as possible, you might want to spend a day or two deciding what you want to see and planning a route rather than just winging it so you don’t miss anything.

Annoyingly, there is not a package ticket that gets you into all the main sights so you have to book it all separately.

We didn’t see everything on the island partly because we didn’t plan it to the nth degree and partly because we got art burnout. But, so you can make your decisions here’s what’s on offer..

In Honmura

1. The Art House Project

Open: 10 am to 4.30 pm. Closed on Mondays (see tips below for the exception to this).

 The Art House Project consists of seven sites, including traditional Japanese houses and one shrine, in the town of Honmura that now house large works of arts.

To see five of the houses – Kadoya, Go’o Shirne, Gokaisho, Ishibashi and Haisha – you buy a single ticket, which costs 1400 yen on the day (or 1200 yen booked in advance).

Of these houses, my favourites were Kodaya and Haisha – although I’m not going to tell you why, as the surprise of going into the buildings is part of the experience! I’d suggest visiting them all to find your favourite.

It took us about two hours to walk around these five exhibits and the backstreets of Honmura.

The other houses, Minamidera and Kinza, require separate entrance tickets costing 700 yen each (600 booked in advance).

You also need a timed slot and advance reservations are recommended if you don’t want to miss out or risk having to hang around. Book these ahead and work your day and transport around them. Every person needs their own ticket, Note – children under five can’t enter so you’ll have to baby swap.

You’ll find the Art House Project website here. You can read more about the houses, book tickets in advance, and book slots for the houses that require reservations.

2. Ring of Fire

The newest exhibit on Naoshima opened in June 2024 and is located in a house in Honmura. It, too, needs a separate ticket.

It costs 600 yen in advance for day time access (700 yen on the day), or, if you are here in the evening, the exhibit is different, and it costs 1800 yen in advance, or 2000 yen on the day.

Find details and make bookings for Ring of Fire at its page here.

3. The Ando Museum

Open: 10 am to 1 pm. 2 pm to 4.30 pm. Closed on Mondays.

The architect Tadao Ando designed many of the gallery buildings on Naoshima, and this museum reflects his influence on the spaces you’ll spend the day visiting – it’s designed in his modernist style (there’s concrete), and you’ll also see information about his life and work.

It costs 600 yen to get in if you book in advance or 700 on the day.

You need a timed slot to enter the Museum. See more here.

Allow 15-30 minutes, depending on your love of architecture.

4. Outdoor Works in Honmura

Keep your eyes out for small outdoor works in Honmura, (and the rest of Naoshima). When we were there, a yarn artist was working their magic attaching things to buildings. We spotted little creatures made of cans dotted around Honmura, and the bike racks at Honmura port (below) are a sight to behold.

5. Honmura Town

Naoshima isn’t just a huge art gallery; it’s a rural town, and you should spend some time exploring the backstreets.

Visiting the Art Houses will move you around a lot, but you’ll also find small cafes and restaurants, local shrines and cute street scenes that you should take time to appreciate. While it’s tempting to rush from one house to the next, don’t miss absorbing the atmosphere of the island.

Coming Soon

The New Naoshima Museum of Art is set to open on Naoshima in Spring 2025 ‘on a hillside near Honmura’. Also designed by Ando, it will be another three-storey facility with works from Asian artists.

The South of the Island

This is the main museum area. You can catch the bus to the entry gate, then walk or use the shuttle bus to take you up to the museums.

1. The Benesse House Museum

Open: Main Gallery: 8 am to 9 pm. Closed on Monday

Valley Gallery: 9.30 am to 4.30 pm

This 3-storey concrete space, and its additional buildings and wings, contain sculptures, paintings and other installations in a traditional gallery setting – but, with immense amounts of space at their disposal, they can go large – to say the least. The art is modern and innovative.

It costs 1300 yen booked in advance or 1500 if you buy tickets on the day.

This fee also includes access to the Valley Gallery, where you’ll find two works, including Yayoi Kasuma’s mirrored Narcissus Garden.

I admit I wasn’t quite as blown away by the Benesse Museum as I thought I would be – I like modern art, but some of it was a bit like – okay – what’s going on here? The fantastic piece by Yukinori Yanagi involving flags of the world and an ant farm more than made up for any doubts, though.

Considering it’s one of the prime museums on the island, I was surprised that it actually didn’t take us that long to walk around – probably half an hour. The Museum itself suggests allowing an hour.

The Valley Gallery is a short walk away, so also build some time for that. Yayoi Kasuma’s Narcissus Garden is in this space and it’s fun to look at and reflect upon (literally).

See more about the museum here.

2. Outside Art at Benesse House

Open: As above

I prefer my sculptures large and outside (if you do too, you’ll also want to consider adding the Hakone Open Air Museum to your plans) so, this was my favourite area after the art houses.

Some pieces blend into the sea and sky surrounding them; other more vibrant works stick out like a fabulously abstract sore thumb!

This area is also where you’ll find the famous Yellow Pumpkin. Depending on how busy it is, you might have to queue to get a photo with this.

It was raining the day we were there, but we still wandered around this area for a good 30 minutes – if it had been bright and sunny, we probably would have spent longer – not least as we wouldn’t have had the pumpkin virtually to ourselves and probably would have had to queue for a photo.

3. The ChiChu Museum

Open: 10 am to 5 pm. Closed on Mondays

This is the most expensive museum on Naoshima. It costs 2500 yen in advance on weekdays or 2800 yen bought on site and 2700 yen on weekends or 3000 yen if bought on site.

A limited number of people at a time are allowed in the space, so you need to book a timed slot to visit, and again, I suggest doing so before your visit so you know where you need to be and when and to ensure it doesn’t sell out or find you wasting time hanging around for a free slot.

The underground museum contains three main works – a selection of paintings by Monet, a stunning-looking piece by Walter De Maria and a piece by James Turrell. The building, designed by architect Tadao Ando is also its own work of art and displays the works uniquely.

Allow 60-90 minutes here.

There’s also a sunset viewing of the James Turrell piece by reservation. See more about it at the end of this page. Pay careful attention to sunset and ferry times if you’re not staying on the island overnight.

4. The Lee Ufan Museum

Open: 10 am to 5 pm

Dedicated to the work of Korean artist Lee Ufan, who works with large stones, canvasses and big open spaces. This costs 1200 yen in advance, 1400 on the day.

Allow about 30 minutes here. See more details here.

5. Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery: Time Corridors

Open: 11 am to 3 pm

Photographs and sculptures combine in this Ando-designed space. Don’t miss the stunning glass building.

You can also have tea here.

It costs 1500 booked in advance or 1600 booked on the day.

See more details here.

Miyanoura Port

The island’s main ferry port, you might want to save this until the end of your day as most of the works are outside so you can wander at your leisure while you wait for your boat.

1. Outdoor Works at Miyanoura

These are dotted around the main ferry area. The most notable is probably Yayoi Kasuma’s Red Pumpkin, which you can go into, but you’ll also find some cute silver mushroomy things, the Naoshima Pavillion – a mesh-work that you can climb into – and the large blue Bunraku Puppet.

2. Naoshima Bathhouse

I think someone was drunk when they came up with this idea! It’s a public bath (also known as a sento), with art in it. So, if you want to see stuff, you will have to get nekkid.

It costs 660 yen to go into the Naoshima Bathhouse. This is also the only exhibit where children under 15 also have to pay – their entry fee is half price.

You don’t need to make reservations for the Bathhouse, maybe because fewer tourists are willing to strip off to visit it! Normal onsen rules apply so make sure you’re aware of onsen etiquette when you visit. See the note about tattoos in the tips below.

3. Miyanoura Gallery

Located in the island’s old Pachinko Parlour, this is part exhibit, part museum and part community space.

Miyanoura also has restaurants, cafes, and shops. I didn’t find it quite as pretty as Honmura, but walking around is still fun.

What Are Must Sees and What Can You Skip?

It’s hard to say as art is so personal – but I would say the Art Houses, the Benesse House Museum, the ChiChu Art Museum, and the outside artworks should be your focus.

Optional extras are the other museums and the bathhouse.

How Should You Fit It All In

We arrived late morning as we had come from Kyoto. We started in Honmura and did the art houses – allow 2-3 hours for this.

We then got the bus to the Benesse area and visited the sights there – allow 2-4 hours for this if you are visiting all the sites.

Then we made our way to Miyonoura, grabbed a VERY late lunch, saw the outdoor works, and got on the ferry. Allow at least an hour here, longer if you’re going to soak in the bathhouse.

We did not see everything on the island, partly through choice, partly because we were running out of time as we arrived so late. If you want to see everything, arrive as early as possible and plan to leave late. The Benesse House Museum has the longest opening hours so you can leave that latest in your plans.

Do check the times of ferries and buses to connect you to them to make sure you don’t get stuck anywhere.

Should You Stay Overnight?

As I said, in hindsight, I regret not visiting the ChiChu Museum. We had time in our day, but by the time we had done the Art Houses, seen the Benesse Museum, and visited the sculptures outside, we were a bit done with ‘arts’ and couldn’t do another museum.

We headed back to the Miyanoura to see the other outside sculptures and then caught the ferry back to Uno.

If we’d stayed overnight on the island or an easy ferry ride away in Uno or Takamatsu, we could have come back the second day to see the things we missed with fresh eyes.

If you want to see all of the museums within their respective opening hours in one day, you’ll need an early start and a lot of planning – a night on the island would allow you to relax a bit, and to enjoy the local atmosphere when the rest of the tourists have gone home.

Staying overnight also allows you to see the James Turrell exhibit at sunset and the nighttime showing of Ring of Fire.

If you agree, here’s where to find and book Naoshima accommodation.

If you want to stay at Benesse House hotel you’ll need to book this direct. Guests of the hotel get free entry to most of the artworks so allow for that when costing things up. Find the hotel details here.

As places to stay on Naoshima are limited, you could also stay in Uno – my friends stayed at the Uno Port Inn and said that although the rooms are tiny, for a night, it was great (and apparently, it has excellent coffee!).

In Takamatsu, the JR Hotel Clement is fantastically situated near both the train station and the Naoshima Ferry.

How Do You Get to Naoshima Island?

Okay, so now you know what you’re going to do on the island, how do you actually get there. Well, there are two possible departure points – Uno and Takamatsu.

Traveling From Uno

If you’re coming from Hiroshima, Okayama, Osaka or Kyoto, you’ll want to go to the town of Uno and catch the ferry.

Getting to Uno

Uno is connected by a local train to the bullet train stop at Okayama. Depending on your itinerary, you might want to look at the 5-Day JR Kansai WIDE Area pass, which covers travel between Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama, Uno, Kobe and Himeji. If you’re visiting Naoshima for the day from Kyoto or Osaka it will save you money.

It will take about 50 minutes to get to Uno from Okayama, two hours to get to Uno from Hiroshima and 3-4 hours from Kyoto or Osaka, depending on train and ferry connections.

Sometimes on the way to Uno you have to change at a town called Chiyamachi, but don’t panic, it’s literally stepping off one train and onto the one waiting/arriving on the opposite platform.

Catching the Ferry from Uno

Two ferries go to Naoshima. You can either go to Miyanoura Port – there are ferries roughly every hour, or Homura – which has just five services a day – but buying a ticket for one service is also valid for the other. This means you could come into Miyanoura and leave from Honmura – or vice versa – to save time traveling across the island.

You’ll find the ferry timetables here.

One thing to ensure when planning is that the ferry connects to a train at Uno. We originally planned to stay on the island until the 7pm ferry, but then realised there was no connecting train until 8.28 pm.

If you do get stuck with a bit of wait at Uno, there is some art in the port – make sure you visit Garbage Fish. The town also has a lot of local restaurants – I’ve also heard very good things about the pizza at VOGA.

You can check train times on an app called Japan Travel by Navitime before you go. This app is a must-have if you’re travelling around Japan by train – and one of our top apps you need in Japan.

Traveling from Takamatsu

There are eight sailings a day from Takamatsu Port to Naoshima, some by ferry which costs 520 yen, some by high-speed boat costing 1220 yen. You will alight at Miyanoura.

Find the current timetable here.

Note – we caught the ferry to Shodoshima from this ferry building and the ticket was cash only. The high-speed boat to Naoshima also had cash-only signs on their ticket window. So, just in case the regular Naoshima Ferry is the same, ensure you have some cash.

How Do You Get Around Naoshima?

When I first decided to visit the island, I thought everything would be in town, and you’d just wander from one exhibit to the next – but, as I explained above, the exhibits are spread across three different areas, so, you’ll need another form of transport.

Renting a bike was my initial thought. My feeling was this would allow us a bit more freedom to see other bits of the island – but then I discovered you couldn’t take bikes into certain areas, so you’d have to walk anyway and picking up and dropping off the bikes just seemed to add an extra level of faffing to the day.

However, if you do want to hire bikes, it will cost from 1500 yen for an electric bike for the day.

There are a few different places to rent from but this one offers booking in advance.

You can now also rent scooters and small cars on Naoshima. See the above link for details.

How the Buses Work on Naoshima

When I was trying to work out how to get around Naoshima, this was the thing that flummoxed me most, but, in a nutshell, you use the local public bus to get you around the island, but this doesn’t go into the Benesse site; it stops outside. To get around the Benesse site, you either walk or take their separate shuttle bus.

Once we arrived we quickly realised if you’re visiting Benesse House, walking was the better choice as you’ll go past the Yellow Pumpkin and the other outside artworks on the way.

You might want to use the shuttle if you’re going to ChiChu, though, as that is about a 30-minute uphill walk from the bus stop.

Tips for the Public Bus

The main thing is that while it saves you time once you’re on it, it doesn’t run very often, so you’ll need to make sure you know the timetable and route. You’ll find it here. Study it carefully – particularly note if you need to get a bus quickly after your ferry arrives so you’re not stuck with a long wait.

You’ll also find the timings for the Benesse House shuttle bus on the same link.

The public bus runs from Miyanoura Port, where the ferry drops you off. It goes past Honmura where the ArtHouse Project is (this takes 7 minutes) and, then continues onto Tsutsuji-so, the stop you need for the Benesse Art Museum, ChiChu Art Museum and the Lee Ufan Museum (this takes four minutes). Coming back it does the same route in the opposite direction.

The bus can get full, and you may find it hard to get on during busy days. If you have timed tickets booked always allow a bit of a buffer period in case you have to wait for the next one or walk between sights.

The bus costs 100 yen, which you pay the driver when you get off. Have the coins ready and just hand it to him as you leave.

Where to Eat on Naoshima?

You’ll find plenty of cafes and restaurants in Honmura and Miyanoura (you can find a full list here) – however, when we were there, most of these only opened during regular mealtime hours – so, around 11-2 and after 5.30 pm.

Very little was open when we finally stopped to eat at about 4 pm. If you’re likely to do the same, here are some of the places open outside of regular hours.

In Miyanoura

Sparky’s Coffee, Mikazukishoten, Cafe Ougiya, Nagomi

In Honmura

Konnichiwa, 住恵, maimia,

Check for the exact opening hours and to see which days they aren’t open.

You can also eat at the restaurant at Benesse House, but the menu is quite limited – and on the day we went, the only thing left just after 2 pm when we arrived was Squid Ink Curry.

Whilst it would have made a great Instagram photo, it wasn’t on my list of top ten things I fancied at that precise moment. If you’re planning to eat in the museum, go early.

Is There a Best Time to Visit Naoshima?

It is an island, so it can get pretty bleak and cold in the winter – some of the restaurants and cafes also close at this point.

On the bright side, though, sunset happens earlier in winter, so the James Turrell sunset exhibit becomes more feasible to fit into a day trip.

There are also fewer people, so you don’t need to plan as far in advance to get slots at the various museums. However, because fewer people visit right now, there is a short period in January/February when many of the museums are closed for maintenance.

Summer temperatures on Naoshima range from 19-32 in June, July and August – and there is little to no shade around the outside exhibits so bring sunscreen or an umbrella for shade.

If you’re visiting in 2025, be aware it’s time for the Triennale. This event happens once every three years, and while it brings amazing new art to the island, it also brings crowds. It happens in three bursts through the year. Find exact dates here.

During this time, the island will be super busy, and you will need to buy a special Triennale pass to visit.

A Few Other Useful Tips…

Do Not Visit on a Monday

Unless it’s a public holiday, almost everything will be closed. However, if you are in Japan when there is a Monday public holiday, the museums will open this day – but close on the Tuesday. Don’t get caught out.

Bookings Open Two Months Prior

They go on sale at 10 am Japanese time on the second Friday of the month, two months before you want to visit. So, if you were visiting in May 2025, you’d be able to buy tickets from Friday March 14th.

Unless it’s a hectic period like Golden Week or a special exhibit like the Triennale, you don’t need to book immediately after they are released, but I would book once you have your plans sorted to avoid having to retime everything.

At this point, you might be wondering, ‘Can’t I just wing it?’ Well, yes, you can – if it’s not one of the periods above or you’re not desperate to see everything in a day. In that case, turn up and play things by ear – sometimes you might not get to something or have to kill some time to get into your slot, sometimes you might change your mind and decide not to bother as we did with the ChiChu Museum.

Don’t Leave Things Too Late

If you’re not booking in advance, note that most of the exhibits have a final entry time of 30 minutes before closing. Benesse House, ChiChu Museum and Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery: Time Corridors stop entry one hour before closing.

Wear Clean Socks

You may have to take your shoes off to enter some of the artworks. By this point in my trip, my feet were destroyed, and I was wearing my oldest, stinkiest trainers – my mortification level in the art houses was of the scale!

If You Have Bags

There are coin-operated lockers at Miyonoura Port – a large one costs 500 yen and small one 200. You can also leave luggage with two luggage storage offices. There are also some lockers in Honmura. See locations of the offices here.

Traveling With Tattoos

You can go to the Naoshima Bathhouse with tattoos. This is unusual in Japan, where tattoos are traditionally associated with gangs – however, the rules of Naoshima Bath instead simply state you can’t go in if you are a member of an organised crime group.

What Else Is There to Do Nearby?

Most people visit Naoshima as a side trip from the traditional Golden Route, but if you want to stay around here a little longer, you can also base yourself on the island or nearby in Uno or Okayama/Takamatsu if you prefer a larger town and also visit the other nearby art islands of Teshima and Inujima. Find out more about these on the Benesse site.

On my last trip, we visited Shodoshima, which is easy to combine with Naoshima if you stay in Takamatsu. This island is famous for its museums of yokai art (yokai are Japanese monsters), and if you can stay longer, has a lot of other pretty sights around the island.

Takamatsu is also a great jumping-off point for exploring the Iya Valley, and its unique vine bridges and fascinating village of scarecrows. We took the train to Oboke and then got a taxi to drive us around for the day.

Some of the images in this post were taken by my friends Paula and Charlie, who had much better weather when they visited than I did. Visit their website, Thailand Awaits, if you’re planning a Thailand trip.

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