The Island Where a Yellow Pumpkin Changed My Understanding of Art
I should say upfront that I'm not an art person. I've been to museums because I felt I should, not because I wanted to. I find most contemporary art confusing at best and pretentious at worst. So when my friend suggested adding Naoshima to our Japan itinerary, I was skeptical.
"It's an art island," she said. "There's a yellow pumpkin."
I went for the pumpkin. I stayed because Naoshima did something to my brain that no museum ever has.
The Ferry
The ferry from Uno Port on Shikoku takes 20 minutes. As we approached Miyanoura Port, I could already see Yayoi Kusama's red pumpkin sitting on the dock — a massive polka-dotted sculpture that looked like it had materialized from another dimension. Children were climbing inside it. Adults were photographing it. Nobody looked confused. Everyone looked delighted.
This set the tone. Art on Naoshima isn't behind velvet ropes or in hushed galleries. It's in the landscape, in the architecture, in a bathhouse, on a pier. It meets you where you are.
Chichu Art Museum
Tadao Ando's masterpiece changed everything for me. The museum is built entirely underground to preserve the island's landscape. You descend into concrete spaces lit only by natural light — no artificial lighting anywhere.
There are only three artists represented: Claude Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria. The Monet room contains five late Water Lilies paintings displayed in a white marble room with natural light pouring from above. The paintings are huge, and without the distraction of museum noise and other works, you see them differently than in any gallery. I stood there for 15 minutes and finally understood why Monet matters.
James Turrell's installation is a room where the ceiling appears to be open sky, but it's actually a precisely cut aperture creating an illusion of infinite space. I lay on the marble floor and stared up for 10 minutes. My friend had to tap my shoulder to move me.
Entry 2,100 JPY. Timed-entry tickets must be reserved online in advance. Book at benesse-artsite.jp.
The Yellow Pumpkin
Kusama's yellow pumpkin sits on a pier at the island's southern tip. It's polka-dotted, cartoonish, and about 2 meters tall. A typhoon swept it into the sea in 2021; it was restored and reinstated in 2022.
I visited at sunset. The sky was orange, the water was gold, and this absurd yellow pumpkin was sitting at the end of the pier like it owned the place. And something clicked. The pumpkin isn't about understanding. It's about joy. It's about the audacity of placing a giant polka-dotted vegetable at the edge of the ocean and saying: this is art, and it's for everyone.
I laughed. I took the photo. I understood.
Art House Project
In the old village of Honmura, seven abandoned houses have been transformed into art installations. You buy a combo ticket (1,050 JPY for six sites) and wander between them.
The most powerful was Go'o Shrine by Hiroshi Sugimoto — a working Shinto shrine with a glass staircase descending underground to a chamber where you stand in water. It's sacred architecture and contemporary art simultaneously, and the boundary between them dissolves.
Kinza, by Rei Naito, requires a separate reservation (520 JPY) for a 15-minute solo viewing. You enter alone. I won't describe what's inside because the surprise is part of the experience. It made me cry, which I'm attributing to the low lighting and definitely not to the art.
The Bathhouse
Naoshima Bath "I Love Yu" is a functioning public bathhouse designed by artist Shinro Ohtake. The exterior is a wild collage of found objects, tiles, and neon. The interior continues the collage aesthetic into the actual bathing areas.
You get naked, you wash at the stations, you soak in a tub surrounded by art. It costs 660 JPY and it's the most unique bathing experience in Japan (and Japan has a lot of bathing experiences). Bring your own towel or rent one.
The Ride Home
On the ferry back to Uno, I watched Naoshima's red pumpkin shrink in the distance. The island had done something I hadn't expected: it had made art feel accessible, joyful, and human. Not intimidating. Not exclusive. Just... part of life.
I still don't understand most contemporary art. But I understand Naoshima. And that feels like enough.
For a practical guide to visiting, read our Naoshima island guide. For the local perspective, see our Naoshima resident interview. If Hiroshima is on your route, Naoshima is accessible as a day trip via the Shinkansen to Okayama and ferry.
