Hello~ I took a short trip from Seoul to Naoshima/Takamatsu and wanted to share my trip report (: I flew in from Incheon to Takamatsu Airport.
- 11:05am Airport bus to Takamatsu Port (1,000 yen)
- There are bus ticket kiosks right as you exit customs but you can use an IC card as well. I arrived at the port maybe 20 minutes before the ferry departed at 12:40pm.
Round trip ferry ticket (990 yen)
You can use the return trip on the following day like I did.
- 1:30pm Arrived at Miyanoura Port, stored my luggage in a coin locker then walked across the street to Ougiya Bike Rental.
Electric bicycle rental (2,400 yen)
– I paid the 2-day cost since I wasn’t gonna be able to return it by 6pm.
It was Sunday so not many restaurants were open and I went to a tourist friendly izakaya. I then biked to the Chichu Art Museum and left my bike at the parking area since bikes aren’t permitted in the area from the East to North Gate. I had time before my reservation and went to Valley Gallery.
- 4:30pm Chichu Art Museum Reservation (2,100 yen)
- The Monet paintings were beautiful and the view from the museum cafe is nice.
- You cannot enter more than 5 min before your reservation time, same-day tickets were sold out when I arrived around so make sure to reserve ahead of time.
- The James Terrell exhibit consisted of waiting in a line then sitting down in a white room and watching the colors change from orange to blue in about 3 min.
Overall I expected more for the price but the museum is quite small but I guess makes up for it in the design.
5pm~ I retrieved my bike then took the path around the Labriynth of Cherry Blossoms down to the Tsutsujiso bus stop where the Yellow Pumpkin is by the beach. I took pics and stopped by the Benesse Museum shop.
Benesse Art Museum (1,300 yen, includes Valley Gallery entry)
– I walked 10-15 min uphill from the Yellow Pumpkin, there are some lovely outdoor artworks on the way up and the view of the sea at sunset was amazing.
– I was underwhelmed by the artwork here and found the architecture itself to be the best part.
- 6:30pm I then biked from Tsutsujiso to Naoshima Port as the sun set which was my favorite part. I stopped at the 7-eleven on my back to Miyanoura Port to grab some food for dinner then checked into my hotel around 7:30pm.
I grabbed breakfast at Aikaito Coffee the next morning since it’s one of the few places open early. I returned my bike and took the 9:07 am ferry back to Takamatsu. Overall, I enjoyed my experience mostly for the peaceful atmosphere of the island and the scenery rather than the art. Biking around was worthwhile despite the heat and watching the sunset and sunrise amongst the landscape were the highlights. Hope this helps!
by 96rising