naoshima @ setouchi international art festival

naoshima is an island located in setonaikai, western part of japan. it was once known for illegal garbage disposal but now known as one of the most artistic islands around the world. i made a first footstep on this island in the end of july for the purpose of visiting "setouchi international art festival." 

after 20 minutes boat ride from a port near okayama, naoshima welcomed me with a splendid sight of red massive pumpkin (?) designed by yayoi kusama. it was gigantic enough to attract my eyes in an instant, and outstanding enough to control the surrounding atmosphere in good or bad way. 

what good about this island is that it is small enough to allow you to cycle from one another, and hilly enough to make you exercise by cycling. on the other side of the island, there is another pumpkin, which is colored to be yellow, and on the top of a small mountain there is a famous art museum attracting young architects from all over the world, designed by tadao ando. this museum is surely the biggest highlight of this island, for ordinary rich tourists. it is promoted by Benesse and Fukutake. Fukutake has invested a huge amount of money to develop this island to be an art island. theyve built super fancy hotels, another gorgeous museum, and many more. 

i usually tend to dislike that sort of huge economic influx as it can easily dominate the surroundings, and obviously one side of this island is not for locals any more. but they also invested to local amenity by organizing a beautiful public bath near the port, which was a positive aspect for locals. 

whats cool about this island is that it doesnt attract people only by the two famous museums, but also small experimental exhibitions all over the island. as i could stay only for a day or less, it was simply impossible to see them all, but some i could see was superb. 

in the near future, when my saving will be good enough, id love to visit this island again.