[Travel] Japan Naoshima日本直島 -- Visiting the shrine of art devotees 一起拜訪文青的朝聖小島

Hello there, today I'd like to introduce one of my favorite places, a place that I vouch to visit again ever since I stepped foot on its land.

哈囉，今天我想跟大家分享我最喜歡的景點之一，我前腳還沒踏開這個地方，就已經在計畫下一次再訪的行程。

 

Naoshima, a remote island located in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, has became the shrine to hipsters, I mean art devotees, all thanks to a Japanese billionaire Soichiro Fukutake.

直島是座落在日本瀨戶內海的一座小島，近年來已經變成了文青呃我是說藝術愛好者的朝聖之地，一切都拜日本億萬富翁福武總一郎所賜。

red pumpkin
 

In this surreal art paradise, Fukutake has commissioned numerous installations tailored made for Naoshima's landscape, including pieces by Lee Ufan, James Turrell, Walter de Maria and Yayoi Kusama.

在這個本來只是漁村小島上，福武總一郎為直島量身定做了不少裝置藝術品和建築，包括韓國藝術家李禹煥、當代藝術家詹姆斯·特瑞爾、大地藝術創始人之一的瓦爾特·代·瑪麗亞和大家都很熟悉的草間彌生。

Beautiful scenery
 

To house all these great works, Fukutake collaborated with world renowned architect Tadao Ando and built a series of smooth concrete structures, most notably the hotel Benesse House and the Chichu Art Museum.

為了展示這些藝術家的作品，福武總一郎特別請來世界知名的日本建築師安藤忠雄，用他特有的清水模為直島打造一系列的建築，像是島上唯一的飯店Benesse House和我最喜愛的地中美術館。

Naoshima is accessible by ferry from several cities, including Tamano, Takamatsu and Inujima, but we got here from Shodoshima, the second largest island in the Seto Inland Sea (Totally worth a visit too. See my post here).

想要到達直島，可以依照自己其他的行程，選擇從玉野市、高松市或是犬島搭郵輪。但因為我們前一天的行程在小豆島，瀨戶內海裡的第二大島（也很直得拜訪，可以看我之前的遊記），所以選擇直接從小豆島到直島。

Upon arrival to Naoshima, we were greeted by Yayoi Kusama’s red pumpkin. Yayoi Kusama has suffered from several psychological symptoms since she was ten years old. She perceived the world through lenses filled with polka dots. Kusama even stated "My art originates from hallucinations only I can see. I translate the hallucinations and obsessional images that plague me into sculptures and paintings."

一到達直島就會看到草間彌生的紅色南瓜，草間彌生在十歲的時候就罹患感官失調症，所以地用自己波點濾鏡看世界，還曾經說過：『我的作品是來自於只有我能看見的幻覺，我把這些纏著我的幻覺具體地用雕塑和畫呈現出來。』

My rendition made it lose its vibrant red, but I kind of like it this way.
我再現的南瓜有點失真了，少了原本鮮豔的紅色，但是我蠻喜歡這樣的感覺的。

red pumpkin again, not so red anymore
 

Naoshima is not a big island so we decided to walk. We missed out on some great art works because of this, a mistake on our part. Remember: not to walk around if you only have one day and want to see everything on this island. Nevertheless, I have no regret. Afterall, we literally walked around the island (the bold dark grey line on this map).

直島其實不是一個很大的島，所以我們當時決定用走的，不坐巴士或也不租腳踏車。千萬不要學，這是天大的錯誤啊，我們因此漏看了很多藝術品。雖然這麼說，我還是不後悔啦，畢竟我們真的走路環了直島一圈（沿著下面地圖的灰色粗線）。

map taken from the Benesse Art Site Naoshima
 

Our focus was on the Benesse House Area shown on the map. We totally missed out on Honmura Area but that's okay. This gives me another reason to visit again.

我們把重點放在地圖上的Benesse House Area，完全沒有深入到Honmura Area裏，不過沒關係，給我一個理由再回來。

Another yellow pumpkin installation is set up by the beach near the Benesse House. I love the fact that everyone, me included, is obsessed with these pumpkin.

另外一個黃色南瓜是在離飯店Benesse House不遠的海邊，所有經過的人包括我都為了他駐足很久，不停地拍照。

inspired by the polka dots and vibrant color
 

The Benesse House is not far from the yellow pumpkin. The rate varies from $350 to $600 per night. I wish I can spend a night here (aspiring artist shamelessly looking for donation here).

飯店The Benesse House就在黃色南瓜的附近，一個晚上要價三百五到六百美金吧，希望有機會可以住上一晚（不要臉的在這求捐助）。

Don't worry. For those of you like me, can't afford to stay at the hotel, you can still walk around the complex. The hotel was also designed by Tadao Ando and includes a seaside sculpture park.

如果你們像我一樣沒辦法負擔飯店的價格，別擔心，還是可以到裡面走走。它是由安藤忠雄設計的，後院還有一個海邊的雕塑公園。

me creeping up on a sculpture
 

Lee Ufan Museum is a collaboration between internationally acclaimed artist Lee Ufan and Tadoa Ando. The museum is located in a valley. Dark hallways by Ando lead to Lee Ufan's minimalistic paintings. The outdoor area was surrounded by hills.

李禹煥博物館是著名藝術家李禹煥和安藤忠雄合作的結晶，博物館為在一個小山谷裡，漆黑的走廊的盡頭是李禹煥極簡風的藝術品，戶外的地區則是被山環繞。

Hallway with smooth concrete, signature of Tadao Ando
 

ChiChu art museum is probably the soul of the island. The whole museum is almost entirely underground to avoid destroying the nature around it, but being there surely doen't feel that way. Tadao Ando designed the structure with courtyards open to sky, slanted walkways leading to underground, and natural lights in the some of the rooms. The lighting itself throughout day and season can change how the art works look. The museum houses works from only three artists: James Turrell, Walter De Maria, and Claude Monet. Again, photography was not allowed in the museum, but I have to show you how amazing it is.

地中博物館大概就是整座島的靈魂了，整個博物館幾乎是埋在地底下的，但走進去完全感覺不出來是在地下。安藤忠雄精心設計之下，後院對天敞開，傾斜的走廊慢慢地帶領參觀者到地下，自然光打進建築其中幾間主要的房間，每天、每個季節不同的打光都會改變裡面藝術品的面貌。博物館裡只有三個藝術家的作品：詹姆斯·特瑞爾、瓦爾特·代·瑪麗亞和大名鼎鼎的克洛德·莫內。

Taken from Benesse Art Site Naoshima

Surreal installation by Walter De Maria. Taken from Benesse Art Site Naoshima

 

There are many more great art projects we didn't get to fit in our hectic schedule. By the time we finished touring the ChuChu art museum, the sun was setting down. I insisted on waiting for the sun to set down so I could take this picture and film some time-lapse. Well, we missed the last ferry.

由於一天的行程太短，我們有很多藝術品都沒看到。在看完地中博物館的時候太陽都要下山了。為了拍這張南瓜夕陽照和縮時攝影，我堅持要等太陽落到海面之下。結果勒，我們錯過了最後一班郵輪哈哈哈。

Sunset and pumpkin

This cat's probably laughing at us
 

Luckily, after asking around, there's still hope. There was a speed boat back to Takamatsu, where we planned on taking the train to Osaka.

不過我們還蠻幸運的，經過一番打聽，發現還有一絲希望。直島有直達高松市的快艇，我們就這樣驚險地到達轉乘站高松。
 

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