Naoshima II

The last weekend in July, just before leaving Kagawa I went back to Naoshima, once more with Yukari San, with Chiyu San and Kumiko San too. We all met at Nio Marina where Chiyu San's husband and some of his fishing friends took us over to the island by high speed fishing boat. It was to take about 2 hours to get there and Chiyu had made some onegiri (Japanese rice balls) for lunch which we ate under the Seto Ohashi (bridge). The guys threw some lines out and after catching a case of seasickness Yukari joined in too. After we started the engines up again Kumiko caught Yukari's seasickness and spent the rest of the trip trying to put a brave face on it but was clearly relieved as we approached the island.

Kumiko and Yukari

Kumiko

First off we went to Chichu Art Museum. It was Chiyu San and Kumiko San's first visit to Naoshima, and this is definately the must see. The "Monet Garden" that they were fixing up when Yukari, Hisako San and I went there, was now in its full summer glory and it truly was a living piece of art that conveyed the sense of Monet's paintings surprisingly well.

I wanted to leave the Monet for last, because it had impressed me so much. After seeing it, the others wanted to line up again to see the James Turrel piece, a very cool work that relies and the shock of having your preception fooled. This time I hadn't enjoyed it nearly so much as six months earlier so I sat quite happily on the white marble cubed tiles in the middle of the underground Monet room lit by natural light and feasted on the colours which just got more amazing and intricate the longer I looked at the main piece.

Of course, being an art gallery, photos aren't allowed, but Yukari hapenned to have her keitei on her and took an illegal photo of one of the coolest sections of Tadao Ando's amazing concrete space that the shop doesn't have a postcard of. Some nice person has also uploaded the postcards that you can buy in the shop so click here for pictures of the art work.

We headed off to Benesse House, the gallery another creation of Tadao Ando, so it was fitting that I was with the Ando twins: Chiyu and Kumiko. Ironically, Hisako San, who came with Yukari and I last year, is also an Ando, one of the more common names in Japan after Tanaka! I don't think I actually know any Suzuki's. Benesse House has some nice pieces, but if you find yourself on Naoshima one day, and limited for time, go the Standard Project, which I saw last time and Chichu Museam. I think we were also all getting quite tired and hungry so we headed off to find a cute little cafe and say goodbye to Kumiko who was catching the last ferry back so as to be able to go to work the next day. Whilst eating dinner an amazing storm crossed the island and it suddenly belted down with torrential rain. This was the last of the rainy season before the killer heat set in for the next six weeks or so: Japan is just starting to cool off as I write this, early Sept. Whilst waiting for the bus, truly ear splitting cracks of thunder sundered the sky directly over our heads and while I laughed maniacally and danced in the rain and the green hues, one of my friends cowered in the doorway screaming everytime the storm whipped the sound waves.


After waving Kumiko, we went off to our Minshuku to find the power down, which was somewhat exciting. A little one room hut with tatami flooring and attached bathroom, the view made up for the slight shabbiness and the rock hard Japanese pillow filled with little round beads. As we draink beer, ploughed through mounds of nuts and chocolate and told stories a terrible screeching, not unlike a possum, announced itself outside, whereby I got myself a first time real look at the fabled Tanuki. About the same size as a fox, an odd little creature with mythically large balls that the Japanese translate into English as racoon dog. One of Studio Ghibli's early films is called Pom Poko and is an interesting ecological critique of the economic boom and subsequent development in Japan. But I divert.

We awaok far to early the next morning so that Yukari and I could get to work by the afternoon. Whilst waiting for the ferry we took photos of the famous red pumpkin, icon of Naoshima and I introduced my new friend Schnapps, star of my next blog, to the camera.

Yukari and Chiyu