[Autumn/Winter 2026] Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima Art Island Guide: The New Display at Naoshima New Museum of Art, Winter Closures and Ferry Access

On Naoshima and Teshima in Kagawa Prefecture and Inujima in Okayama Prefecture, the museums and works of Benesse Art Site Naoshima are open year-round. Naoshima New Museum of Art closes for an exhibition change from Tuesday, November 24 and unveils a new display at noon on Saturday, December 12: the exhibition “Currents without Anchors” by Kei Imazu and Bagus Pandega. Meanwhile, the facilities on Inujima enter their winter closure in December, and the Chichu Art Museum closes from Tuesday, January 12 to Friday, March 19, 2027. We have compiled opening hours, prices, reservations and ferry access for the three islands from official information.

Why Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima now?

Benesse Art Site Naoshima is the collective name for the art activities that Benesse Corporation and the Fukutake Foundation carry out on Naoshima and Teshima (Kagawa Prefecture) and Inujima (Okayama Prefecture). According to the Fukutake Foundation, the activities began in the mid-1980s and have continued for about 40 years. To mark this, a series of five symposiums will be held from November 2026 through 2028 under the name “Naoshima Kaigi / THE NAOSHIMA MEETING 2026-2028.”

The first will be held from 13:30 to 15:15 on Saturday, November 14 at Benesse House Park Hall. Soichiro Fukutake (Honorary Chairman of the Fukutake Foundation) and architect Tadao Ando will look back on their collaboration. Participation is free but requires a reservation, with a capacity of 100 on a first-come, first-served basis.

The islands’ facilities also keep changing. On May 31, 2025, Naoshima New Museum of Art, designed by Tadao Ando, opened with its inaugural exhibition. It is the tenth art facility designed by Ando at Benesse Art Site Naoshima, and its director is Akiko Miki. Since October 1, 2024, online tickets have been introduced at all art facilities, and some facilities require timed reservations. The spring session of the next Setouchi Triennale begins on Friday, April 14, 2028 (our article on the Setouchi Triennale 2028).

What to see on Naoshima: Naoshima New Museum of Art, Chichu Art Museum and more

Naoshima New Museum of Art: “Currents without Anchors” opens on December 12

The three-level museum, with two floors below ground and one above, stands on high ground near the Honmura district. Until November 23, it shows a partially changed version of its inaugural exhibition, with works by Makoto Aida, Cai Guo-Qiang, Takashi Murakami, Do Ho Suh, Kenjiro Okazaki and others.

For the exhibition change, all areas including the café will be temporarily closed from Tuesday, November 24 until 12:00 on Saturday, December 12. From noon on the 12th, the exhibition “Currents without Anchors” by Kei Imazu and Bagus Pandega opens. According to the Fukutake Foundation, it is an installation in which painting, machines, plants, water, copper, light and sound react with one another. Imazu’s large paintings depict sunken ships on the seabed, and Pandega’s copper-plating apparatus turns the electrically driven reactions of copper into the flickering of light in the trees overhead. The foundation says the display is “scheduled to be on view through 2028.”

Imazu was born in 1980 in Yamaguchi Prefecture and Pandega in 1985 in Jakarta, and both are based in Bandung, Indonesia. On the 12th, there will be an introduction to the exhibition from 13:00, a talk by the two artists from 14:00, and a talk and reading by Kenjiro Okazaki and Kyongmi Park from 15:00. Participation is free with no application required, but a viewing ticket for that day is needed. Works by N. S. Harsha, Do Ho Suh, Cai Guo-Qiang and others remain after the exhibition change. Imazu is also participating in “Where Words Overlap,” which opens on December 1 at The National Museum of Art, Osaka.

Hours: 10:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00)
Closed: Mondays (if a holiday, open and closed the following day). Temporarily closed from Tuesday, November 24 until 12:00 on Saturday, December 12
Admission: 1,500 yen online, 1,700 yen at the counter, free for ages 15 and under
Official website: https://benesse-artsite.jp/art/nnmoa.html

Chichu Art Museum: Permanent installations by Monet, Turrell and De Maria

Founded in 2004, this museum designed by Tadao Ando has most of its building buried underground. Five works from Claude Monet’s late “Water Lilies” series are shown in natural light only. James Turrell is represented by three works, including “Open Sky.” Walter De Maria’s “Time/Timeless/No Time” consists of a sphere 2.2 m in diameter and 27 gilded wooden sculptures.

Entry is by timed reservation, and on days when online tickets sell out, tickets are not sold at the counter either. Visitors remove their shoes in some areas, and photography is not allowed except in front of the reception. The museum will close for regular maintenance from Tuesday, January 12 to Friday, March 19, 2027.

Hours: 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00)
Closed: Mondays (if a holiday, open and closed the following day)
Admission: Online 2,500 yen on weekdays and 2,700 yen on weekends and holidays; at the counter 2,800 yen on weekdays and 3,000 yen on weekends and holidays. Free for ages 15 and under
Official website: https://benesse-artsite.jp/art/chichu.html

Benesse House Museum, Lee Ufan Museum and Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery

Benesse House Museum opened in 1992. Designed by Tadao Ando under the concept of “coexistence of nature, architecture and art,” it integrates a museum and a hotel. Inside are works by Giacometti, Basquiat, Hockney and others, and outdoors stands Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin” (2022). At Valley Gallery, built in a valley, visitors can see Yayoi Kusama’s “Narcissus Garden” and Tsuyoshi Ozawa’s “Slag Buddha 88,” included in the admission fee. Kusama died on August 14, 2026 at the age of 97, and a retrospective is on view at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in the Netherlands until January 17, 2027.

Lee Ufan Museum, a collaboration between Tadao Ando’s architecture and Lee Ufan’s works, displays paintings and sculptures from the 1970s to the present in a semi-underground building. Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery: Time Corridors displays about 30 works, including “Kegon Waterfall” (1977), and the admission fee includes a tea service. It requires timed reservations.

Benesse House Museum: 8:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00), open every day. 1,300 yen online, 1,500 yen at the counter (free for ages 15 and under and hotel guests). Valley Gallery 9:30–16:00 (last entry 15:30)
Lee Ufan Museum: 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), closed Mondays (if a holiday, open and closed the following day). Until 13:00 on Saturday, December 19 (last entry 12:30). 1,200 yen online, 1,400 yen at the counter, free for ages 15 and under
Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery: Time Corridors: 11:00–15:00 (last entry 14:00), open every day. 1,600 yen online, 1,700 yen at the counter (includes tea; viewing free for ages 15 and under and hotel guests)
Official website: https://benesse-artsite.jp/art/benessehouse-museum.html

Art House Project in Honmura, ANDO MUSEUM and Ring of Fire

The Art House Project turns vacant houses and other buildings in the Honmura district into works of art, beginning with “Kadoya” (Tatsuo Miyajima) in 1998. Seven houses are currently open, including “Minamidera” (James Turrell, architecture by Tadao Ando), “Kinza” (Rei Naito), “Go’o Shrine” (Hiroshi Sugimoto) and “Haisha” (Shinro Ohtake). “Minamidera” and “Kinza” require timed reservations, and “Kinza” is viewed by one person at a time for 15 minutes.

ANDO MUSEUM inserts a concrete space designed by Tadao Ando into a wooden house about 100 years old, conveying Ando’s activities and the history of Naoshima through photographs and models. On Friday, June 21, 2024, “Ring of Fire – Yang’s Sun & Weerasethakul’s Moon” opened. The daytime part consists of Haegue Yang’s sound sculptures and paper-cut lanterns, and the nighttime part of sound, video and lighting by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Children aged 5 and under cannot enter.

Art House Project: Closed Mondays (if a holiday, open and closed the following day). Hours differ by house. Common ticket (five houses excluding “Minamidera” and “Kinza”) 1,200 yen online, 1,400 yen at the counter. “Minamidera” and “Kinza” each 600 yen online, 700 yen at the counter. Reception at Honmura Lounge & Archive
ANDO MUSEUM: 10:00–13:00 and 14:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00), closed Mondays. 600 yen online, 700 yen at the counter, free for ages 15 and under
Ring of Fire: Daytime “Solar” 10:00–14:00 (last entry 13:30); nighttime “Lunar” three sessions from 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00 (timed reservations). Closed Monday to Thursday. Solar 600 yen online, 700 yen at the counter; Lunar 1,800 yen online, 2,000 yen at the counter
Official website: https://benesse-artsite.jp/art/arthouse.html

What to see on Teshima and Inujima

Teshima Art Museum, Teshima Yokoo House and Les Archives du Cœur

Teshima Art Museum is the space of “Matrix” (2010) by artist Rei Naito and architect Ryue Nishizawa. A column-free concrete shell structure measuring about 40 by 60 m, it lets in wind, sound and light through two openings in the ceiling. Entry is by timed reservation, and tickets are not sold at the counter on days when they sell out. On Sundays from August 2026 to March 2027, a special morning viewing program (2,300 yen, capacity 20, priority for advance reservations) is also held from 9:00 to 10:00.

Teshima Yokoo House is an old house in the harbor-facing Ieura district renovated by architect Yuko Nagayama. It shows 11 two-dimensional works by Tadanori Yokoo along with installations of a rock garden, a pond and a cylindrical tower. On designated days in November and December, there is “Yokoo House at Night” (1,100 yen online, 30 people per session), in which staff guide visitors through the building from 17:00. Les Archives du Cœur in the Karato district is a small museum where Christian Boltanski collected the heartbeats of people from around the world, and visitors can also record their own heartbeat (1,570 yen).

Hours: All three, 10:00–16:00 from October 1 to the end of February (last entry 15:30) and 10:00–17:00 from March 1 to September 30 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Tuesdays from March 1 to November 30; Tuesday to Thursday from December 1 to the end of February (if a holiday, open and closed the following day)
Admission: Teshima Art Museum 1,800 yen online, 2,000 yen at the counter. Teshima Yokoo House and Les Archives du Cœur each 600 yen online, 700 yen at the counter. All free for ages 15 and under
Official website: https://benesse-artsite.jp/art/teshima-artmuseum.html

Inujima Seirensho Art Museum and Inujima “Art House Project”

Inujima Seirensho Art Museum makes use of the remains of the Inujima copper refinery, built in 1909 and closed after only 10 years when copper prices collapsed. The architecture is by Hiroshi Sambuichi and the art by Yukinori Yanagi, who created six spaces in collaboration with the architecture, using Yukio Mishima as a motif. Inujima “Art House Project” is a group of galleries for temporary exhibitions that opened in 2010. The artistic director is Yuko Hasegawa and the architect Kazuyo Sejima, with works by Kohei Nawa, Haruka Kojin, Olafur Eliasson and others. Yuko Hasegawa also serves as executive art director of the “Coral Islands Science and Art Biennale,” which began on October 30 in Kikai Town, Kagoshima Prefecture.

Hours: Inujima Seirensho Art Museum 9:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00); Inujima “Art House Project” 10:00–16:30
Closed: Tuesday to Thursday from March 1 to November 30 (open on holidays). Closed for winter from December 1 to the end of February
Admission: Common ticket for both facilities, 2,100 yen online, 2,300 yen at the counter. Free for ages 15 and under
Official website: https://benesse-artsite.jp/art/seirensho.html

Ticket and reservation rules

Since October 1, 2024, online tickets have been introduced at all art facilities. Many facilities also sell tickets at the counter, but at higher prices than online. Six require timed reservations: the Chichu Art Museum, Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery, the Art House Project’s “Minamidera” and “Kinza,” the nighttime part of Ring of Fire, and Teshima Art Museum. The official website recommends booking before visiting the islands, as tickets may sell out.

Ages 15 and under are free at Naoshima New Museum of Art, the Chichu Art Museum, Lee Ufan Museum, Teshima Art Museum, Inujima Seirensho Art Museum and elsewhere, but each person needs a ticket. The nighttime part of Ring of Fire is charged even for ages 15 and under. No facility offers group discounts or reductions for disability certificates. According to the guide to touring routes, Chichu Art Museum tickets are valid for up to 30 minutes after the reserved time.

Access: Ferries and getting around the islands

According to the transportation guide on the Setouchi Triennale official website, Shikoku Kisen operates services to Naoshima from Takamatsu Port and Uno Port. From Takamatsu Port to Miyanoura Port takes about 50 minutes by ferry and about 30 minutes by high-speed boat. From Uno Port to Miyanoura Port takes about 20 minutes by ferry and about 15 minutes by high-speed boat, and there is also a high-speed boat from Uno Port to Honmura Port (about 20 minutes).

To Teshima, it takes about 35 minutes by high-speed boat from Takamatsu Port to Ieura Port. From Uno Port, it takes about 40 minutes by ferry and about 25 minutes by passenger boat to Ieura Port, and about 60 minutes by ferry and about 40 minutes by passenger boat to Karato Port. Between Miyanoura Port on Naoshima and Ieura Port on Teshima, Shikoku Kisen’s high-speed boat takes about 22 minutes. Inujima can be reached in about 10 minutes by high-speed boat from Hoden Port in Okayama, or in about 55 minutes by Shikoku Kisen high-speed boat from Miyanoura Port (some services stop at Teshima).

The days of operation of Shikoku Kisen’s route linking Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima differ between March–November and December–February. Depending on the closures of Teshima Art Museum and Inujima Seirensho Art Museum, services may be suspended or skip ports. A Naoshima–Inujima ticket does not allow a stopover on Teshima. The same website notes that high-speed boats are often too full to board and recommends using ferries whenever possible.

On Naoshima, town buses run around the island, and there is also a free shuttle bus within the area that goes from Tsutsuji-so via Benesse House Museum and Lee Ufan Museum to the Chichu Art Museum. The Benesse Art Site Naoshima map asks visitors other than Benesse House guests to refrain from entering the area with vehicles, including bicycles. On Teshima, visitors get around by island shuttle bus (400 yen for adults) or rental bicycle, and Inujima is explored on foot.

Winter closure and maintenance schedule

• Naoshima New Museum of Art: Temporarily closed for an exhibition change from Tuesday, November 24 until 12:00 on Saturday, December 12

• Lee Ufan Museum: 10:00–13:00 on Saturday, December 19 (last entry 12:30)

• Inujima Seirensho Art Museum and Inujima “Art House Project”: Closed for winter from December 1 to the end of February

• Teshima Art Museum, Teshima Yokoo House and Les Archives du Cœur: Closed Tuesday to Thursday from December 1 to the end of February

• Tuesday, January 12 – Monday, January 18, 2027: Naoshima New Museum of Art, Lee Ufan Museum, ANDO MUSEUM, Benesse House Museum, Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery and the Art House Project (except “Kinza” and “Haisha”) close for regular maintenance

• During the same period, the outdoor works of Benesse House Museum (including Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin”) cannot be seen

• Art House Project “Kinza”: Tuesday, January 12 – Wednesday, January 20. “Haisha”: Tuesday, January 12 – Monday, February 22

• Ring of Fire: Monday, January 11 – Thursday, January 21

• Chichu Art Museum: Tuesday, January 12 – Friday, March 19

The three facilities on Teshima remain open during the January maintenance period except Tuesday to Thursday. Check the opening calendar on the official website for the latest opening days.

Frequently asked questions

Can I visit all three islands in winter?

From December 1 to the end of February, Inujima’s facilities are closed for winter, so only Naoshima and Teshima can be visited. During this period, Teshima’s facilities are closed Tuesday to Thursday. From Tuesday, January 12, 2027, Naoshima’s facilities also enter regular maintenance in turn, and the Chichu Art Museum closes until Friday, March 19.

Can I get into the Chichu Art Museum or Teshima Art Museum on the day?

Both require timed reservations, and on days when online tickets sell out, tickets are not sold at the counter either. The official website recommends booking before visiting the islands.

When does the new display at Naoshima New Museum of Art open?

It opens to the public from 12:00 on Saturday, December 12. According to the Fukutake Foundation’s announcement, online tickets for the 12th onward went on sale on October 9. Café service at the museum’s “&CAFE” resumes on Sunday, the 13th. The museum in Nakanoshima where Kei Imazu’s work can be seen is introduced in our guide to museums in Nakanoshima, Osaka.

*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official websites for the latest information.

*Top image: Kei Imazu, “Kuroshio” (detail), 2026 (from a press release by the Fukutake Foundation)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements by each organizer and facility (as of October 20, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team