Art Islands, Kyoto, Nara & Osaka

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The islands are closed ❌

We landed in Osaka and stayed for one night, before making our way to Naoshima – known as one of the “art islands”, famous for a variety of permanent exhibitions and changing art installations across several islands. We took a few trains to reach the port of Uno just a couple of miles away from Naoshima. En route we made the discovery that nearly all of the art museums and installations were in fact closed 😅 which we learn is normal for a few weeks during winter each year. Not one to be put off by our poor planning we boarded a very quiet ferry and reached Naoshima. We were able to make a quick change of plan to also visit nearby Teshima, where a few museums remained open, and on reflection this made the trip more interesting than just visiting Naoshima as planned.

Our hotel was a new-ish building high up, but only around 15 mins’ walk from the main port. It had a nice Scandi-meets-Japan design to it, and was very comfortable for our two nights there. Naoshima itself is very small and can be cycled around in less than an hour. We hired exciting (probably only to me 😂) Panasonic electric bikes that barely looked like the electric-powered bikes that you find in the UK – much more slim and classical looking, and fun to ride.

We woke early the next day to catch a ferry to Teshima, where we hired more electric bikes to visit the Teshima Art Museum and a few other places dotted around the island. We found an amazing permanent installation at the Teshima Art Museum by the artist Rei Naito, titled ‘Matrix’ – a concrete building shaped like a tear that you can enter through a tunnel, where water droplets appear on the smooth concrete floor and dance around on the surface – sometimes forming pools – then magically disappearing into the floor again. No photography was allowed inside to keep mystique intact, so if you find yourself visiting the Art Islands, make sure to visit this particular exhibition. There was also a walk nearby with good views, and a good coffee shop that mirrored the style of the installation.

We stopped for lunch at a traditional Bento-style Japanese restaurant nearby, where to Carmen’s horror/amusement, I hit my head very hard, not noticing a low beam before entering the restaurant. No concussion, luckily. The pitfalls of being tall. The bento boxes we ordered were some of the best we had, and they also served a fresh mandarin and soda that was the pinnacle of refreshment.

You’ll find multiple art pieces all around Teshima and Naoshima by the much celebrated Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. How can you not enjoy giant colourful pumpkins? The Teshima Yokoo house is also very cool – make sure to check out the fully mirrored toilet (spoiler, you can’t actually use it as a toilet).

Restaurants and shops were a bit limited during our time on the island but there’s a 7-Eleven with all the normal Japanese treats. Presumably in high season there’s a few more places open. Chichu Art and Benesse House museums are on our list for next time.

Kyoto

We made our way to Kyoto by bullet train from Okayama after reversing our path from Naoshima. We actually planned to get a cheaper train, but a slightly confusing discussion with the ticket office resulted in the more expensive, and probably more exciting, bullet train ticket 🚅

After Tokyo, Kyoto is one of the most visited destinations in Japan. Famed for many pretty temples and streets in the old quarter, and bamboo forests with the red gates on the edge of town. We expected big crowds everywhere we went, but it wasn’t actually that busy, I guess because it was still wintery and before peak blossom season. Or we just got lucky.

Craving Denim 👖

We did visit the main sites of Kyoto, but we probably enjoyed buying jeans more! Japan is famous for producing high-quality denim, so after many, many months of not buying much, we indulged and treated ourselves to a couple of pairs by the now Insta-famous Momotaro. Now just lies the question of who we can offload them to, to take them back to the UK for us – bag space is too precious after all.

One smart thing we did was opt not to visit the famous bamboo forest with the red gates, and instead, we visited a different one on the other side of town, where there were only about five other people 😸

We took the train to Nara on one of our Kyoto days, to wander around the big park and see the deers. It’s unbelievable just how many there are, and how “trained” they are for asking for food, famously bowing their heads when they approach you. I imagine it’s even nicer in Autumn with the leaves changing colours.

It’s safe to say we’ll be back in Kyoto in the future as it feels like there’s a lot to offer outside of the normal attractions – lots of great restaurants, coffee, bars and so many interesting shops.

Onto Osaka

Osaka feels much bigger than Kyoto and anywhere else we’ve been in Japan. The streets are enormous, and there are loads of different areas. We planned a few activities while we were here – firstly, I needed a haircut. Secondly, we had tickets to Universal and specifically, a visit to Super Mario World was in order. And thirdly, sample the sights and sounds of Osaka.

Our first night was spent eating cheap Katsu curry and wandering down one of the longest shopping streets in the world – Tenjinbashisuji – which is around 1.7 miles long. It has every conceivable brand and offering, and it’s also crazy busy. It finishes near to the famous nighttime viewpoints of Osaka, where you’ll find many huge neon signs and brightly lit restaurant chains.

🍄🍄🍄

I’m not sure why I was surprised, but getting to and into Universal Studios for Super Mario World was a simple process, with fast, easy train changes and an initially massive queue that disappeared very quickly. After getting through the gates, we sprinted towards Mario World, only to find ourselves on Diagon Alley in Harry Potter land, after taking a wrong turn (my fault). And why were we sprinting? Well, it turns out that a ticket to Universal isn’t guaranteed access to Mario, as it’s so popular they have to limit the volume of people entering. Not to mention, they’ve just opened Donkey Kong Land, which is even more popular as it’s new. After correcting our route, we did make it into Mario World, and we even made it swiftly through the queue for the Mario Kart ride, which was pretty fun. Nintendo/Universal have done a good job on creating a fun experience, with loads of homages to the games and Mario worlds. We were even pleasantly surprised by the rest of Universal Studios, with some aging areas (Jaws, Jurassic Park, US-themed streets, etc.) still feeling fun. Our only mistake was joining the queue for a Minions ride, which then broke so we were stuck waiting for it to reopen – and in the end it was terrible 😂

💇I booked a haircut at a salon known for speaking English, so I didn’t think things could go too wrong – and I predicted correctly! A good haircut was received, with as-to-be-expected levels of detail from the country famous for mastery. If you need a haircut, go to Grace Alley in Osaka. Carmen even approved when I returned to the hotel.

We really enjoyed hanging out in the old style coffee shops in Osaka, famed for siphon coffee (brewed using two glass chambers where vapour pressure and gravity produces the coffee), and delicious desserts, like soufflés and pancakes.

On a Sunday, we went to a spot outside of the centre called Tugboat Taisho, a food court meets events space, where there were DJ’s playing jazz and funk, and lots of locals dancing. It was a great place to end our time in Osaka, eating pizza and drinking beers.