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Naoshima is Japan's most celebrated art island โ a transformation of a former copper-smelting island by the Benesse Corporation into a landscape of world-class contemporary art museums, installations, and art houses in abandoned village buildings. Yayoi Kusama's polka-dot pumpkins on the pier, James Turrell's immersive sky chambers, and Tadao Ando's underground museums make this a pilgrimage for art lovers worldwide.
The Setouchi Triennale transforms twelve islands of the Seto Inland Sea into an open-air contemporary art festival, held across spring, summer, and autumn seasons every three years. Visitors hop between Naoshima, Teshima, Inujima, Shodoshima, and smaller islands by ferry, collecting a stamp at each venue and discovering site-specific works commissioned from artists worldwide. The festival pass (ยฅ4,000 per season) is essential for visitors planning to cover multiple islands.
The Sanuki udon pilgrimage is an informal tradition of visiting as many udon shops as possible in a single day, with each stop yielding a small bowl for ยฅ350โยฅ600. The classic circuit visits shops ranging from suburban factory canteens to farmhouse operations open only three mornings a week, requiring either a rental car, a specialist udon taxi service, or a guided bus tour. Kagawa tourism offices in Takamatsu stock detailed udon map booklets in English.
Naoshima is small enough to circumnavigate by bicycle in two to three hours, making cycling the perfect way to move between the island's museums, art installations, and beach viewpoints. Rental bicycles are available from both the Miyaura and Honmura ferry terminals, with e-bikes offered at several locations for the hillier routes. The combination of sea breezes, art encounters around every bend, and a bowl of udon at the harbour on the return makes for an ideal day.
Kagawa's Sakaide city sits at the western end of the Seto Ohashi Bridge and is a lesser-known access point for cyclists tackling the Shimanami Kaido bridge cycle route across the Seto Inland Sea. The route from Sakaide connects to the broader island-hopping cycling network and offers views of the remarkable engineering of the Seto Ohashi's double-decker bridge structure carrying both rail and road. Local cycle rental shops in Sakaide cater to day-trippers and multi-day riders.
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