Naoshima and Benesse House

Hi, I'm planning to visit Naoshima for two days and one night, and staying at Benesse House. A few questions:

1) For anyone who's stayed at Benesse House, any recommendations about whether it's better or more convenient to stay in Oval, Museum or Park? I read on one site that only guests staying at Oval or Museum have access to Oval... is this true?

2) Is 24 hours enough time to see the sights without being too rushed?

3) Is the Art House Project worth the time to visit?

Thanks for any responses!

For anyone who's stayed at Benesse House, any recommendations about whether it's better or more convenient to stay in Oval, Museum or Park?

I recommend the Oval or Museum over the Park because it gives you access to the museum outside of its business hours. The Oval is nicely located, but access by the small monorail can be time consuming.

Is 24 hours enough time to see the sights without being too rushed?

Yes, that should be enough.

Is the Art House Project worth the time to visit?

japan-guide.com users think so. They rate it higher than any other attraction on Naoshima:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5475.html

for your reply, really appreciate it!

1) For anyone who's stayed at Benesse House, any recommendations about whether it's better or more convenient to stay in Oval, Museum or Park? I read on one site that only guests staying at Oval or Museum have access to Oval... is this true?

If I remember correctly you need a room key from either Museum or Oval to get access to Oval. The atmosphere of Oval looked great and there were good views all around, but it is time consuming to access as Uji mentions. I would recommend either over staying at Park.

2) Is 24 hours enough time to see the sights without being too rushed?

It should be fine outside of the high season. It may be tight if there are large crowds however, as they limit the numbers of visitors who can visit a site at a time.

3) Is the Art House Project worth the time to visit?

Definitely, the Art Houses (along with Chichu Museum) are my top picks on the island. My personal favorite art houses are Ishibashi and the Minamidera.

Hello,

Naoshima is really a wonderful place. You won't regret it.

Btw. you can rent bicycles quite close to the station. So you can easily and fast go to the different museums and even enjoy the beautiful nature.

I also recommend the Cafe Garden (ガーデン):
http://www.naoshima.net/food_shop/food/cafe_restaurant_garden/index.ht...

It is a very beautiful cafe (inside and outside). The staff is very friendly and the apple cake and the pizza are delicious. I stayed there for 1-2 hours. We could also play balalaika there.

And... 24 hours are definately enough to see all the sightseeing spots.

Have a nice time there.

We stayed in Park. It was lovely. The best thing we did was to book dinner in the restaurant in the museum, which meant that you got to go in the museum after closing time, and we were able to take the monorail up to Oval and have an after dinner drink in the cool bar up there.

24hrs will be enough, but you need to keep moving as there's such a lot to see.

Art Houses are fantastic. I still have a vivid memory of the Ando/Turrell one, and the one with the LED lights underwater, counting through a sequence of numbers.

The ramen place in the village is good for lunch, too.

Thanks for all the replies. Benesse House has a deal right now for 1 night at Park with dinner at the Museum, so I think I'll go with that option. Can't wait!