Home
Back

Honmura (–{‘º) is a small port town on Naoshima's eastern coast and home to the Art House Project, a collection of abandoned houses, a temple and a shrine, which have been converted into art installations and venues for contemporary art by artists from Japan and abroad.

The art houses are scattered throughout town, and most of them are unassuming from the street, blending into the surrounding traditional Japanese neighborhood. The interior of each, however, has been given over to artists to convert into whatever suits their artistic vision.

Below is a list of the art houses in Honmura:

Kadoya

Main artist: Miyajima Tatsuo

Minamidera

Architecture by Ando Tadao, Artwork by James Turrell

Go'o Shrine

Designed by Sugimoto Hiroshi

Ishibashi

Artwork by Senju Hiroshi

Gokaisho

Artwork by Suda Yoshihiro

Haisha

Artwork by Otake Shinro

Kinza

Designed by Naito Rei

The Honmura Lounge, a few steps from the bus stop in the center of town, serves as an archive and information center for the Art House Project. Here you can find material on the artists and architects involved with the projects as well as information on the various art houses. Not part of the Art House Project, but also found among the traditional buildings of Honmura Town is the Ando Museum.

Getting there and around

There are one to three buses per hour from Miyanoura Ferry Terminal bound for Tsutsujiso that stop at the Nokyo-mae bus stop in Honmura (5 minutes, 100 yen) along the way. Alternatively, it is a 2.5 kilometer bicycle ride (10 minutes) or walk (35-45 minutes) from the Miyanoura Ferry Terminal. Honmura has also its own port with ferry connections to Uno Port on Honshu (20 minutes, 300 yen, five round trips per day).

How to get to and around Naoshima

Hours and Fees

Art House Project (except Kinza)

Hours

Closed

Admission

Kinza

Hours

Closed

Admission