Ifm planning a 2 day trip at Naoshima Island and Teshima. As the transport between points seems to be rather complicated, I would appreciate if you could give me some advice!
a) I will be travelling from Kurashiki (staying overnight there) to Uno on morning of 15th April. I aim to catch the trains between 8 a.m. – 9 a.m., as it takes around 90 mins (according to HyperDia) – so that means I arrive at Uno at around 10:30 a.m. at the latest.
b) From the map at the Japan Guide website (
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5476.html?aFROM=5475_5700) it seems most attractions are near or south of Honmura. According to the Shikoku Kisen timetables (
http://www.shikokukisen.com/en/instant/), the next ferry departs from Uno at 11:55 and arrives at Honmura at 12:15 – a 20 mins journey. On the other hand, if I aim to arrive at Miyanoura, the next ferry departs at 10:00/11:00 and also takes 20 mins.
c) I understand most museums on Naoshima start closing at around 5:00 (Benesse House being the exception). Whether I arrive at Miyanoura or Honmura, it seems I have around 4-6 hours to explore the museums. Ifm not very able with bikes so I prefer walking + shuttle bus my way through.
d) I intend to stay overnight at Naoshima. My budget only allows me to stay at hostels (unless if I decide to splurge) and it seems most of them are located near Honmura.
e) On the next day, the morning of 16th April, I plan to travel from Naoshima to Teishima. According to the Shikoku Kisen timetables, the earliest ferry departs Naoshima at 9:20 a.m. and arrives at Takamatsu at around 9:42 a.m. According to the Japan Guide website (
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5440.html), therefs a reference to a gTeshima Ferriesh but I canft seem to find any website or reference to it online. I found this link (
http://www.naoshima.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/boat_en.pdf) on what I presume is from the tourism office of Naoshima, but Ifm not sure if this is up-to-date (Nov 2015?).
f) I plan to just spend the day at Teshima by walking + shuttle bus. On the same day, I plan to head to Takamatsu either: for an brief overnight stay so that I can fly from Takamatsu to Tokyo the next day; or to board the Sunrise Seto train to Tokyo which departs at 9:26 p.m from Takamatsu.
Again, the Japan Guide website says there is a gTeshima Ferriesh that operates between Teshima-Takamatsu, but I canft find any website/timetables for it. According to the Shikoku Kisen timetables, my last chance to leave Teshima is to board the 3:45 pm ferry, which arrives at Naoshima (Miyanoura) at 4:17 pm. I can then board the 4:30 or 5 pm ferry from Naoshima (Miyanoura) to Takamatsu. This leaves me with around 6 hours to spend at Teshima.
Now here are my questions (thank you for your patience reading all of this!):-
Q1. Ifm guessing it will be very inconvenient for me to carry my suitcase with me (Ifm packing for an 11 day Hiroshima-Miyajima-Kurashiki-Naoshima-Teshima-Tokyo trip) to the two islands. Ifm thinking of using a luggage forwarding service from Kurashiki to ship my suitcase to Takamatsu (if I stay overnight there) or directly to Tokyo.
However, it is my understanding that luggage forwarding services seem to ship only to hotels, and I am planning to stay at hostels throughout my entire trip. Would it be possible to arrange my luggage to be shipped to either the Takamatsu or Tokyo train stations?
Q2. While I intend to stay at a hostel near Honmura, is there any point in arriving to Naoshima at Honmura instead of Miyanoura (assuming that I can successfully arrange luggage forwarding, hence therefll be no need for me to drop off my luggage at the hostel immediately when I arrive at Naoshima)?
Q3. If my calculation in c) is correct, I have 4-6 hours to see most of the museums on Naoshima. Is this a sufficient time? Are there more unique things to see in Naoshima beside the art?
Q4. Does anyone have any further info, particularly on gTeshima Ferriesh, about transport for Naoshima-Teshima and Teshima-Takamatsu in e) and f)?
Q5. If my calculations in f) is correct, I have around 6 hours to visit Teshima. Is this a sufficient time?
Q6. Lastly, I'm actually also interested in Shodoshima Island, but I gather that a one-day trip is impossible or not recommended as it's quite a big island and there's a lot more to see besides the art. Is this true? Just out of interest (perhaps for a Shikoku trip next time I visit Japan!), how many days is a reasonable time to spend at Shodoshima?