Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [364]
Resort Hotel Olivean (; 65-2311; www.olivean.com; Yū-higaoka; s/tw with 2 meals from ¥13,600/23,000; ) For the full-on resort experience, this grand complex has it all: tennis courts, onsen baths and swimming pool, as well as a range of restaurants and sunset views. It’s towards the northern coast of the island between Tonoshō and Ōbe; there are courtesy buses from Tonoshō.
Shōdo-shima Kokusai Hotel (; 62-2111; www.shodoshima-kh.jp, in Japanese; Gimpa-ura, Tonoshō-chō; per person with 2 meals from ¥14,000) A large modern resort hotel on the coast outside Tonoshō. Most rooms combine Western-style beds with a tatami seating area. Onsen baths, sea views, and an open-air pool.
Getting There & Away
High-speed (¥1140, 30 minutes, 17 daily) and regular (¥670, one hour, 15 daily) ferries run regularly between Takamatsu and Tonoshō (). There are also frequent connections from Takamatsu to Kusakabe () and Ikeda ().
It is also possible to get to Tonoshō from Okayama (¥1000, one hour and 10 minutes, 13 daily) and Uno () on Honshū (¥1200, 1½ hours, seven daily). There are trains from Uno to Okayama.
There are several boats a day from Himeji to Fukuda () port, and infrequent sailings between Kōbe/Ōsaka and Sakate () with Kansai Kisen (06-6572-5181; www.kanki.co.jp) during the summer.
Getting Around
If you have plenty of time and don’t mind all the hills, cycling can be an enjoyable way to get around the island. Yoshida Rent-a-cycle (; 62-0423; gearless shopping bikes per day ¥1000; 8.30am-5pm) is inside the tall Asahi-ya Hotel (), opposite the post office, a short walk from the Tonoshō ferry terminal. For bikes with gears (and motorbikes), it’s worth making the trek to Ishii Rent-a-Cycle (; 62-1866; 8.30am-5pm; bike hire per day ¥1000). The shop is on Olive-dōri (), and is marked on the Japanese maps of Tonoshō that are available from the tourist information centre. Bikes can also be rented at the youth hostel near Kusakabe and at the Cycling Terminal in Sakate Port.
There are infrequent bus services around the island, and bus tours that take in the island’s major sites – two daily tours from Tonoshō (¥3280/3980, departing 12.40pm/9.40am) and one from Sakate (¥2500, 1.20pm). Nippon Car Rental (62-0680; 8.30am-6pm) is on the left as you leave the ferry terminal in Tonoshō.
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NAOSHIMA
087 / pop 3500
Naoshima is a special place. Until not too long ago, this small island was no different from many others in the Inland Sea: home to a dwindling population subsisting on the joint proceeds of a dying fishing industry and their old-age pensions. Today, as the location of the Benesse Art Site Naoshima (www.naoshima-is.co.jp), Naoshima is one of the area’s biggest tourist attractions, offering a unique opportunity to see some of Japan’s best contemporary art in stunning natural settings.
The project started in the early ’90s, when the Benesse Corporation chose Naoshima as the setting for its growing collection of modern art. Award-winning architect Andō Tadao was hired to design the company’s Benesse House (; 892-2030; Gotanji Nao-shima-chō; admission ¥1000; 8am-9pm), a stunning museum and hotel on the south coast of the island. There are works here by Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Jasper Johns, among many others.
A short walk away is the Chichū Art Museum (; 892-3755; www.chichu.jp; 3449-1 Naoshima; admission ¥2000; 10am-6pm Mar-Sep, to 5pm Oct-Feb, closed Mon), another Andō creation completed in 2004. Largely underground, yet lit entirely by natural light, the museum provides a remarkable setting for several Monet ‘Water Lilies’, some monumental sculptures by Walter de Maria and three unforgettable installations by James Turrell.
At the Art House Project (; 892-2030; combined ticket ¥1000; 10am-4.30pm, closed Mon), in the old fishing village of Honmura (), half-a-dozen traditional buildings have been restored and turned over to contemporary artists to use as the setting for some impressive installations. In a converted fisherman’s house called Kadoya, Miyajima Tatsuo’s red, yellow and green LEDs float