Naoshima an art island.

I spent friday, saturday and most of sunday on or around Naoshima. Naoshima is a small island in the sea of Harima-nada ( between Honshu and Shikoku. Saturday I rented a bike and two other women I had meet in my hostel and I road over to the other side of the island to look at the Benesse outdoor art project. Where a series of statues are placed around the coastline. We then parted ways me to look at some more of the art galerys that span the coast line. I went to three that day, all area designed by Tando Ando and it is fair to say that I was a little over his work by the end of the day. Not that it is not beautiful and impressive but boy there was a lot of concert! I wonder how Ando feels about using a material with such a high embodied energy? I wont say too much about the art galleries as one of the best things for mewas that I had no expectations and was plesently supprised with each museum just as much by the artwork as by the architecture, Chi Chu art museum expeshaly. I got to see work by Walter De Maria and James Turrell that were absolutely amazing they made me fell like I had stepped into a painting, some seriles painting or into a scienfiction novel. After riding through a beautiful stretch of countryside to get back to my hostel I went to the last art space for the day. A bath house called I heart yu ( a play on the word for for water yu). It was a working bath house with crazy decorations outside and inside and also my first experience of Japanes communal bathing. On Saturday morning I got on a boat and went across to Teshima. I rented a bike with battery assistance and with John - an sightseer that I me on the fery and was heading in the some direction as me- we road to the Teshima art galery. It is less of a gallery then a pice of artwork in its ow n right! I don't want to give much away again as I knowthere are three or so people with plans to vist japan and i dont want to spoil it. All I will say is that it was a very wonderful space. I stayed for 40 minutes and came back later in the day to sit for another hour or so. John snd i also road over to the ........ Artwork which includes people recording their hart beats. Over .... Thousand people have done so over the last .. Years. John and I then parted ways as he had to get the 2pm boat and I could stay until 4:00. By chance there was a autumn harvest festival in some of the rice fields. Thy had set up many different little stores where people were selling local produce or food that they had made. One lady gave me A plate of ..... To try and would not except money so I bought her mandarins in return these she would except. The produce on these island is ment to be extreamly good as the climate is so favourable to farming, all I can say is that the mandarins were lovely! There was a marching and that went all the way through the fields - I think one of the men ws saying it is for good luck, the funny thin was that some of that band were dressed up like shrimp, with little tiles and red helmets with inteni sticking out the top. After re visiting the museum as I said i had to ride back to the port. I should mention the battery assisted bike, it was a wonderful thing expeshaly as the island was quite steep. You still needed to peddle but it was four times easier then if it had been a normal bike. Coming down the other side of the steep sections was buckets of fun! Woshh! That night I made friends with a Japanes couple that had come down from Osaka for the weekend. We played card games, a sumo wrestling game where you had to knock the other persons figurine over and got to eat chips with chopsticks. Sunday morning I went to the Art House Project on Naoshima, a seris of houses and a shrine that have been restored and transformed into works of art. The most interesting was Minamidera by James Turrell and Tando Ando and Go'o Shrine. You will see that the quality of my photos take a turn from the worst after saturday. The battery on my good camera ran out and I have lost my double adapter so have not been able to recharge it. I hope to buy a new one in Hiroshima. Sunderday afterrnoon sore me on a ferry to Takamatsu and then a train to Matsuyama. I should mention here that my early comment about the seats on the Kyoto metro that change the direction they face. When it looks like all trains in japan do this. Te ones on the JR trains swivel around to face the other direction when you push a foot leaver. Apparently on Japanese trains you will always face the direction of the train. When a train pulls into the last statin you can see staff get on and walk down the train flipping all the seats to face the correct way. I arived in Matsuyama about 7pm and after droping my bag off at my hostel wondered down the famous Dogo Onsen to take a bath.The building itself is very grand spaning three stories in a carstel style. After a soak in the waters you can done your yukata and relax with tea and senbei - sweet rice crakers in the communal second floor tatami room.