the quiet eye: Naoshima Island: Part 1

Subway, Shinkansen, Rainbow Bus, and a Ferry

[ End goal: Naoshima Island ]

Norah and I left our hotel in Kyoto at 8:15 in the morning in order to get to Kyoto station to catch a shinkansen (bullet train) to Okayama in order to get to our destination - Naoshima Island. We both wanted to visit Naoshima - the island is full of art museums and outdoor sculptures and home to several artworks by Yayoi Kusama. Currently in my art classes, my students are creating paintings and 3-D sculptures that reference her work and I promised them that I would get a photo of myself in front of one of her giant pumpkin sculptures, which sits perched at the water's edge on Naoshima.

The journey from Kyoto was such a transportation adventure that I decided to record our steps as I dutifully followed behind Norah, who had all of the correct train times, platforms, and gates tracked in her phone. Here we go.

We walked from our hotel a few blocks to catch the karasuma line of the subway to Kyoto station.

[ heading onto the subway ]

Once we arrived at Kyoto station, Norah purchased our shinkansen tickets and off we went to find the right tracks for the fast ride to Okayama station.

[ parsing the ticket machine ]

We ran to catch our train so I did not get a photo of the shinkansen until we arrived in Okayama. It was a very smooth ride I will say.

[ shinkansen at Okayama station ]

Things got interesting once we arrived. We had to figure out how to get to Uno Port from Okayama to catch a ferry. There was a JR train, but it only ran sporadically and it appeared that we had missed it. The folks at the information desk pointed outside and said - "take the bus". So, we took the escalator out of the station and walked to the bus station (short walk) and found a ticket office where a very nice woman told us to take the "rainbow bus" and pay the 660 yen straight to the driver. Stand at bus station #2. We waited about 30 minutes and sure enough, the rainbow bus appeared.

Along with a handful of other tourists and some locals, we got on the bus. I was really glad that I had a really tiny rolling suitcase. The gentleman in front of Norah had two bags, one of them giant, and he was travelling with three other people with giant suitcases. It was a palaver.

We had no idea where this bus was dropping us off, we just hoped it was walking distance to the port. After an hour and a half of wondering, the bus pulled up a short distance from Uno Port and we got off, along with all of the traveling suitcases. We found a ticket booth for the ferry, bought a round trip fare and got in line. The ferry was ready to go.

The ferry ride was not very long - about 20 minutes along the coast. We passed little islands all around us, working commercial ships motoring to and fro, and what I think were protected fisheries, along the way. It was a gorgeous day.

[ crossing the bay from Uno Port to Naoshima Island ]

[ I enjoyed an onigiri snack during the crossing ]

Finally, we arrived at Myanoura Port on the island. From there we caught a bus to take us to the other side of the island to our accommodations in Honmura. We hopped on a local bus that charges a flat fee of 100 yen and circles the island dropping passengers at stops along the way. We got off the bus near the Art House Project, one of the many art workshops on the island and walked through the alleyways in search of Oyajino Umi, our resting place for the night.

[ walking through the alleyways of Honmura ]

[ Oyajino Umi ]

We arrived at Oyajino Umi and were met at the door by the owner and her cute little dog. The first order of business was to register and pay at her checkin office. We removed our shoes at the front door, put on some house slippers and stepped inside.

[ slippers, anyone? ]

[ the office ]

This place was so cute! I loved it. We had a little room with tatami mats and futons for sleeping, a shared bath and shower, and an outside garden where coffee and breakfast were served in the morning. It was the perfect place for a perfect 24 hours on the island.