Naoshima, Shodoshima, Teshima, Ojima...

I found out about this island called Naoshima out on the inland sea of Japan accidentally. I think I had been spending a lot of time on design websites over my internship and stumbled upon some gushing reviews. There wasn't too much information in English at the time, but enough for me to get around. It is a bit of the beaten path art island belonging to Shikoku but is actually closer to Honshu. There are sculptures scattered around the island, along with two, now three, museums. I went and loved it, but wasn't planning on going again. That was in 2008. Through a series of mix-ups and mis-communications I went again last year in the winter 2009. There were a few new additions in terms of experiences, a lot of new restaurants and minshukus. The experience was quite different as I went with some friends and took a lot less pictures but still got as miserably lost as I did the first time. I was taken off map duty before the end of the first day. Again, I didn't think of going again. But then the Setouchi International Arts Festival posters started circulating and I started thinking, maybe...and I didn't end up going. But I recently spotted a picture on Snow mag, which led to even more on Design Boom, and finished off today by this piece on Spoon Tamago on the newly completed Teshima Art Museum; I have to go back. The festival ends in a little over a week but I imagine the artwork will still be around. My goal is to stay at the Benesse House hotel next time. Fingers crossed.

A lunch on Naoshima, taken by my friend. (This was actually a second choice, we were looking for this other shop run by local university students but failed completely. It was a nice runner up though: one of the many chic cafes now on the island. The place transformed so much in one year! But there was still only the one place that served breakfast. I regret not having any good photos of that place. There was a tv in the corner, worn red carpet on the floor, mismatched furniture (not, in a cool hipster way, more like wobbly stools paired with end tables) well-loved stuffed animals in every nook and cranny. It felt oddly like dining in somebody, a grandmother's, living room. Breakfast was coffee, toast, a halved kiwi, and a hard boiled egg. Like the establishment itself, the meal felt thrown together from whatever odds and ends that happened to be around. )
And here are some photos I skimmed off of the Setouchi Art Festival site:

This is Shima Kitchen on Teshima, by Ryo Abe. I love the open, airy atmosphere.

My favorite perhaps, is this: "Tom Na H-iu" (also on Teshima) by Mariko Mori

Here is the explanation, copied directly from the Setouchi website:

"In ancient Celtic lore, Tom Na H-iu was the place where souls waited to pass on to their next life. Inspired by this myth, Mori has created a contemporary monument of glass. Networked to the Super-Kamioka Neutrino Detection Experiment, it responds when the observatory captures a neutrino, such as those emitted by a dying star. When it a neutrino is detected, the work emits a beautiful light."

Sunday Farmer's Market

One of my students offered to take me to the morning market in the neighboring prefecture. It's quite famous in these parts and is open pretty much the whole year round on Sundays. In the spring and summer it starts at 5am (they get an extra hour of sleep during the colder months). This is something that I have been wanting to do and I was really happy when they invited me. It also turned out to be a really good day to go, sunny and warm. The market is about 2km long so many pictures were taken.

We started out on the end near the castle.

The area is famous for knives and scissors so there were a few stores that extended their shops a bit and laid their wares out on the sidewalk for the day.

Many flower and plant vendors:


and of course, my favorite, food. Most of the vendors had fresh produce but there were also stalls selling homemade miso and pickles. Added to this were a few stores selling snacks meant to be eaten on the spot, like this one selling tempura.
The line at this stall wound around the side and looped around the back of the neighboring stall.

Mochi! Daifuku with different fillings like Buntan and Yuzu-flavored anko. Freshly made this morning.


Saba-zushi, also freshly made. I can personally attest that this was quite yummy with a strong sesame accent. But I still prefer the vinegary Kansai (Osaka?) battera.

Ke-gani (Hairy Crab). This is usually found in Hokkaido but was caught somewhere locally for reasons I couldn't quite make out from her explanation. Upon hearing that I was a foreigner, she said, "big crab" (in English) and let me pick it up so that I could pose with the local (?) seafood. I didn't see the picture my friend took but based on the way the muscles in my face started twitching and rearranging themselves, it was basically squeamish city girl holds large moving crustacean for the first time. The professional is holding crabby in this picture (she obligingly pulled out the stops for the international tourist)

Finally, the culinary highlight of my day. Tomatoes! Well, actually just tomato. This (that perfect red one in the middle of the tray) was the most delicious tomato I have ever had in my life. If the tomatoes mom tried to force on me as a kid tasted like this, I bet she wouldn't have had to force them on me. These were iced and thoroughly chilled for immediate consumption. I should also mention that they cost 100 yen for one large cherry-tomato-sized morsel or two small bites. If I wasn't with my student-friends I probably would have bought a few more but I was a bit embarrassed so I refrained. Then, a few yards later I encountered 200 yen tomatoes and wondered if it was possible that they tasted twice as good...