Boveney

Marvelousmouse, the Setouchi Triennale was held in 2016 so a lot of interest was generated last year. You are right - Kurashiki deserves to be visited when the museums are open!

Aprillilacs, if there are 3 of you, the Japanese rooms at Oomiyake probably make most sense. You could email and ask directly what sort of heating there is - that was my concern in November. It is quite a mysterious set up - we never did figure out if the smaller rooms at the back, facing the sea were part of the property. The big drawback of the western apartment for us is that although huge, it is empty apart from the beds, kitchen and low table. We pulled out futons to lean against the wall so as to have somewhere to sit. If it is a 'sleeping only' arrangement, then that would be ok but both husband and I had work to do and therefore spent time in the room. Having Miyake-san as a resource was invaluable - eg calling around to see which eating places were serving.I have just looked again at the Naoshima informationa and though there is a long list of 'restaurants', almost all show 'irregular' under 'hours.'

marvelousmouse

I forgot about the ST, Boveney! And the next one is in 2019. Ooh. Maybe that’s an excellent time to go to Japan again. Although that conflicts with my idea of Sapporo snow festival. So many destinations, so little time.

MaryW

Thanks Boveney,

We want to use Kojima as a base for a week as there is a place we want to stay and thought a car would be useful for some of the other places nearby. If not as you say it is not really too far to Naoshima by train. I rather like staying in one place when it is practical.

Not sure when we will go just yet as the original plan was October just gone but things got in the way! Much will depend on getting the accommodation both in Kojima and Kyoto plus we will be going back to Korea. Timing is going to largely depend on everyone else unfortunately.

So I will, at least, be able to take advantage of all your information.

gailscout

Thanks, Boveney. I'm planning a trip to Japan at the end of March to mid-April and this has been very helpful! I'll be looking to see if you have other posts about your trip.

luv2travel4interest

Hi, I am planning a holiday with my family of 4 (all adults now) to Japan at end of May/first week in June of 2018. We have 16 days, but not enough ever! This is my general itinerary - Tokyo/Nikko - 3 days, Takayama - 1 day, Kyoto - 3 days, Kyosan - 1 day, Komodo Kudo trail - 3 days, then Okayama (Himeji castle and Okayama gardens), Naoshima and Hiroshima, with two days in Tokyo at the end before the long flight back to London. I just don't know how much time to devote to Naoshima (or another island?). Should we do day trips from Okayama? Can we do a day trip to include Naoshima and the other island you mentioned Ijuma?? I would love your advice!
Thank you!

Kathie

luv2travel, you have asked your question on someone's trip report. If you want advice, please create your own thread (click on start a new thread at the top of the page).

luv2travel4interest

thanks - I am new to this site!

crosscheck

Hi Boveney,
Thrilled to discover this report - thank you! We're planning a Naoshima visit in late March. We originally thought about two nights on Naoshima, but after speaking to several friends, we're thinking of three nights (2.5 days) so we can get to Teshima. Like you, we only managed to reserve one night at BH, and we have also booked one of the apartments at Oomiyake (the Japanese room in the main building was sold out). I've been checking the BH site compulsively to see if we can extend our stay, but we're going in high season so it's unlikely (friends have said it's well worth it, even w/ the sterile vibe and pricey meals...and all rooms do have after-hours access to the museum).

Qs for you: 1) We chose Oomiyake because we like being in small towns and thought that would make the meal situation easier. But it sounds like that you still had challenges w/ meals. We found another place called Sparky's House, prefab cottages near the other town, with mountain views, breakfast and free electric bikes. What do you think about staying away from town?
2) How long did it take you to get back to Tokyo? We're on the fence about train vs. plane. Our flight home is 7pm from Haneda.

Thanks - Would love to hear from others on this thread as well.

Boveney

You're wise to add on extra time to allow a visit to Teshima. As to your questions: we're glad we stayed in town (Honmura) as it was an excellent base for visiting the Art Houses there and for the shuttle. Re eating places - as you are going in high season, this shouldn't be a problem for you as there will be many more placees open. As for return to Tokyo- it's about 3 1/2 hours by train and a little more than an hour flying time. You still have to get to Okayama in both cases. If your domestic flight lands in Haneda, that makes for an easy onward connexion.

crosscheck

Thanks for the prompt response, Boveney!

yestravel

Thanks for this great report. We are planning to visit in October. I guess I should compulsively look at the BH site if we want to stay there. I read on the BH site that everything is closed on Mondays? Did you find that to be the case?

Boveney

yestravel

crosscheck

Hi yestravel. We recently returned from Naoshima and Teshima. When I originally booked, there was no BH availability, but we ended up with 3 nights and had an extraordinary stay. Happy to answer questions. And yes, check compulsively.

russ_in_LA

Thanks again for answering my Naoshima questions on my thread. I enjoyed your report and looks forward to see how our experience compares. Wish we had more time but if we love it we can always go back