On the Japanese island of Naoshima lies a spectacular fusion of natural and man-made beauty, a place that art aficionados and shrewd travellers alike do well to keep to themselves. This is a new landmark in the art of living well. Part sculpture park, part traditional gallery and part art hotel, Benesse Art Site Naoshima is the kind of place you rediscover yourself in, with its unique fusion of art and architecture that is at once lucid and profound.
Created by the legendary Japanese designer Tadao Ando, Benesse House is the main hub of the hotel and exhibition spaces , with guest rooms and exclusive suites spanning four distinct structures that were described as ‘a remarkable illusion, as if made from light and air’. The Park and Beach buildings take in an art filled garden and slices of surf whilst the 10 guest rooms in the Museum building were inspired by age-old artistic masterpieces , including works by Sol LeWitt and Thomas Ruff.
Indeed, at Benesse Art Site, art dominates the hotel. You find it in carefully orchestrated gallery spaces, hanging in guest rooms, hidden in the forests. You take a walk on the beach and find a strange looking yellow pumpkin sat on a large slab of granite. A post-apocalyptic Japanese hut juts out from the surrounding hillside. Get the idea? If not, there’s always the spa – promising to treat any lingering fatigue with traditional Japanese therapies – and rare Japanese cuisine on offer at the many on-site restaurants. But it’s the unique blend of architecture, art and island that makes this an uncanny dreamlike experience, nothing like you’ve ever seen before.
For more info see www.naoshima-is.co.jp
