Naoshima Art Island in 1 Day Tour — Guide Sam

What Is a Private Naoshima Art Island Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were from North America. They had been close friends since their university days. The original meeting point had been set as a hotel in Tamano City, but after communicating carefully in advance, it turned out that they were not actually staying there, and Uno Port, the ferry departure point, was more convenient, so we met at Uno Port. Since there was nearly 30 minutes before the ferry, I showed them the art projects around Uno Port. After that, we took the ferry to Naoshima, went to the Honmura district by town bus, and, ahead of our afternoon visits, walked around to get a quick overview of the destinations and made a concrete plan.

We then headed to the Benesse House Museum, but before that we walked around and saw about ten nearby artworks. We stayed at the museum for about an hour, then went to the Valley Gallery, and next to the Lee Ufan Museum on the opposite side of the road. After that we went to the Chichu Art Museum and thoroughly enjoyed the works. Keeping an eye on the time, we then extended our walk to the Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery, where we admired the artworks in the garden while enjoying a set of sencha green tea and Japanese sweets.

We then had to move a little more quickly and headed to the Naoshima New Museum of Art, which opened in May of this year. Before dusk approached, we purchased viewing tickets for the Art House Project in the Honmura district and managed to walk through and see all five sites.

On the bus heading to Miyanoura Port, we met someone I had met before who has lived on Naoshima for five and a half years. This person, who has settled on Naoshima and works as a guide while running a bookshop, is a wonderful individual who can, in a sense, explain the appeal of Naoshima even better than the islanders themselves, and deepening this acquaintance made for a very meaningful tour. Tonight we would return to a hotel in Kurashiki, but since the guests wished to have sushi for dinner in Okayama City, I guided them to a reliable sushi restaurant and explained the local Okayama specialty, barazushi.

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Tour Report by Sam

My name is Susumu Hiramatsu. I am a national government licensed guide interpreter. I became a guide interpreter in 1992. My educational background started with a BA in law, then an MA in English language education, and completed a doctoral course without a degree in English language teaching. My occupational career began with a bank officer, then shifted to a translation and interpretation company, finally became a freelance translator, interpreter, and college teacher. I handle conference interpretation, namely simultaneous interpretation. As for the guide interpreter, my interest covers wide areas including politics and business, but I deem cultural aspects to be fundamental. I am always encouraging myself to be filled with Japanese hospitality.