This time I was able to stay the night at the popular “Oval”.

I rode the monorail from the museum building for five minutes. The Oval is built on top of a hill, there are only 6 rooms available and has a luxurious atmosphere. It is the best location in Benesse house with the full view of the Seto Inland Sea right beneath you.

It is the best location in Benesse house with the full view of the Seto Inland Sea right beneath you.

In each room there are Shuzo artist’s works displayed. The room 406 I stayed in had Bernd and Hilla Becher’s Framework Houses: Of the Siegen Industrial Region

The Oval is a fabulous atmosphere however, there are few inconveniences. To go to the main museum building requires taking a ride on the monorail. There are ways to walk there but consists of climbing steep stairs. If the monorail had just left, you have to wait for it so it takes about 15 minutes to get down; therefore in order to catch a bus, etc you should move ahead of time.
When I was checking out, the monorail had left already; therefore I had to hurriedly take the steep stairs down, where I got to faster than the monorail….

Another happening.
In the center of the Oval, there is a round lake but due to maintenance the water was drawn out. I had heard the view of the light reflecting the water was beautiful so I was disappointed, but the atmosphere without the water was yet again amazing.

I want you to see in pictures the way the Oval changes from the time of the day.

The advantage of staying the Benesse housing is that you get to see the artwork at night and morning when the general tourists are not allowed to come in. You get to enjoy the quiet time surrounded by the artwork all to yourself. Also, you get to experience the museum tour that is open only for those that had stayed.

Dinner is served at the “House” building. I ate at “Terrace restaurant Etoile de la mer”. It is a restaurant where you can enjoy the Shikoku and Seto Inland region’s fresh ingredients.

I had the desert with Teshima’s special strawberries. I was happy to be able to eat hit here since I did not have the chance to in Teshima.

I went back to the Oval where neither cell phone nor internet is accessible, I forgot about time, and enjoyed it. (However there is a shared computer, therefore access to internet is possible).

The next morning, I had a Japanese style breakfast at the museum building. In front of the restaurant is a terrace spread out, where you can see the beautiful Seto Inland Sea.

After eating breakfast, I went to the “House” building, and went on the museum tour. The tour is held in two places, the “Museum” building and the “Park” building, where commentary on each art work is done by the hotel staff.
The park art tour I went on was only for those who stayed at the housing.

On the lower floor of the “House” building, there is numerous art work displayed by artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. It is a atmosphere that only those who stay can experience.

Hiroshi Sugimoto Conceptual Form 003 Onduloid: a surface of revolution with constant non-zero mean curvature , 2005

After exploring the art tour, I went back to the Oval building to get my belonging, and checked out. And I made my way to Miyaura port.

Last time I was on hard schedule, having only half a day to explore the island; this time I had two nights and three days to stay in Naoshima. I got to explore both Naoshima and Teshima’s atmosphere harmonized with nature, buildings, and art.
To enjoy the view of both morning and night there is a need to stay. I highly recommend you experience your trip to Naoshima that includes accommodation.
If possible I recommend the Benesse housing, but staying at the Pao is also fun. By putting both plans together, I hope you can create and enjoy your own original Naoshima tour.

I was able to forget about the city noise, it was a very luxurious vacation.

From Miyaura port I made my way to Takamatsu instead of Uno.
My stay in Takamatsu will be spared to a separate writing.

Related Post
*Naoshima Guide Day1
*Naoshima Guide Day2-Teshima