Travels #2: Naoshima, Art Island-->Takamatsu

So, the route was by sailboat from the little sliver of land poking out over on the far left hand side of the map to the 1st big island on the middle/right hand side (the one with the little anchor next to it.) Looks far, and it seemed like it.. it was about a 1 day trip!
Sliver of land---->Naoshima (island)

woke up around 8 on Sat., headed to the port on the far side of the 'finger' sticking out into the Seto Inland Sea.. from there, packed the boat and headed out east/northeast for Naoshima. We were hopin for good wind but it was only so-so..there were 5 of us in all, so we tried every now and then to lift up the front sail but in the end it just wasn't helping, so we wound up motoring most of the day. Gorgeous weather, though, with great views of the islands....
So, we all sat around and made some music together, had some lunch, napped and took it easy.. I went and hung out in the water off the back of the boat when the wind picked up..man, that was interesting! Then, we approached the huge Seto O-hashi (big bridge) that famously connected the main island with the smaller island.we went under it..and boy is it huge! pretty impressive. From there it was just gradually approaching Naoshima..and gradually approach we did..as the sun was sinking, we pulled up to the port. Well, that was only the beginning of an incredible night...! Next was pulling into a spot in the harbor..luckily a couple
of fishermen were hanging around the docks and they helped us pull in...then that led to hanging out on the boat with one of the guys and his girlfriend, and then we all went back to his place...where we had fresh sashimi and raw baby octopus and this weird crispy whole shrimp number. It all made for an Interesting, delicious, and raucous time. The kind of experience where you get under the skin of a place, that's for sure! Then it was back to the harbor, and figuring out sleeping arrangements.. I opted for the pumpkin by the beach. It's a piece by Yayoi Kusama that she did for the island, she has a few sprinkled around the island. I slept in this red number by the harbor. It was surprisingly warm inside, and pretty trippy... like sleeping in a Tim Burton film......waking up at sunrise.

Sunday---Naoshima
Today was spent wandering around the port at Miyanoura...found the ridiculously housed public bath, basically a regular Japanese public hot bath room but surrounded with ridiculously bright art and in a quaint, delightfully dilapidated oddly decorated cottage. That's my best description. I wish I had taken a photo but my camera died... so, stumbled across the town preparing their festival, men with their mini portable shrine, women with theirs. The men had gone out to the sea to sprinkle the participants with sea water (in an way oddly reminiscent of holy water at Mass...) then biking off, through the lovely weather and hilly terrain,hah to the Benessee house, where there was a good mix of modern and contemporary artists from around Japan and the world. Maybe one or two key pieces from the masters..but it's really worth going to for the outdoor sculptures and installations. And what outdoor sculptures they are! This is a "cat". Hm...
From there, it was back to witness the ending of the festival, then back to the hot bath for a quick dip before my ferry ride back to Takamatsu...

Sunday: Naoshima--->Takamatsu(-->Saijo)
So, early afternoon, and I hop on the ferry from Naoshima back to my island of Shikoku, this time the city of Takamatsu. What's in Takamatsu? I wondered. Well, I found out: some new high-falutin looking architecture near the train station and ferry terminal, castle grounds with no castle by the sea, a flock of birds..and some really tasty udon noodles. And on a Sunday evening, that's about it. There was a garden I didn't get to go to, but...moral of the story is, Matsuyama--on my side of the island--is wayy cooler than Takamatsu. And I'm not just being biased. Takamatsu had this demon statue, and there weird buildings.

Well, that's it for this weekend! Next stop: unknown....