In the summer of 2012 I headed to Naoshima an island in the inland sea between Shikoku and Honshu. The island is an interesting series of paradoxes having gone from fishing villages and agriculture to supporting a smelter (still in operation) and then morphed into a island dedicated to art. The famous Japanese architect Ando has created a series of galleries that house prominent works of art, displayed in a creative way. In the post war years young people left places like Naoshima to work in the large cities such as Osaka and Tokyo. These days in the small villages on the island you can find people returning to their roots in search of a different lifestyle. In the small village of Naoshima there are many buildings from the early post war years that capture the essence of that period in time. If you are looking for some non mainstream perspectives on Japan this is a place worth visiting.
