Chichu Art Museum

A wonderful place—truly one of the most beautiful and interesting museums I’ve ever visited. Though it’s not large, the way this museum is built is absolutely fascinating. The architecture itself is an artwork, perfectly integrated with the surrounding landscape and using natural light in remarkable ways to transform the viewing experience. The carefully curated selection of artworks (including Monet’s Water Lilies, Walter De Maria, and James Turrell installations) feels intimate and deeply thoughtful. It’s the kind of place that invites you to slow down, look closely, and experience art in a new way. On the practical side: you can take a shuttle to the entrance or park your bike very close by. In fact, biking on Naoshima is highly recommended—the island is small, scenic, and easy to get around, with all the main museums located quite close to one another.

I love this place. I first visited shortly after it opened 20 years ago, and this year marked my third visit. I’m glad they recently opened a new museum nearby, since this gem itself hasn’t changed much over the years. That said, my first visit felt extra special - there was a real sense of excitement with something brand new. That feeling has faded, but the place still holds its charm.

Astonishing place ! The museum was built in 2004 with the aim to rethink the relationship between nature and people. Artworks by Claude Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria are on permanent display in this building designed by Tadao Ando.

Absolutely stunning space with a good collection of art. A must-visit for architecture, art, and design lovers. Great place to have lunch at the cafe while enjoying the beautiful view. Book your tickets in advance as same-day tickets are usually sold out.

What an experience. The architecture and the turell exhibit are just amazing. If you have members in your group who aren't impressed by simplicity or modern art, they might ruin your day by constantly saying "I don't get it", or "I could do that". If you can ignore them, you'll have an awesome time.

Me being a person who doesn't go to see art much and prefers outdoors more, I have to say I quite liked this museum. It was pretty minimalistic, no boring info board with descriptions. You just walk through the interesting hallways and enjoy the captivating art pieces that play with your senses. No photos can be taken inside the museum. One room requires you to take your shoes off completely and walk in socks and another requires you to wear slippers. They have a museum shop which we quite appreciated when we caught a thunderstorm right before leaving, so we waited there and went through all the items they were offering.

The architecture is quite beautiful. I bought a fan and some clothes at the shop, but there were really a lot of people, and it was a bit troublesome to find lunch around noon.

If you love modern architecture, art and design this is a MUST visit. Never have I appreciated Monet as much as how his paintings are presented here. The Turell and de Maria exhibits are also sensational.

LOWER your expectations. Small gallery, with ~10 or fewer artworks, decent Monets and James Turrells. Overpriced admission for size, breadth of collection and experience. To see the Monets, you have to take off your shoes and wear undersized slippers. If you are a guy, your heels will hang over the back ends and you will walk like your are crippled. Dumb idea... get right size slippers for under-lit artwork on cloudy days. The Turrells were much less impressive than the works at other major museums and of course they are freakish about any photography. No buses at lunch - so if you don't want to eat at one of their overpriced restaurants - enjoy the. nature hike for several miles up and down hills... really annoying on hot days... or if you are not a good walker. Bikes not allowed in the Museum road area - limited restaurants in the museum area, no photography or we will pounce on you!!! Do it for the nature, architecture - but not the art.

I'm going to disagree with the other reviewers here and say this is the best art museum I've ever experienced. It's good to go in with the right expectations: this is unlikely to be like any museum you've been to in the past. It only has about 10 pieces but the architecture of the museum was designed with these permanent pieces in mind. Because of this, the works are displayed in the most elegant, perfect way possible to reach their full potential. Sometimes the staff members ask you to wear their slippers or to not speak, which enhances the experience further. A lot of the pieces play with natural light, making each of these works of art a different experience based on the time of day and the season. I had chills walking into a few of the exhibits. Also, there are only 10 works but did I mention 5 of them are Monets? Admission was a little pricey, but it was regarded by many to be the best museum on the island. No regrets! Of note, the museum is underground to not disturb the natural beauty of the island. Subsequently, it was super fun trying to determine which part of the museum we were in based on the aerial photo they gave us at the beginning.

BOTTOM LINE: Go to IG to see pics of the amazing space and exhibits. I have mixed feelings about *all* of my museum visits on Naoshima. On the one hand, the most impressive aspect of these museums is easily the phenomenal design and vision of the spaces, all made to specifically highlight the exhibits (as such, the exhibits do NOT seem to change). The Chi Chu are museum is no different; in fact, for me, it was the most impressively designed museum on Naoshima. From the winding path to the entrance, the the multi-leveled spaces with cavernous rooms that play with light, sound and design, and outdoor verandas that meld into the landscape, it truly was an unforgettable experience. For me, walking through the dark ante room before being blinded and showered by light before you eyes can adjust to Monet's "Water Liliies" was pretty much the closest thing to a religious experience for me. HOWEVER, the aggressive "no picture" policy was so incredibly disruptive that even if you weren't taking pictures, the constant piercing gazes of staff and the bee-line they made for others who did try to take picture made for an incredibly jarring experience in what should've been relaxing and zen-like. Sure, a place can set their own rules, but if you feel that art should be shared and discussed (as many world class museums seem to shaer; e.g., the Broad, MOMA, the Pompidou, Tate Modern, etc.), then this will surely be a downer.

Chichuu is a work of art. I would love to return at different times of the year and day. For example, there's a space that's a square with an open roof. During my visit it was raining creating a monochromatic space. The rain fell into the room and made a Hypnos sound. Each space is designed in accentuate the works of art. This is a one of a kind place that should not be missed.

Came to Naoshima for a day trip and did Benesse House, Chi Chu and Lee Ufan, in that order. This is probably the most interesting and worthwhile of the three museums, but you aren't allowed to take pictures in the museum and there are attendants in every room, so it's hard to break this rule. I thought this museum was more interesting, not necessarily because of the pieces themselves, but the way they are displayed in the museum. After this, I came away with more appreciation of the thought in curation and display. Note that I am not an art enthusiast, so I didn't particularly care about seeing Monets, but the way one particular one was shown was stunning.

Probably one of the most overrated and overpriced museum (2060¥) that I have ever seen. The number of "art" works is very limited and highly disappointing. The only little interest was the building architecture by Ando Tadao. Except if you want to play it posh and pseudo intellectual, pass your way and rather go to the Benesse House Museum for half the price.