This is from yesterday’s visit to Naoshima, which felt like stepping into a slow, sunlit island dream. We had booked a museum showing works by Monet and James Turrell, the American light-and-space artist whose installations somehow make you feel both grounded and weightless at the same time. But most of the day was spent biking and hiking along Naoshima’s winding coastal roads and sandy beach paths, stopping every now and then to take in the island’s spectacular sites and lush, varied flora. Every road bend revealed something new – palms, pines, wildflowers, and colorful shrubs shaped by wind and sea. The whole place had a laid-back vibe that reminded us a little of Okinawa and stretches along the California coast.

We found an unremarkable little seaside café that served a most terrific Japanese lunch before eventually catching the short ferry back to Tamano, the quiet port town where our hotel is on the mainland.

It was for sure a most spectacular day on one of Japan’s most inspiring islands. Heading back there again tomorrow.