Beautiful island
Once, this island was a dumping ground for Mitsubishi’s waste, until it was purchased and cleaned up by a Japanese millionaire. His dream was to open charitable summer camps for children on the island. However, he didn’t live to see it happen, and the island was inherited by his son. Unlike his father, the son wasn’t interested in running camps but owned an enormous collection of contemporary art and had long wanted to build a private museum to house it. Social responsibility is so inherently Japanese… but everyone interprets it in their own way.
The renowned Tadao Ando was invited to design the building. This led to the opening of the Chichu Art Museum, the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum, and a luxury hotel alongside them. Additionally, the island is now home to numerous small galleries.
In designing the hotel, Ando combined his signature materials—concrete, stone, steel, and glass—seamlessly integrating them into the surrounding landscape. The complex consists of four buildings: “Museum,” “Oval,” “Beach,” and “Park.” The museum occupies the first building, while the other three house hotel rooms.
The hotel itself could easily be considered a work of art. Tadao Ando loves creating optical illusions, whether by subtly altering the angle of walls or designing labyrinths of stairs and corridors. Beneath its apparent simplicity lies a complex composition where every element is interconnected. It’s no wonder guests love photographing Benesse House.
Each of the sixteen suites is adorned with paintings by renowned artists. Sculptures and installations can be found scattered throughout the property, with some created specifically for the hotel by the owner’s artist friends. Artworks are even displayed along the seashore and in the nearby forest.
Guests of Benesse have direct access to the museum from the hotel. Regular operating hours don’t apply to them—they can enjoy works by Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Yves Klein, Jennifer Bartlett, and many other artists at any time they wish.
The hotel is almost always fully booked, with reservations made months in advance. However, the most exclusive rooms are those located in the “Oval.” These six rooms are accessible via an internal monorail from the museum and open onto a secluded atrium with a pool at its center and an open, oval-shaped roof—a “window to the sky,” as envisioned by Tadao Ando.
Another major advantage of the hotel is its location on the island of Naoshima. Like any remote island far from civilization, it is serene and beautiful. There is abundant greenery, a picturesque sandy shore, and fresh ocean breezes. Benesse House is a haven for philosophers, romantics, solitary travelers, and lovers of all things unique.
