Rice and Ramen

The second day of  my Naoshima adventure dawned clear and sunny, nary a snowflake in sight. Our guesthouse came with "breakfast," which was a piece of bread with margarine and jam and a soft-boiled egg. Fortunately the guesthouse's kitchen came with a toaster, so at least the bread wasn't plain, but "hearty" this meal was not.  After eating,  Troy  and I hopped back on our trusty bikes and pedaled off down the coast towards the Benesse House Museum. Troy kindly pedaled at a pace I was comfortable with, so even I was able to glance off to the side now and again and take in the sparkling blue water of the Seto Inland Sea.  The Benesse House Museum is basically what it sounds like--a combo hotel and museum, also designed by Tadao Ando. It's situated on an outcropping overlooking the water, with gorgeous views, but is mindbogglingly expensive. (Even during "off season," rooms are over $2,000 per NIGHT. Madness.) Fortunately, the museum is ...

If I told you that there was an entire island in Japan dedicated to art museums, would anyone be surprised? No? Well, good, because there is one -- Naoshima -- and I went there last weekend. Naoshima is a small island located in the Seto Inland Sea, the body of water that separates three of Japan's four main islands. It's a bit of an involved trip to get there from Tokyo, involving either a plane or bullet train to Okayama, then a bus, another series of trains, and finally a ferry ride to the island. A casual tourist couldn't just stumble upon the island; you really have to WANT to get there. Although the island's main income is industrial, since the 1980s it has developed into a contemporary art mecca, full of museums and small galleries mainly designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. So, of course  Troy  and I had to go for a long weekend. The first thing that greets you when you dock at Miyanoura Port on Naoshima is Yayoi Kusama's "Red Pumpkin,"...