Tadao Ando's most personal building on Naoshima — just six guestrooms above the Benesse House Museum, each hung with a site-specific artwork and a wraparound view of the Seto Inland Sea.
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Overview
Coexistence of Nature, Art & Architecture
Opened in 1995 as an expansion of Tadao Ando's original Benesse House Museum, Oval sits at the highest point on the property, reached only by a private monorail climbing through the hillside.
The building takes the form of a vast ellipse — 40 metres along its long axis, 20 along its short — wrapped around a central courtyard pool that Ando conceived as a kind of liquid sculpture, framed by a portico usable as an open-air gallery. Just four double rooms and two suites make up the entire building, each with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Seto Inland Sea and walls hung with drawings and installations commissioned directly from the artists whose work fills the wider museum below. Guests staying at Oval, along with those in the Museum building, receive a genuinely rare privilege: 24-hour access to wander the Benesse House Museum's galleries after hours, in pyjamas if they wish, with almost no other visitors in sight.
Not recommended for young children. To preserve the atmosphere of staying inside a working art museum, Benesse House Oval and Museum cannot accommodate children aged five and under.
6
Rooms Total, incl. 2 Suites
1995
Oval Building Opened
40m
Length of the Ellipse
24hr
Museum Access for Guests
Suites
A Wall Drawing, In Every Room
Every room and suite carries its own commissioned artwork, with views of the Inland Sea from floor-to-ceiling windows and, in the suites, a private balcony.
Oval Suite 404 — David Tremlett Wall Drawing
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Oval Guest RoomsFour double rooms with vast floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Inland Sea, several with original artist drawings on the walls themselves.
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Oval Suite 404Featuring a commissioned wall drawing by artist David Tremlett, one of the building's most requested accommodations.
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A Private BalconyEvery room in Oval includes its own balcony, with sweeping views of the sea below and distant mountains beyond.
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The Oval LoungeA dedicated lounge for Oval guests only, stocked with books on art and Tadao Ando's architecture, and a welcome drink each afternoon.
Experiences
A Pumpkin, Turrell's Light & a Museum After Dark
Naoshima's art sits everywhere — inside the museum, along the beaches, and scattered through the island's own working village.
Signature
24-Hour Museum Access
Oval and Museum guests can wander the Benesse House Museum's galleries after closing, often with almost no one else present.
Landmark
Yayoi Kusama's Pumpkin
One of Naoshima's most photographed works sits at the end of a nearby pier, recreated after storm damage in 2021.
Underground
Chichu Art Museum
Ando's museum built mostly underground to preserve the landscape above it, a short shuttle ride from Oval.
Village
Art House Project
Seven ordinary houses in Naoshima's residential Honmura district have been transformed into individual artworks, including James Turrell's Minamidera.
Bathing
I湯 Naoshima Bath
A working public bathhouse turned art installation by artist Shinro Ohtake, open to visitors island-wide.
On Two Wheels
Electric Bike Exploration
Renting an electric bike is a favoured way to move between Naoshima's scattered galleries, beaches and installations.
Dining
Japanese & French, by the Sea
Benesse House's two restaurants split between refined Japanese cuisine and French-influenced dishes, both making the most of the Inland Sea setting; advance reservations are strongly recommended.
01The Restaurant, for French-influenced fine dining
02Issen, for Japanese cuisine overlooking the sea
03The Oval Lounge, for an afternoon welcome drink and continental breakfast
04The Museum Cafe, for a quieter coffee between gallery visits
The Oval Lounge — Continental Breakfast, Sea View
Location
Naoshima, the Art Island
Benesse House Oval sits at the highest point of Naoshima, an island of roughly 13km circumference in the Seto Inland Sea, reached by ferry from Okayama or Kagawa prefectures.
Reached by a private monorail climbing from the Museum building up to Oval's hillside position.
Naoshima sits roughly 13km north of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, in the Seto Inland Sea.
Ferries connect Naoshima to both Uno Port (Okayama) and Takamatsu Port (Kagawa).
The wider Benesse Art Site includes the Chichu Art Museum, Lee Ufan Museum and the Art House Project.
Fly
Okayama or Takamatsu airports connect onward to the respective ferry ports for Naoshima.
Ferry
Regular ferries run from Uno Port (Okayama) or Takamatsu Port (Kagawa) to Naoshima's Miyanoura port.
Arrive
A shuttle bus or short taxi ride connects the port to Benesse House, with the final climb to Oval made by private monorail.
An Art Pilgrimage
"The Most Stylish Hotel I've Encountered"
Writer Pico Iyer called Benesse House the most stylish and unforgettable hotel he'd encountered anywhere in over fifty years of travel — high praise for a six-room building reached by monorail.