Chichu Art Museum · Naoshima

Watch the daylight change Monet's Water Lilies

From €29 per adult

Tadao Ando set this museum into a Naoshima hillside in 2004, with Monet, Turrell and De Maria inside.

Booked on the museum's own system, with children 15 and under added free.

The Seto Inland Sea seen from the south of Naoshima on a clear summer day: a curved sandy bay, a small wooded islet and distant islands on the horizon — The Seto Inland Sea from the south of Naoshima, below the museum's hill

Two ways in

By daylight, or at dusk beneath Open Sky

Day entry is timed in 15-minute slots. On Fridays and Saturdays the Night Program seats 30 people beneath Turrell's Open Sky at sunset, with museum entry the same day.

Most chosen
Timed entry · Adult

Visitors aged 16 and over
Included
- Timed entry to the Monet, Turrell and De Maria rooms on your date
- Your 15-minute entry slot, reserved on the museum's official system
- The Chichu Café and store inside the museum, once you are in
- Children 15 and under free, added to your booking at no charge
- Your e-ticket sent to you by email
€29per person
Choose a time
Night Program “Open Sky” · Adult

Visitors aged 16 and over, Fridays and Saturdays
Included
- James Turrell's Open Sky at dusk: a 45-minute seated viewing
- Museum entry the same day, to see the other rooms before closing
- One session each Friday and Saturday, 30 people at most
- The gathering time for your evening, which follows sunset
- Your e-ticket sent to you by email
€49per person
Choose an evening
Night Program “Open Sky” · Ages 6–15

Ages 6 to 15, with an adult on the same session
Included
- Open Sky at dusk, seated, beside an adult from your party
- Their museum entry that day is free; this fare is their Night Program place
- Booked together with at least one adult Night Program place
- Not open to children aged 5 and under
- Your e-ticket sent to you by email
€19per person
Add ages 6–15

Children 15 and under by dayFree entry. Tell us their ages and we add their reservation to your booking at no charge.

Booking with us

Booked on the museum's own systemYour date and 15-minute slot are reserved before we send the e-ticket.
The price you see is the price you payOne total in your own currency, nothing added at checkout.
Refunded if the museum closesIf Chichu shuts on your date, your money comes back in full.
Answers from a personAsk about the ferries, the shuttle or the Night Program before you travel.

A sandy bay and a wooded headland on the coast of Naoshima below the museum — The coast below the museum's hill

Sunset over the Seto Inland Sea with a conical island and a long suspension bridge on the horizon — Dusk over the Inland Sea, the hour of the Night Program

Water lily leaves floating on a dark pond near the Chichu Art Museum — Water lilies near the museum

The release calendar

How tickets are released

The museum puts each month on sale on one morning, at 10:00 Japan time on the second Friday, two months ahead. Busy days, autumn above all, go quickly, and a sold-out day stays sold out at the door.

To visit in	On sale from 10:00 Japan time	To visit in
Now to December 2026	Already released	On sale now
January 2027	Friday 13 November 2026	Hold your date
February 2027	Closed for maintenance	Closed
March 2027 (from the 20th)	Friday 8 January 2027	Hold your date
April 2027	Friday 12 February 2027	Hold your date
May 2027	Friday 12 March 2027	Hold your date

The museum is closed for maintenance from 12 January to 19 March 2027.

Our waitlist

If your date is sold out or not yet on sale, hold it with us. There is nothing to pay until we can book.

Hold your dateChoose the date and entry time you want. No payment, no card details.
We watch for itWe are there on release morning, and we check your date for places other visitors give back.
Pay when we can bookWhen a place can be booked, we email a secure payment link, then reserve your visit.

Some days stay full. If nothing opens, we tell you and suggest the nearest open days; you are never charged for a visit we cannot book.

Choose your date

Three rooms of light

Three artists, lit by the sky

No photographs are allowed past reception, so these rooms live in words here. Each one changes with the hour, because the light comes from above.

2004Tadao Ando's museum in the earth
5Monet Water Lilies in daylight
2.2 mWalter De Maria's sphere
30Places at the Open Sky dusk viewing

Claude Monet

Five late Water Lilies, 1914–26

Five canvases from the pond at Giverny hang in a room whose size, design and materials were chosen to unite them with the space. They are lit by daylight, so they shift with the weather outside.

James Turrell

Afrum, Pale Blue · Open Field · Open Sky

Three works from 1968 to 2004, made of light itself. Open Sky opens a ceiling to the sky above Naoshima; on Friday and Saturday evenings it is the setting for the Night Program.

Walter De Maria

Time/Timeless/No Time, 2004

A sphere 2.2 metres across and 27 gilded forms of mahogany, in a room lit from the ceiling. The light across the stone changes dramatically from morning to late afternoon.

Tadao Ando's building

Concrete, steel, glass and wood, almost all of it below ground, so the hill above the Inland Sea keeps its shape. The museum calls itself one large site-specific work.

Because the rooms are lit from above, they change with the hour and the season. A morning slot and a late-afternoon slot are two different visits. On Fridays and Saturdays the Night Program seats 30 people beneath Open Sky as the sun goes down.

Bare concrete walls and a glass-fronted block of the Chichu Art Museum set into a green hillside — Ando's concrete above ground, where the museum meets the hill

A long concrete wall by the road bearing the name of the Chichu Art Museum, with trees behind — The museum's name on the concrete wall by the road

Across the water

Reaching Naoshima

There is no bridge. You arrive by ferry, then cross the island by bus and a free shuttle. We book the museum, not the transport, but we will gladly check your timings.

The crossing

Uno, Okayama Miyanouraabout 20 minFerry or high-speed boat; Uno port is three minutes from Uno station
Takamatsu, Kagawa Miyanouraabout 60 minFerry; a high-speed boat also runs, from a different pier
Uno, Okayama Honmuraabout 20 minHigh-speed passenger boat only

On the island

The town bus runs from Miyanoura port through Honmura to Tsutsuji-so.
A free shuttle continues from Tsutsuji-so to the museum, every 20 minutes on busy days.
Bicycles can be rented in Miyanoura and Honmura; cars and bikes cannot enter the private road past the East gate.
Leave suitcases in coin lockers or at the museum's Ticket Center.

A white passenger ferry arriving at Miyanoura port on Naoshima — A ferry at Miyanoura, the island's main port

The green hills of Naoshima seen across the water from the ferry — Naoshima from the ferry

Light through the year

Hours, closures and the evening light

The museum keeps steady hours, but the Night Program follows the sun.

Open: 10:00 to 17:00, last admission 16:00
Closed: Mondays; a holiday Monday opens and the Tuesday closes instead
Maintenance: Closed from 12 January to 19 March 2027
Weather: Art sites on Naoshima can close for typhoons; if ours closes, you are refunded in full

On the day

AddressRead

Chichu Art Museum, 3449-1 Naoshima, Kagawa 761-3110, Japan. The museum's Ticket Center is where the shuttle stops and where Night Program visitors gather.

Opening hoursRead

10:00 to 17:00, last admission 16:00. Closed on Mondays; when a Monday is a national holiday the museum opens and closes the next day instead. Closed for maintenance from 12 January to 19 March 2027.

Your entry timeRead

Entry is booked in 15-minute slots, and your ticket is valid for the time you reserved on your date. Arrive at the Ticket Center a little before it, as the museum does not change dates or times once booked.

Getting thereRead

Take a ferry to Miyanoura on Naoshima from Uno in Okayama (about 20 minutes) or Takamatsu in Kagawa (about an hour). The town bus runs to Tsutsuji-so, and a free shuttle continues to the museum.

Bags, shoes and phonesRead

Suitcases, umbrellas and tripods go in coin lockers or at the Ticket Center. Some rooms ask you to take your shoes off. Photos, video and sketching are not allowed past reception, and phones stay away.

AccessibilityRead

Some areas are not wheelchair accessible. The museum has two wheelchairs to lend and three multi-purpose toilets. Pushchairs stay at the Ticket Center or reception; baby slings can be borrowed. Contact us before booking and we will check the details for you.

When the Night Program gathered in 2026

April: about 18:00–18:20
June–July: about 18:45–19:05
September: about 17:35–18:05
October: about 16:50–17:25
November–December: about 16:35–16:45

We send the exact meeting time for your evening with your e-ticket.

Irises, water plants and flowering shrubs beside a pond in the Chichu Garden — The Chichu Garden, planted after Monet's at Giverny

Before you go

Questions people ask

Each 15-minute slot admits a small group, and busy days, autumn above all, sell out online with nothing left at the door.

Do I need to book the Chichu Art Museum in advance?

Yes. Every visit needs a reservation for a date and a 15-minute entry time. When a day sells out online, the museum sells no tickets at the door, so book before you take the ferry.

When do tickets for my month go on sale?

At 10:00 Japan time on the second Friday of the month two months before. January 2027 goes on sale on Friday 13 November 2026; April 2027 on Friday 12 February 2027. If your date is not on sale yet, hold it with us and we book it when it opens.

What happens if my date is sold out?

Hold the date with us at no charge. Places from cancellations reappear on the museum's system, and we check your date for you. When we can book, we email a payment link; you are never charged for a visit we cannot book.

Do children need a ticket?

Children 15 and under enter free by day, but each child still needs a reservation. Tell us their ages at checkout and we add them to your booking at no charge.

How long should I allow inside?

Plan on at least an hour with the three artists, and more if you want the café. Allow time before your slot to reach the Ticket Center by bus or shuttle.

Can I take photos inside?

No. Photography is allowed only up to the reception area. Past that point there are no photos, no video and no sketching, and phones stay in your pocket. It is one reason the rooms feel so quiet.

What is the Night Program?

A 45-minute seated viewing of James Turrell's Open Sky as the sun goes down, on Fridays and Saturdays, for 30 people at most. The ticket includes museum entry that day, so you can see the other rooms before closing.

What time does the Night Program start?

It follows sunset, so it moves through the year. In 2026 the group gathered at the Ticket Center from about 19:00 in June to about 16:35 in late November and December. We send the time for your evening with your e-ticket.

Can children come to the Night Program?

Ages 6 to 15 can join with an adult on the same session; their museum entry is free and they need the Ages 6–15 Night Program fare. Children aged 5 and under cannot take part.

Does the Night Program go ahead in rain?

Yes, it runs rain or shine. The ceiling is open to the sky, so you feel the weather; raincoats are the only rain gear allowed during the viewing. Dress for the evening air.

Which days is the museum closed?

Mondays, except when a Monday is a national holiday; then it opens and closes on the Tuesday. It is also closed for maintenance from 12 January to 19 March 2027, and can close for typhoons.

How do I get to the museum from the ferry?

Ferries land at Miyanoura port. The Naoshima town bus runs from the port to Tsutsuji-so, and a free shuttle continues from there to the museum. Bicycles can be rented in Miyanoura and Honmura.

Which ferry should I take, from Uno or Takamatsu?

Uno, in Okayama, is about 20 minutes from Miyanoura and suits travellers coming by train from Okayama. Takamatsu, in Kagawa, is about an hour by ferry. Check the current timetable and leave a margin before your slot.

Can I change my date or time after booking?

No. The museum does not change the date or time of a reserved ticket, so please check your ferry and plans before you book. If the museum closes on your date, you get your money back in full.

How many people can I book for one entry time?

Up to eight people per 15-minute slot. A group of nine or more is split into groups of eight or fewer at different times, and we arrange that for you.

Is the museum accessible for wheelchair users?

Partly. Some areas are not wheelchair accessible. The museum lends two wheelchairs and has three multi-purpose toilets. Email us before booking and we will check the details for your visit.

Who are you, and how does the booking work?

We are an independent booking service, not the museum. You choose a date and time, pay in your own currency, and we reserve your visit on the museum's official system and send you the e-ticket by email.

Smaller details

Is there a dress code?

No dress code, but some rooms ask you to take off your shoes, so shoes that slip on and off easily make the visit smoother. For the Night Program, dress for the evening air, because Open Sky is open to the weather.

Can I visit the café without a museum ticket?

No. The Chichu Café and the Chichu Store are inside the museum and need an entry ticket; you use them after your reserved time. The Ticket Center Shop, which sells drinks and some store items, is outside.

Can I see the other rooms on a Night Program ticket?

Yes, before closing. The Night Program ticket includes museum entry that day. During the program itself only Open Sky is open, so see Monet and De Maria earlier in the afternoon.

What if a typhoon closes the museum on my date?

Art facilities on Naoshima can close in typhoons or other severe weather. If the museum closes on a date we booked for you, you get your money back in full. Ferry tickets are separate, so check the sailings too.

Sources: Benesse Art Site Naoshima: Chichu Art Museum · Benesse Art Site Naoshima: ticket reservations · Benesse Art Site Naoshima: access by ferry · Benesse Art Site Naoshima: getting around Naoshima · Benesse Art Site Naoshima: photography guidelines · Benesse Art Site Naoshima: maintenance closures, January to March 2027 · Wikipedia: Chichu Art Museum Last checked: October 18, 2026