Shikoku Kisen Co.,Ltd (Miyanoura Port) — Local services in Naoshima

If Naoshima may be considered as the island of contemporary art and architecture, it certainly is not the island of the environment (yet) contrarily to what they try to make us believe. On the picture you can see the line over which the forest has been cut down. On the left side of the picture, you can have an idea of how they cover parts of the mountain with concrete to better secure industrial purposes (this can be seen in several areas of the northern part of the island). Moreover, they use cheap plastic nets to maintain the soil. This cheap plastic is already teared into pieces that fly towards the ocean. Natural fiber alternatives exists to avoid this... While hiking through the mountain you can also find many plastic bottles and plastic bags and there are very little garbage bins in the public spaces. The inhabitants use their old rusty vans as storage in their gardens and leave them slowly decompose in the soil, leaving heavy metals contaminate it. Finally, and sadly, the fish we find in the supermarkets are way under their reproduction size (sizes completely illegal in Europe and North America). Naoshima still has a long way to go for the protection of its environment to be...

直島と、高松港や宇野港とをフェリーの行き来する際に重要となるフェリーターミナルです。フェリーへの乗船チケットの購入と、目的のフェリーに乗るまでの待合スペースのみがあるだけでなく、カフェや土産物店も併設しています。待合スペースは屋外にもありますが、屋内にもあるため、日差しが強かったり悪天候の日等は屋内でのんびり過ごすのもいいでしょう。直島を周遊するためのバス停やタクシー乗り場は勿論、道路を挟んで向かい側にはレンタサイクルの店舗があるため、直島観光の拠点としてうってつけの場所と言えます。 様々な施設が一つの建物内にありますが、それぞれの施設が分かりやすく仕切られているわけではありません。また複数箇所の外との出入口があります。建物は決して広いわけではありませんが、通路の造りなどが少し複雑なところがあり、小さな子供は迷子になりやすい可能性があることに注意が必要です。 フェリーの乗船券（特に往復券）を、高松港や宇野港で購入していればほとんど気になることはありませんが、このターミナルでチケットを購入する場合、スタッフの対応が素っ気ないように感じるかもしれません。基本的に自分たちから積極的に関わろう・案内しようという雰囲気ではなく、終始事務的な対応です。それはそれと割り切って、直島の詳細な情報を得るには、観光案内所を利用した方がいいかもしれません。

This ferry terminal is important for ferry traffic between Naoshima and the ports of Takamatsu and Uno. Not only is there a waiting area where you can purchase tickets and wait to board your desired ferry, there is also a cafe and souvenir store. There is an outdoor waiting area as well as an indoor waiting area, so on days when the sun is shining or the weather is bad, it is a good idea to relax indoors. With a bus stop and cab stand for getting around Naoshima, as well as a bicycle rental store across the street, this is a good base for sightseeing on Naoshima. Various facilities are located in one building, but they are not clearly separated from each other. There are multiple entrances and exits. The building is not large, but some of the passageways are a bit complicated, and small children may easily get lost. If you have purchased your ferry tickets (especially round-trip tickets) at Takamatsu or Uno ports, you should have little trouble finding your way around, but if you purchase your tickets at this terminal, you may find the staff to be unfriendly and unhelpful. Basically, the staff is not in an atmosphere of actively trying to get involved or guide you, but is rather clerical from start to finish. If you want to get detailed information about Naoshima, you may want to use the Tourist...

This is the place you will potentially disembark if you visit Naoshima from Uno. It had changed a lot in the last 2 years. Now you have English speaking staff all over to help you moving around Naoshima. The buses that bring you to other parts of the islands have their main stop here and the souvenir shop has lots of interesting goods and food to buy. Right beside the port terminal you can see one of Yayoi Kusama's pumpkins (the red one) which is a great spot...