How to Enjoy Japan’s Art Festivals

How to Enjoy Japan’s Art Festivals

Enjoying the charms of Japan’s regions through a new “retreat” experience Part 2:

In Part 1, we spoke with members of the Japan Cultural Expo Secretariat about the myriad charms of Japan’s art festivals. In Part 2, we will discuss some specific tips for when we visit these festivals. We will also introduce a variety of recommended must-see art festivals.

－Things to prepare and be aware of in order to have a pleasant festival experience

N.I.: Sneakers are fine for walking in the streets, but it’s advisable to bring some footwear you can easily take off when venturing inside to view an artwork. Many works involve traditional wooden houses or flooring, so it’s a good idea to wear socks to avoid splinters. Wet tissues come in handy in venues without many washrooms. In summer, you should also bring insect repellent and medicine for insect bites. It’s also a good idea to carry hats and parasols and even wear long-sleeved clothes to prevent sunburn. And a water bottle! There will be places offering spring water, so you can frequently replenish your water supplies to help prevent heat stroke. You should also expect to follow some basic manners and customs, such as taking off your hat to greet someone or removing your shoes when entering a room.

K.H.: Some visitors from overseas bring large carrying cases, but you will be travelling around a lot to visit artworks, so it’s a good idea to store any luggage away beforehand.

S.T.: We tend to assume all venues will be open during art festivals, but you may find that some are closed when you visit, so it’s best to check beforehand on official homepages or social networking sites, for instance. Festivals also feature a variety of related workshops and hands-on events. If you take part in these events, you can experience a different side to the festivals while also getting an opportunity to meet local people. Even if you don’t speak the language, translation apps have developed in leaps and bounds recently and can be a great help.

－Useful information related to Japan’s art festivals

K.H.: The Setouchi Art Museum Link is a project that will run alongside the Setouchi Triennale. It will host exhibitions at eight art museums across the three prefectures of Kagawa, Okayama, and Hyogo, with these primarily showcasing works by contemporary Japanese artists. Plans are underfoot to sell tickets providing entry to all eight museums, so I recommend using these. You will need to travel around a lot, so you can sample different modes of transport. If you want to take it easy and enjoy yourself, you could jump on a boat, for example, while seasoned travelers might try hopping on local buses.

Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, one of the eight art museums participating in the Setouchi Art Museum Link project (Setouchi Triennale) photo by Yoshiro Masuda

S.T.: KANSAI MaaS is an app provided by seven major railway companies in the Kansai region. It is packed with functions that help you travel throughout the Kansai region, including route finders, digital tickets, tourism and dining information, and updates about train service operations. As such, it is recommended for people visiting Expo 2025 in Osaka or Kansai art festivals like Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival. I also recommend renting bicycles or other forms of available transport.

N.I.: I often hear about people wanting to buy the artworks themselves, but basically they need to go through galleries. If there is a work by an artist you like, I suggest inquiring at an information center or any other major contact point. You should also check out the goods sold at museum shops. In the past, I produced some goods for a museum shop based around the concept of “taking the art appreciation experience back home.” Postcards are a good idea, or even a tenugui hand towel with an original design if you fancy something Japanese. Related exhibitions are often held in the “white cubes” of art museums during the duration of an art festival. On rare occasions, artists may sell limited-edition goods there. If you do find something you like at a museum shop, please ask the staff there for details.

K.T.: Artists often stay in local regions for residency programs, don’t they?

K.H.: Yes they do, and they sometimes stage events, create artworks in public, or carry out performance-based works during the festival period. So if you want to meet creators or artists, it might be a good idea to look for information about these activities.

The museum shop at Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (Setouchi Triennale) photo by Yoshiro Masuda
The museum designs and produces its own original goods based on Genichiro Inokuma’s words about “things that aren’t sold the streets, but only found in art museums.”

－Must-see Japanese art festivals, as recommended by the staff of the Japan Cultural Expo Secretariat

K.H.: Of course, I hope people visit Setouchi Triennale in 2025, but I also hope they visit the eight museums (*2) involved in the related Setouchi Art Museum Link project. You will be able to get a feel for the individuality of the museums through their respective collections. At the same time, the museums will also be staging special exhibitions showcasing works by artists connected to the Setouchi Triennale. Another highlight is provided by Tadao Ando’s architecture. There are now ten art facilities (*2) designed by Tadao Ando at Benesse Art Site Naoshima. Travelling a little further afield, Nakanoshima Children’s Book Forest (in Nakanoshima, Osaka) and Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art were also designed by Tadao Ando. Nakanoshima will be staging the Nakanoshima Pavilion Festival 2025 to coincide with Expo 2025 in Osaka. The festival will shine a spotlight on Nakanoshima, an area with a strong historical and cultural presence, so I recommend dropping by if you are going to Expo 2025.

*2 The number of facilities as of May 2025, when Naoshima New Museum of Art is set to open.

S.T.: I mentioned the KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival earlier, but traditional machiya townhouses are not the only venues used at this event. For example, this year an exhibition by the French artist JR will be held in the former printing plant of the Kyoto Shimbun Building. JR will also display a giant mural on the northern passage wall of Kyoto Station. The mural will feature the portraits of over 400 people from Kyoto, with viewers able to use their phones to interact with the artwork and listen to the stories of the people in the portraits. I hope many users of Kyoto Station will get a chance to experience this.
Furthermore, Martin Parr is set to unveil new works taken in Kyoto as part of his ongoing series about overtourism around the world. It will be exciting to see the collaborations between the city of Kyoto, its unique venues, and the participating artists at this year’s festival.

The Kyoto Shimbun Building, B1F (Former Printing Plant（KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival）©️ Naoyuki Ogino

K.T.: For Roots & Arts Shiraoi, some contemporary creators will be basing themselves in Shiraoi to create art there. Shiraoi has a deep connection to Ainu culture, with the festival showcasing several aspects of this rich culture, including embroidery passed down through generations of women. Other exhibits will facilitate encounters with Shiraoi’s sea, mountains and air. The art festival provides an enchanting experience all by itself, but there is so much for visitors to enjoy around the festival too, including bathing in one of Shiraoi’s many invigorating hot springs and sampling the area’s delicious cuisine, such as Shiraoi Beef and seafood. You can even watch salmon swimming upstream to spawn, depending on the season.

N.I.: In addition to the Setouchi Triennale, 2025 will also see the staging of the Aichi Triennale, with 2025 set to be a big year for international art festivals. I believe many people will travel to Japan for these festivals. However, if people travel all the way to Japan and stay for a longish period, I recommend visiting some other places besides these festivals. For example, though Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale(held once every three years) ended in 2024, there are some permanent installations that have recently undergone maintenance work, so they are quite beautiful now and visitors will be able to appreciate them at a more leisurely pace compared to when the Triennial is on. Summer is sweltering wherever you go in Japan, but the scenery you glimpse through these art festivals will certainly differ from place to place. You can deepen your own personal art appreciation experience by “art hopping,” or touring round and enjoying your time at a variety of festivals and sights.

See below for some articles related to the festivals featured here.

Article