Naoshima Food Review!

Staying in Naoshima with the group meant that all of our meals (except lunch) were provided; which I honestly found quite nice to not have to worry about meals! However, there were still plenty of options in town such as smaller cafes, udon and ramen restaurants and a seven eleven- which is about a twenty minute bike ride from our accommodation.

Breakfast

Honestly, the breakfasts provided in Naoshima by far exceeded my expectations; I absolutely adored them! Each of them came with a generous bowl of cold noodles in a soup, a serve of vegetables, pickled radish, beans, another rice or egg based dish and some spring onion and ginger for seasonings. My personal favourite breakfast was the last one we had, as it included a fish-based rice dish with a similar consistency to risotto- it was amazing! The only down side to the breakfasts were the lack of warm coffee options, as the cafes all didn’t open until at least 1pm in the afternoon. This would honestly be considered extremely late back in Melbourne, as the cafes would be preparing to close at two or three at this point! Good thing there were quite a few vending machines on site, which had at least four canned coffee options (my favourite being the golden drip, a strong and equally sweet coffee!)

Lunch

Despite our plentiful options for lunch, most of the time we either opted for no lunch at all or just to grab an onigiri from the seven eleven. However, there was a good reason for this- mainly because our hearts fell for the Konnichiwa cafe, a cute and comfortable cafe with a sea view. This cafe had a special menu item consisting of chocolate cake, icecream and whipped cream, which was honestly so delightful! We often sat here and completed some drawings in our journals, as it was much more peaceful than back at the yurts.

Café Konnichiwa from the outside- a beautiful little locally owned café which has a little cat who often hangs around!

Here’s the chocolate cake that I kept on coming back for! The muesli and the goji berries were a nice addition!

However, on the first day we did visit one of the little udon places- despite trying to look for a seafood restaurant which was listed on the little signage around town. However, this was a delightful little surprise, as it was a cute little tightknit restaurant owned by two older ladies. I ordered this beef udon in the smaller size they offered, which cost just under $5 AUD! The serving size was plentiful, though I was determined to finish it!

My udon lunch on the first day of Naoshima! I’d imagine this would hit the spot more on a cold winter day- still enjoyed it regardless!

I cannot forget the seven eleven goodies I picked up throughout my bike rides to the convenience store- we often would stock up every time we would go as it took a bit of effort to get there, I would often come back covered in sweat from riding uphill. It was fun trying all of the little snacks they had to offer, where I discovered my go-to favourites; the trout and vinegared rice ball, shrimp and mayonnaise onigiri and just plain sparkling water (I honestly could not find this at any of the convenience stores besides seven eleven in Osaka, and I truly was longing for it). The best thing about the seven eleven trips was the feeling that you have barely spent anything afterwards (despite getting getting four or five options, it would always cost less than 1000 yen).

One of my little seven-eleven hauls after having a big day in Naoshima’s town centre!

Dinner

I personally didn’t take any pictures of the dinner at Naoshima, however they all were the same, consisting of a Korean-barbeque-style buffet. We had platters of meats and vegetables, a few seasonings and sauces and would share utensils to cook our food on the open fire. Whilst the dinner wasn’t bad itself, the barbeque definitely had its flaws, such as being very repetitive and being quite unorganised. It really could’ve used a system where only a few people would go cook their food at a time, as often things would get stolen off the barbeque, too many people would crowd around and there wasn’t enough utensils going around. It felt quite competitive to get dinner- something I don’t particularly enjoy but at least everyone got fed in the end with plenty left to spare!

Snacks

In addition to the several snacks acquired at seven eleven, Naoshima’s village had plenty of little ice cream stands to choose from! The one that caught my eye was this little cat themed ice cream stand, which highlighted Naoshima’s prevalent cat population through its ice creams and little sewn cat crafts! Each of the soft serve ice creams were 500 yen each (more than the average meal), though they were so worth it! The one I picked had these little coloured rice puffs and a cat biscuit, which was unlike any soft serve I’ve had back at home! These rice puffs were most comparable to rice bubble cereal from back at home, just a slightly smoother consistency.

This ice cream stand had so many options of cat ice creams to pick from!

Here’s the little cat-themed ice cream I got from a little ice cream stand!

It was so nice to be immersed with Naoshima’s food culture, consisting of a nice array of traditional food! If anything, it allowed me to further connect with the environment and way of life here, something which I would consider to be quite valuable as an artist aiming to gain inspiration from the Japan’s multitude of landscapes. Its so nice to experience different cuisines of food which also happen to complement the weather and the environment, which can be paralleled with the experiences back at home. For example, the barbeque dinner felt like a Japanese version of a barbeque in the Aussie summer, and the simplified convenience store lunches remind me of a big day out that I would experience in my childhood back at home!