By Cathy Hirano

So, here I am back with a little more information on the Setouchi Triennale 2013, a contemporary art festival spread across 12 islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The festival makes art fun and accessible to adults and children alike, and showcases the beauty and diversity of the region’s islands and traditional lifestyles.



It also inspires visitors to pause and reassess contemporary life.


Contemplating

In 2010, almost 1 million visitors traveled to the islands over the space of 100 days. Many came back repeatedly and some stayed on as volunteers, captivated by the festival and the Seto Inland Sea. This year, the festival will be split into three separate seasons: spring (March 20-April 21), summer (July 20-September 1) and autumn (October 5-November 4). If you are not used to hot weather, spring and autumn are the best times to come, but summer is still doable as long as you slow down and take it easy.


Taking a break on Teshima


Enjoying artistic cuisine

The number of artists participating has more than doubled from 75 to over 175 and 5 new islands have been added. In addition, Yashima, Takamatsu’s historic tableland (which is also an island!), will be featured (see fellow blogger Pat’s post at http://pat.ashita-sanuki.jp/e623838.html ).


Looking down from Yashima

The festival passports are an amazingly good deal. For just 5,000 yen, you can get a 3-season passport, which provides once-only access to every site (and there are a lot of them!) plus free access or discount access to other famous art facilities. High school students are just 3,500 yen and anyone younger is free! As you can see, the organizers are quite serious about making art accessible to all and the event as family-friendly as possible. (1-season passports are available for 4,500 yen.)



For more information on the festival, visit the Setouchi Triennale 2013 official website:
http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/

and David’s blog devoted to the festival:
http://ogijima.com/art-setouchi/setouchi-triennale-2013/

Yesterday, I decided to check out what it might be like to arrive as a tourist. I discovered that there is a very good tourist information center just outside JR Takamatsu station with great service in English, Korean and Chinese, as well as multilingual maps and pamphlets. There is also someone who can direct you to hotels, but if you come during the festival, it’s wiser to book in advance.

The tourist information center is not very obvious from the station. Here is what it looks like.

Tourist Information Center




Passports and more detailed assistance concerning the festival are available at the Takamatsu Port General Information Center which is on the other side of the street and a block down from the tourist center across from the port and the ANA Clement Hotel.

Takamatsu Port General Information in the Terminal Building


Special Event!
Conversation with the Takumi Masters, March 20-23, 25-29 in Tamamo Park. Exquisite cuisine and traditional Japanese arts. Check here for details:
http://www.takumino-shizuku.jp/index_e.html

Takamatsu Access:
Takamatsu can be reached by direct flights from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (about 1 hour), by limousine bus from Kansai International Airport (about 3 hours), and by direct flights from China and Korea. It can also be reached by taking the bullet train to Okayama (4 hours from Tokyo) and changing to the Marine Liner bound for Takamatsu (runs every 1/2 hour; takes 1 hour).
Hotels: http://www.japanican.com/index.aspx　(when selecting the area of stay, scroll down to “Other Popular Options” and select “Takamatsu/Tokushima/Awashima”.)
Also check: http://www.kagawa-yadonet.or.jp/en/