Inujima Island

What to know

Inujima (literally "dog island") is a small island off the coast of Okayama in the Seto Inland Sea, named after a rock that resembles a sitting dog. Like its neighbor Naoshima, Inujima has become famous for contemporary art and hosts works from the Setouchi Triennale art festival. The island is small and peaceful, easy to explore on foot.

Before its art transformation, Inujima was an industrial hub. In feudal times, granite was quarried for castle building. In the early 20th century, a copper refinery was built to boost the island's economy, but falling copper prices forced it to close within a decade, leading to a population decline.

The refinery was never demolished, and its ruins—with exposed brick walls, an overgrown power plant, and crumbling smokestacks—still dominate the landscape. Now designated a "heritage of industrial modernization," the ruins are open for visitors to explore.

In 2008, the refinery ruins were turned into the Inujima Seirensho Art Museum ("seirensho" means refinery). The museum is mostly underground, built with local granite and recycled bricks. Highlights include a mirror tunnel and an installation featuring fragments of novelist Mishima Yukio's former home suspended in midair.

Admission tickets are sold at the Inujima Ticket Center near the ferry terminal, a 200-meter walk from the museum gates. Previously, advance reservations were required for guided tours, but now individual exploration is allowed without prior booking.

The rest of Inujima is a small rural village of about 100 people. Scattered through the village are five galleries of the Inujima Art House Project, originally created for past art festivals and now permanent attractions. They can be seen on a pleasant 1–2 hour walk along narrow lanes.