Chichu Art Museum was completed in 2004. As the name shows, most of the building is buried "in the ground," the work of master architect Tadao Ando.  Chichu Art Museum is almost a household name in Japan, and can be regarded as one of the representatives of Japanese modern art in the last 30 years.

When viewed from the air, it looks like a number of hollowed blocks embedded in the hillside. The lighting is designed to make the most of the natural light that forms an important part of the artwork. At the same time, the buildings buried in the ground also maximize the preservation of Naoshima's natural landscape. These factors make the museum become a model of Site-specific Art.

The museum's collection is small but all are very large and hard to beat, including "Time/Timeless/No Time", a timeless marble sculpture of the temple by American artist Walter De Maria, Light artist James Turrell's "Open Sky" and "Blue Planet Sky," the latter cleverly utilizing the sky as a changing element in the work. And, of course, the large works of Monet's "Water Lilies" in his later years.

There is also a "Mediterranean Coffee" with views of the Seto Inland Sea, as well as an outdoor space where you can soak in the open atmosphere. The shop also sells original artist-related items such as books, postcards and ornaments.