8 RESTAURANTS & CAFES IN HONMURA, THE ART HOUSE PROJECT AREA

Recently, restaurants established in old folk houses are opening one after another in and around the Honmura district, home to the Art House Project. They comprise different styles – a Japanese restaurant in a renovated 100-year-old house, a contemporary art café that merges Japanese tradition and modern tastes, garage diners that are especially popular with the younger generation – but they all share a common theme of reviving old things for new uses. Most feature fresh local seafood and vegetables in modern variations of traditional dishes. The stylish cafés are especially popular among young people. Finding them can be a bit tricky, as they look similar to the residential houses they once were, but they are also concentrated in a small area and popular ones can be packed during busy hours. If you are visiting during high season, it is recommended that you do some research and planning of your route, including which art pieces you’ll go to see and where you will have your meal.

A café in an old village house. The interior makes use of the original tatami floor and fittings, including sliding doors and partitions, representing old Japan’s atmosphere recreated in the modern day. Time seems to slow here. The most popular dish from the lunch menu is Fuwatoro Om-rice (a creamy and fluffy omelet over rice: 790 yen). They have a separate dinner menu with reasonably-priced dishes involving local produce, including “Catch of the day near Naoshima” and “Kagawa Chicken with Tomato sauce, a la sweet chili” (620 yen).

[Address] 1167, Honmura, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN
[Tel] 087-892-3887
[Hours] Wed-Thurs 11:30 to 15:00, 17:30 to 21:00（last order 20:40).
Closed on Tuesdays and irregular holidays.
[Access] 10 mins from Nokyo-mae bus stop, 3 mins from Minami-dera.
http://www.naka-oku.com/

Aisunao is an organic café that serves brown rice dishes, so naturally their shop curtain, “noren”, displays a logo representing rice. The café is situated in a renovated 80-year-old village house, and you may feel as if you have been transported through time to a Japan of 50 years ago. You are welcomed inside to a traditional Japanese-style room with tatami, low wooden tables and zabuton, mats for sitting on. Don’t worry though – they have tables and chairs if you are not used to sitting on the floor. The popular “aisunao set” (850 yen) is a healthy four-piece meal including non-chemical brown rice, miso soup and a vegetable dish, with no meat or fish. Another specialty is matcha cake, made with rice flour. Try it with organic coffee or tea. Aisunao also provides lodging for travelers as a “minshuku” (bed and breakfast).

[Address] 761-1, Honmura, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN
[Tel] 087-892-3830
[Hours] Tue-Sun 11:00 to 16:00 (last order).
Closed on Mondays and irregular holidays.
[Access] 3 mins from Nokyo-mae bus stop, 1 mins from Ginza.
Lodging: From 3,780 yen per person per night without meals (for single use, 2,000 yen extra is charged).
http://aisunao.jp/ (Japanese only).

Just in front of Honmura port, the café is in a renovated folk house with burnt cedar board walls and a garden with an ocean view. It adopts the traditional style of entering a Japanese living room - through the porch facing the garden. Popular menu items include garden original seafood curry (900円), pizza and apple cake. They also rent bicycles, which you will find on the turf of the garden, and are advisable if you are arriving from Uno port, Okayama by the ferry.

[Address] 843-1, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN
[Tel] 087-892-3301
[Hours] Tue-Sun 11:30 to approximately 17:00.
Closed on Mondays and irregular holidays.
[Access] 1 mins from Honmura-Port, 4 mins from Nokyo-mae bus stop.

An artisan bakery that uses homemade yeast, this shop is in a small one-story Japanese-style house located on the way from the Benesse Art Site to the Honmura district. On offer are chocolate, walnut, fig, tea and red bean paste breads (from 90 yen), which are firm, simple and displayed in old-fashioned wooden showcases. They make baguettes too.
[Address] 3299-26, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN e
[Tel] 087-892-2003
[Hours] Tue-Sun 8:00 till sunset.
Closed on Mondays and irregular holidays.
[Access] 3 mins from Minami-dera, 15 mins from Honmura-Port and Noukyo-mae bus stop.

This garage-style dining café incorporates an expansive space populated by tables and terrace seats, decorated with surfboards. It’s located in the heart of the Art House Project area. Popular dishes include Loco Moco and Tacos as well as Naoshima Burgers (640 yen) with deep-fried breaded fresh yellowtail (“hamachi”) and generous amounts of homemade tartar sauce. Cheese and avocado are also available as toppings. Takeout and delivery are available.

[Address] 750, Honmura, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN
[Tel] 090-8286-7039
[Hours] Tue-Sun 11:00 to 17:00.
Closed on Monday and irregular holidays.
[Access] 3 mins from Noukyo-mae bus stop.
http://maimaipj.exblog.jp/

A café located next to “Ishibashi” in the Art House Project, located in a house over 100 years old. It takes for its theme the local dishes of the port and island, including “chagayu bunka” (tea porridge culture). Its menu includes “Curry with broth of baby sardines produced in Ibuki island and prawn of Iejima island, served with deep-fried breaded prawns” (850 yen) and “Naoshima Chagayu teishoku” (1500 yen, with reservation only), which you can enjoy while sitting on an engawa, or Japanese style porch. “Tokoroten (algae jelly) with dark molasses or sanbaizu”（350 yen) and Zenzai (sweet red bean soup, for 550 yen) make a perfect snack during the day. It transforms into a Japanese-style bar (izakaya), “Seven Island International Salon”, after 17:30 every evening.

[Address] 884-1, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN
[Tel] 087-892-3885
[Hours] Tue-Sun 07:30 (reservation only), 11:30 to 21:30.
Closed on Mondays and irregular holidays.
[Access] 5 mins from Noukyo-mae bus stop.
http://maimaipj.exblog.jp/

This is a small café in a renovated, one-story, traditional-style house with burnt cedar walls. The owner is a registered dietician and pays detailed attention to all ingredients and seasonings to ensure the specialty handmade foods are healthy and nutritious. These foods and drinks come with seasonal touches, including their most popular “Cranberry and coconut scones with special jam and Solasio butter” (330 yen) and “Chickpea spicy curry set” (1100 yen).

[Address] 777, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN
[Tel] 087-892-3048
[Hours] Tue-Fri 11:00 to 16:00; Sat, Sun and Holidays 08:00 to 16:00.
Closed on Mondays and irregular holidays.
[Access] 1 min from Ishibashi, 5 mins from Noukyo-mae bus stop.
https://www.facebook.com/aproncafe.naoshima/

This is a café and guest house just behind the Ando Museum, found in a renovated village house more than 100 years old and run by “Shima-fes”. It operates according to a pre-order, self-serve system, so you order your food and pay as you enter through the front door, then go and take your food as your number is called. With its signature dish, ”Shima Gohan set” (950 yen), you can choose from “iriko rice” (rice with dried baby sardines) and “takomeshi” (octopus rice). They serve good “takosashi” (octopus sashimi), and their grilled skillet “Tai-no-shioyaki” (grilled sea bream) goes well with sake and other drinks on offer, so you may well want to visit this establishment in the evening. It also sometimes has live music so be sure to check it out.

[Address] 742, Naoshima-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa-ken, JAPAN
[Hours] 09:30 to 22:30.
[mail] seto.uchi@shimafes.jp
Closed on irregular holidays.
[Access] 1 min from Ando Museum, 5 mins from Noukyo-mae bus stop.
Official website：http://shimafes.jp
Twitter: @seto_no_ouchi
Facebook: http://facebook.com/setouchi.jp