Setouchi Triennale 2025 - Day one... or not...
The Setouchi Triennale 2025 started yesterday but for me, it started today it will hopefully start tomorrow.
Yesterday I had to work. It's actually my busiest day of the week as I teach several classes on two campuses. However, on my way to the medical campus in the morning, I was able to snap this picture of the port:
So that was my only "experience" of the Triennale yesterday.
Fun fact: I didn't realize it until after I took the picture, but do you see the small crowd in the back on the right? Makoto Aida is in the group (as well as two friends of mine).
According to my friend who lives on Naoshima, the first day was quite busy as expected, and in fact, when I returned home in the evening, I could see two Naoshima ferries leaving Takamatsu at about the same time. A sign that the island was extremely crowded.
It's hard to see but one is in front of Megijima on the left, and the other one is near the tip of Yashima on the right.
This morning I woke up ready and excited to finally make my first Triennale trip. Even though I went there just a few days ago, my destination was Ogijima. It's a bit of a "tradition" for me to spend my first day at the Triennale on Ogijima, but something was a bit disconcerting. A pretty thick fog:
Yes, this picture and the one above were taken from the same location, about 14 hours apart.
Back home, in southwest France, fog is a winter thing. It gets foggy when it's cold and humid, which is pretty common there. So here in the Seto Inland Sea, I'm always a little surprised when it gets foggy on warm days. This is basically what happens. When the temperature warms up quickly (as it did this week), the evaporation in the sea becomes quite intense and this thick fog forms.
It usually dissipates rapidly, but not always.
This morning it didn't, and as a result most of the ferries were canceled when I arrived at Sunport.
The picture above is pretty impressive. I'm only about 30 meters from the pier and I could barely see it.
So, no Ogijima for me today. 🙁
(The fog lifted around 10:30 a.m. and the ferries resumed their regular routes shortly after, unfortunately I have a dentist appointment later today, so it was not worth going to Ogijima for just two hours - I'll go tomorrow or Tuesday).
The fact that the fog cancelled most of the ferries on the second morning of the Setouchi Triennale 2025 is a good reminder to those of you who are not very familiar with the area and/or who lead an urban life that when it comes to the sea, nature will always have the last word. So it's important for you to understand this fact and to be flexible in your visit plans.
I took some pictures around Sunport before I went home.
I really don't know what to make of the fact that Sora-ami is in Takamatsu and not on a beach. I guess I need to spend more time around her (on a non-foggy day).
I think I already figured out why there was no red this time (which surprised me on Tuesday). It might have something to do with Meon (the ferry to Megijima and Ogijima). I'll show you sooner or later.
In addition to Sora-ami, I also saw my first new Triennale exhibit. I finally know what's in the mirrored container!
It is the collaboration the Setouchi Triennale is doing with the UNHCR this year, with photographs and video interviews of various refugees around the world, by Takashi Homma. It's called SONGS－The Most Important Things of Refugees.
On the one hand, it might feel a little out of place. On the other hand, I think it's a great opportunity to raise awareness about the situation of refugees around the world. Especially for Japanese people, because the Japanese government chronically takes in far fewer refugees than it should according to UN recommendations.
Sorry people, you are not going to Teshima this morning. It was probably the longest line I've ever seen for Teshima, but I guess it's because of the canceled ferries.
One last observation before I went home was the number of foreign tourists at Sunport. I'd say about 50%, which is the largest proportion I've ever seen (I may have even heard more Chinese spoken than Japanese in the short time I was there, not sure). On the one hand, this isn't surprising. Locals don't necessarily rush out on the first weekend, and Japanese tourists from far away tend to come during Golden Week. On the other hand, the huge numbers of foreign tourists in Japan these days are real. It's the first time I experience it here in Kagawa.
Finally, I'd like to know what you think. Do you want some mini-posts like this, not necessarily a lot of information, but some same-day or next-day reports, or should I not invade your mailbox with this (I can just post them as blog posts, but you won't be notified that they exist unless you go check them out yourself)?
Please tell me what you think.