Eyes of Nature (from the earth) by Julio Goya on Shodoshima

If you want to visit the Setouchi Triennale with kids, you may be wondering how kid-friendly the festival really is.

Well, if you only focus on the famous islands (Naoshima and Teshima), I’m afraid that the answer is “not much.” That’s why, once again, you should look beyond what’s famous and see what the area really has to offer.

One island that’s very kid-friendly as you may already know if you’ve been there or read this blog regularly is Shodoshima. In addition to having a lot of large-scale installations, it also has the most kid-friendly installations (sometimes, they’re the same).

Eyes from Nature (from the earth) by Julio Goya probably is one of the artworks that kids love the most for an obvious reason. It’s basically a big tree house. Well, not really a house, but a series of platforms among the trees. It’s always a lot of fun to go through it, both for kids and grown-ups that don’t take themselves too seriously.

I don’t really need to tell you more about it, just enjoy the following pictures and video.

Oh no, I forgot to take a picture of the swing that’s attached under the structure (I guess my kids were busy playing with it).

Eyes of Nature is located in the northern part of Konoura, near the end of Mito Peninsula on Shodoshima. Access if free. The installation has been around since 2019 and should remain for the time being. As I’m typing these lines, Julio Goya is one of the artists in residence in Konoura, so you may run into him while visiting the village (I sadly never did).

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