Awaji Yumebutai: Everywhere You Look, It’s ANDO Architecture!
Awaji Yumebutai: A Paradise of Tadao Ando Architecture
Have you heard of Awaji Yumebutai? It’s a huge resort complex on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture. Best of all, every structure here was designed by the world-renowned architect Tadao Ando.
It’s not especially well known in the Kanto region, but for the second night of my “Journey to Kansai’s Hidden Sides,” I stayed here at Awaji Yumebutai.
I headed to Awaji Yumebutai by highway bus from Kobe-Sannomiya Station.
It drops you off right in front of the hotel.
The hotel at Awaji Yumebutai is The Westin Awaji Island. I always strongly associated Westin with Ebisu, so finding one in a place this full of nature was a surprise.
Since it was still before check-in time and I couldn’t go to my room yet, I left my luggage at the front desk and set off to explore Ando’s architecture.
It’s So, So Vast… Even More Tadao Ando World Than I Imagined
First Stop: The Sea Church
Looking at the overall map, the place is unbelievably huge—and all of it was designed by Tadao Ando…
http://www.yumebutai.co.jp/map/map.html
There are many examples of ANDO architecture around the world, but I imagine there can’t be many on this scale.
The first place I went was the Sea Church. When people think of Tadao Ando, the Church of the Light is the famous one—but this one is the sea version.
To reach the Sea Church, you walk down a narrow passage of exposed concrete.
This width, this stark concrete minimalism—it’s pure Ando world.
Then, when you step inside the Sea Church, there’s a large cross made of soft light. This is the Sea Church.
It’s called the Sea Church, but oddly enough, you can’t actually see the sea from it.
The cross of light comes from the ceiling. What a dramatic reveal…
Soft indirect lighting rises from the floor along the church walls. It’s beautiful.
No matter where you frame it, it has this exact vibe, haha.
You can also go up onto the church roof, where you can see how the cross-shaped light pouring down from the ceiling is created.
There’s a reflecting pool around it, and at night it felt incredibly dreamlike. The bell tower is cool too…
There Are Just Too Many Highlights.
Next up was the Circular Forum.
It doesn’t really serve any particular function—it’s simply a luxurious architectural space. Whoever approved the idea of building this deserves credit…
See? Even the corridor-like walkway just stops halfway, haha. It feels like something out of an RPG.
Do not, under any circumstances, try to jump it!!
There’s another forum as well: the Oval Forum. It’s bigger than the Circular Forum.
It doesn’t seem to have an actual stage or anything, but apparently it can be used as an event venue when needed. Such an extravagant space.
And the paths are like a maze. I still haven’t even managed to show half of it.
Then I headed for what seemed to be the biggest feature of all: the Hyakudan-en. You can see it in the far left.
Hyakudan-en means one hundred flowerbeds—but what kind of place is it, exactly?
You can take an elevator up part of the way, and it gets pretty high.
And this is what it looks like from above. Unfortunately, it was the wrong season, so there weren’t any flowers at all.
Photos and words just can’t convey the scale of this place… it’s unbelievably huge…
Sadly, this time I only really got to appreciate the concrete, so I’d love to come back someday when the flowers are in bloom.
I Can’t Possibly Cover It All, So I’ll Speed Through the Rest
This is the Sea Corridor. It has an open, airy feel and is perfect for a walk. There’s also a Mountain Corridor elsewhere.
There’s also a huge indoor botanical garden called the Kisetsu no Hoshi Botanical Museum. Of course, this too is ANDO architecture.
You can see the plants gradually taking over the ANDO architecture up close. It has a bit of a post-humanity, end-of-civilization building feel.
And at the very back of Awaji Yumebutai is the Open-Air Theater.
With nothing going on and nobody there, the empty theater had a slightly eerie atmosphere that really overwhelmed me, haha. And since it was winter, it was definitely a little cold too…
Awaji Yumebutai Turns Dreamlike After Sunset
A Strange Warmth in Something So Stark
No matter how much I explored, Awaji Yumebutai seemed endless. And once it got dark, it became even more magical and fun, so here are a few more scenes.
A mysterious passageway like this behind a waterfall…
Stairs like this that leave you wondering why they were designed this way…
And even from a distance, the buildings still look wonderfully strange…
If you visit, definitely bring a camera that handles night scenes well!!!
So with that, this exploration of the overwhelmingly huge ANDO architecture of Awaji Yumebutai comes to an end. I really hope you’ll visit in person and experience its sheer scale for yourself… it was that kind of place!!
Comments