SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

Mind-bending installations and a slick new place to stay are reigniting the scene on Japan's art-studded Naoshima island

Standing in a forested valley on the Japanese art island of Naoshima, layers of sounds hit my ears: the melodic trill of birdsong, a quiver of wind through trees-and an endless tap-tap-tap. The latter is courtesy of cult artist Yayoi Kusama, whose many shiny mirrored balls float on a pond surface, catching the breeze in army-like formations, creating a gently hypnotic sound in the process. This vast piece, Narcissus Garden, includes 1,700 such balls that spill from the new geometric concrete Valley Gallery into the forested surrounds.