Niijima Island: Stone, Sculptures, Surf—and Glass
Fabulous Island Getaway
Niijima, the fourth largest of the Izu Islands, is located approximately 160 km south of Tokyo. It can be reached by plane in just 40 minutes from Chofu Airport, a small airport in western Tokyo, or by sea in about 2 hours and 20 minutes via a high-speed jet ferry from Takeshiba Passenger Ship Terminal (or 8 hours and 30 minutes on a larger passenger ship). This island is a popular summer getaway, offering attractions such as beautiful white sand beaches, a vibrant surf culture, fresh sashimi, beachside camping, and unique onsen experiences including sand bathing and an outdoor bath with ocean views.
One distinctive feature of the island is its clear international influence, evident in the numerous unique structures. Among these are a series of architectural works reminiscent of ancient Greece, beginning with the oceanfront bath that resembles temple ruins. Throughout the island, you will also find an intriguing collection of sculptures formed into enormous faces, each with a unique expression—some pensive, some haunting, and all striking.
Tomita Yuya, an official with the local tourism association, explains that the statues were created in the 1960s by local artist Daigo Yuichi, who was also the director of the tourism association at the time. Daigo crafted these statues to promote Niijima as a travel destination. He named them moyai in reference to the famous Moai statues of Easter Island, which served as their inspiration—and as a nod to the term moyai in the local dialect, which signifies a spirit of community cooperation.
A Story of Synchronicity
Tomita explains that many unique structures on the island, including the moyai statues and Greek-themed architecture, are made from volcanic koga stone. This pumice-like rhyolite has a pliable nature, making it an ideal material for artistic creations. Koga stone is found in only two locations worldwide: Niijima and Lipari Island in Italy.
The presence of this stone is associated with remarkable serendipity, particularly in the story of Noda Osamu, a native of Niijima. In the late 1970s, he studied product design at Tama Art University in Tokyo and later focused on glass art at Illinois State University's Graduate School of Fine Arts in the United States during the early 1980s. Realizing that the koga stone from his home island could serve as an excellent source for creating glass artworks, Noda began experimenting with it upon returning to Japan. He discovered that it was indeed a simple, natural, and robust material that produced beautifully soft-looking olive green glass.
Noda frequently traveled to his alma mater of Tama Art University to teach as a part-time lecturer, during which time he continued creating glass artworks alongside his wife, Yumiko, also an award-winning glass artisan.
In 1988, they established the Niijima Glass Art Center and held the inaugural Niijima International Glass Art Festival, aiming to bring top international glass artisans to the island. The Niijima Contemporary Glass Art Museum opened in 1997 to showcase glass art pieces donated by the museum's artists and international glass artists invited to the island over the years.
Among the featured instructors was Dale Chihuly from the Washington-based international center for glass art education and experimentation, Pilchuck Glass School, with whom the Nodas have a close association. Chihuly was instrumental in pioneering the studio glass movement in the early 1960s, which helped transfer glass art from industrial factories to individual artisans' studios, enabling them to make a living from their craft.
"Our small island has the koga stone necessary for our craft and is a place where it is easy for people to come together," explains Noda Osamu, echoing the ethos of the local moyai statues. "We wanted to welcome glass artisans from all over the world. The gorgeous ocean views and natural environment here are deeply calming, which is extremely conducive to internal introspection—something that we also want the artisans to experience when they visit."
Connecting Niijima to the World Through Glass Art
Every October, the Niijima International Glass Art Festival comes alive with two separate week-long workshops, both led by internationally renowned glass artisans. A total of 24 students, with 12 participants in each workshop, are selected from Japan and around the world. The workshops are designed to be hands-on, with students learning from the instructors in the mornings and then applying their newfound skills in the afternoons to create their own artworks.
Separate events are additionally held during the festival to introduce Niijima residents to glass art, and islanders and visitors alike are both invited to attend open-day demonstrations by the guest artist lecturers. Also held during the festival is a silent auction where glass artworks are sold to raise funds to send aspiring glass artists to study under master artisans in the United States.
The 2024 edition of the festival featured two workshops: glass blowing, taught by leading glass artists Dante Marioni from the US and Ben Edols from Australia, and flameworking, taught by Matthew Eskuche, also from the US. Participants joined from multiple regions in the world, including South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, the United States, and Japan.
Marioni became a glass-blowing artist at the age of 16, following in the footsteps of his father Paul. He has worked closely with renowned artists, including Dale Chihuly, and has taught for a total of eight festivals on Niijima.
"I was 25 when I came to Japan for the first time in 1989. After taking the Narita Express from the (neighboring Chiba Prefecture's Narita) airport and going directly to the overnight ferry, I woke up on this idyllic island, which was essentially the first place I visited in Japan," Marioni recalls. "My artistic focuses include leaves and botanicals, so Niijima is a totally inspiring setting for my work."
"I have also noticed a sophisticated interest and approach to craftsmanship here in Japan, more so than in any other country I have visited," he adds.
Niijima as an International Nexus
Watching the glass artisans at work is an exceptional experience. It requires strong teamwork to guide long poles into 700-degree Celsius ovens and to skillfully blow, shape, and clip the glowing orange orbs into the desired forms. One technique that Marioni and Edols focused on in their workshop was creating the crisscross-like reticello pattern. Noda Yumiko explains that this was among those taught to American glass artists—and in turn to students at the Niijima festival—by Maestro Lino Tagliapietra, a now 90-year-old Italian artisan from the famous glass island of Murano.
"These were closely guarded artistic secrets, and when Lino passed them on to international artists, he was viewed by his islanders as a traitor," she explains. "Now, thankfully, they have finally understood that such international collaborations are a positive thing."
Workshop co-instructor Edols echoes both Marioni and the Nodas in expressing his love and appreciation for Niijima island.
"I have taught workshops around the world, and whenever I saw the students getting emotional at the end, I couldn't quite understand what triggered those sentiments," he said. "But after teaching my first workshop in Niijima, when I saw the local islanders who had hosted us lining up to say goodbye at the ferry terminal, I too got teary-eyed. This truly is a special place."
Noda Osamu (left), Dante Marioni (center), and Noda Yumiko (right).
Noda Osamu
Glass artisan. Co-founder of the Niijima Glass Art Center. Former member of the board of directors of the Japan Craft Design Association and current member of the international board of trustees at the Pilchuck Glass School.
Dante Marioni
Glass artisan based in Seattle, the United States. Has worked with a number of top influential international glass artists and regularly leads overseas workshops in the craft.
Noda Yumiko
Glass artisan. Graduated from Tama Art University and co-founded the Niijima Glass Art Center along with Noda Osamu. Her works are exhibited in museum collections in Japan, Spain, Taiwan, and the United States.