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Senior Travel Consultant Ali‘s recent trip to Tokyo’s teamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum saw her wander through rooms of suspended lanterns, follow skittish characters across the walls and sit amidst vistas of rainbow flowers.
Borderless in Tokyo
Having been lost in Tokyo countless times, I’ve always enjoyed just wandering and discovering new things, not really knowing where the next street leads. Now there’s an interactive art exhibition in the city that encourages just that: “wander, explore, discover in one borderless world”.
TeamLab Borderless is a unique, immersive experience in Tokyo’s Odaiba district, and the top place to visit in the capital right now. A vast group of artworks, spread over two floors and totalling 10,000 square meters, form a borderless world in which the visitor is encouraged to wander freely. As you explore, the digital art exhibits almost seem to wander with you. Flowers climb the walls, sea creatures swim by, and ghostlike people march through the corridors. Touch the walls, and they might even turn and react.
An art exhibition unlike any other
In one dark and stormy room waves come crashing down, and in another an infinite number of lamps hang colourfully, reflected in mirrors. Lights stream down like rain in another room, and lasers dance in yet another. There is no right way to go around the museum; there’s no clear order, and it’s like no art exhibition I’ve ever encountered before. Visitors simply pass from one space to another, pausing as they wish to sit and watch, soaking in the colours and patterns, and listening to the sounds. It’s like falling down a beautiful rabbit hole into a mysterious wonderland or fantastic dream.
teamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum top tips
A few words of advice to any intrepid explorers planning to visit this distant land:
1. Don’t take large bags, although there are lockers if you need them
2. Give yourself lots of time; you will want to spend at least half a day in there, and at times you may need to queue
3. Pre-book your tickets, or ask your InsideJapan travel consultant to include them in your package
4. Stay hydrated! There’s a tea room in the museum, but not really a place to stop for refreshments
5. Wear flat, comfortable shoes and sensible clothes; the ground is uneven in places, and there are opportunities to jump and climb
6. Charge your phone! You WILL want to take a lot of photos – the whole place is very Instagrammable
7. Open your mind and allow yourself to be a child again. Play. Dream. Explore, and discover!
Whoever you are, and whether travelling solo, with friends, a partner, or a whole family, be sure to add a visit to teamLab Borderless to your Tokyo itinerary. There are no age limits in the borderless world (but you must be young at heart!)
