If you see nothing else while you’re in Tokyo, see this. No one in the world creates digital environments as rich and immersive as TeamLab, and wandering through this ever-changing kaleidoscope of digital wonders is entertaining for far longer than most museums, because it feels like you never step into the same river twice.
TeamLab’s Borderless is truly a digital world without horizons, constantly changing and unfolding around you. There are two kinds of artworks: those that live in one area and those that roam throughout the museum interacting with other artworks and visitors alike.
We enter through the Borderless Universe, with seasonal flowers unfolding all around, then falling apart, to make way for the next season
They are underfoot and on every wall…
and we begin to encounter creatures that swim, fly and roam freely from room to room…
through the spaces and corridors…
and how they respond if you touch them. If you step on one of the calligraphy-trailing crows, for example, they’ll turn into a slowly exploding chrysanthemum.
Never have hallways been so entertaining—they sometimes literally open into a different universe!
At the heart of Borderless is the Waterfall Room…
where you can stand with your back against the wall and the “water” it will splash off your head. If you look down, the stream will slowly begin to flow around your feet.
All the roaming artworks visit this room, so stick around until Japanese characters start to fall from the sky, because touching them will turn them into whatever they represent: fireflies, rainbows, butterflies, and more.
Then it’s time to move on to everyone’s favorite, the Bubble Universe—a sparkling infinity room of glittering globes that glow as they interact with guests and each other…
changing colors in waves…
with infinite color variations…
making for excellent selfie settings. Note: This one gets crowded, so if you’d like to experience it with minimum wait time, check out the tips & tricks for having maximum fun at Borderless.
In total contrast to the gentle bubbles, the Light Sculpture room lets you look into the void, which is filled with a perpetual rotation of mesmerizing laser light shows…
which flow and pulse to the ambient music.
Next, stop is the glittery infinity room called Microcosmoses that surrounds you with a giant marble maze, complete with silvery, randomly glowing bowling balls…
that cycle through a kaleidoscopic light show. It’s easy to get lost in the infinite sparkle of it all…
The new Dark Crystal room doesn’t look very exciting when the digital animation starts…
but by the time petals are whirling and the waves rush in, the reflecting surfaces become a wonderland of sensation.
And in case you forgot how much you love the Crystal Universe, everyone’s favorite infinity room never fails to delight with its pulsing and glittering maze…
that you can control through a TeamLab app you download to your phone.
The Memory of Topography lilypads are a wonderful landscape that changes with the seasons. Flowers, fish, birds and more stream across the lilypads while you wend your way through the “underwater” stems below…
then follow the path out the other side to wade through the lilypads while the season flows around you.
And don’t get so mesmerized by the glow that you miss your chance to create your own sea creature and send it roaming out into the museum!
Finally, relax at the En Tea House with a bowl of hot or cold tea. Flowers bloom on the surface bubbles…
and when you set it back down after drinking, they explode in a slow-mo whirlwind of petals.
Photos can’t really capture how incredible is it to be surrounded by this amazing projection mapping art—it’s truly a tour de force of inspiration and flawless execution.
It’s a lot to see, and if you want to be sure you don’t miss anything, take a peek at Tips & Tricks for Maximum Fun at the new TeamLab Borderless.
You can easily buy tickets online in English (and many other languages) on the TeamLab Borderless website, but do it well in advance, because they do sell out. After you pay, they’ll email you a receipt, then send you a link to your group’s QR code 24 hours before your admission time.
Note: You have to decide on a date and timeslot before you book, but once you enter, you can stay as long as you like.
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TeamLab Borderless
Open: Every day, except closed 1st and 3rd Tuesdays and a few special closing days
Check the website before getting your heart set on a date
Hours: 10:00 – 21:00
Admission:
Adult price varies between ¥3,800 and ¥4,800 depending on the day; Students (13-17) ¥2,800, Children (4-12) ¥1,500 (under 4 are free)
You need to buy your tickets and book your time slot online before arriving, so do that here
The entrance is on level B1 of Azabudai Hills, and you can walk straight there from the ticket gate at Kamiyacho Station.
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And here are the other places I take my friends when they come to town
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 