Tokyo: Visiting TeamLab Borderless

TeamLab Borderless is an interactive digital gallery space about 40 minutes from central Tokyo by train in a place called the Mori Building, but completely worth the trip. To enjoy it at its quietest and most impactful, we wanted to get there for opening time. We showed up at about 9:30am, half an hour before opening time, and there was already a queue maybe 100 people strong! Lesson learned: nothing is quiet in Tokyo after 8am.

Crystal World

Still, we were two of the first people into our absolute favourite installation, the Crystal World. The fact that it wasn’t very busy may have actually made it our favourite, to be honest. The level of atmosphere in this room was breath-taking. Hundreds of LED strips hang from the ceiling, making you feel like you’re inside a glittering waterfall, and they flash all sorts of colours in synchronisation with beautifully-composed music. Some sequences were loud, intense and multi-coloured, while others were calm and cool-toned, like being in a trance. Our favourite was a sequence where the lights changed direction and began to rush at us, making us feel like we were flying at light speed through hyper space! Although it was fun to walk amongst the LED strips, there is also a corner of the room surrounded by mirrors where you can stand or sit and watch the light show.

Forest of Resonating Lamps

We spent ages looking for this room, and eventually found it upstairs. The nice thing about this one is that the number of people inside the room is limited at any one time, but to be honest it still felt crowded. The point of it is to walk through a path between hanging lamps, which change colour depending on your proximity to them. It was beautiful, but the atmosphere was ruined a little by the children running through it, not understanding the concept behind the changing colours. The attendant did her best to restore calm, but she was fighting a losing battle! This is definitely one to seek out early to enjoy it at its quietest!

Flower Forest

This is probably the largest space and the heart of the exhibit. All other rooms are located around it, and you can spend ages skipping through the floral projections and discovering hidden doorways to smaller rooms. Flowers die when you step onto them, but you can grow fresh ones by walking on an empty spot.

Memory of Topography

This was another hypnotising room, a forest of lily pads with fish and rippling water projected onto them. Trying to touch a fish will make it swim away from you. There are many narrow paths through the lily pads, the idea being you brush lightly against them as you make your way through. The room is fairly small but the mirrors on all the walls make it seem endless.

The corridors

The corridors that surround the Flower Forest and lead to the other rooms are exhibits in themselves, as parades of animals made of flowers make their way across the walls. It’s impossible to use the corridors to orient yourself, as the images are so constantly changing! We were lost for about 80% of the time we were inside TeamLab, which is, apparently, the whole point.

Black Waves

This is maybe the most relaxing room, and the makers have seen to that by providing a collection of big, comfy bean bags in the middle of the room. We started feeling more than a little drowsy as we lay and watched the waves swirl and crash around us...until a large group of children arrived and began diving onto the bean bags around us.

Light Forest 3D Bouldering

Upstairs in the Athletic Forest area (more aimed at children!) we discovered this bouldering activity, a series of poles with different coloured footholds attached. The aim of the game is to climb from one end of the forest to the other, without touching the ground and sticking only to one colour of foothold. I chose green, which was a poor choice as it involved almost pulling a muscle trying to hop from one pole to the next, but it was still lots of fun!

Weightless Forest of Resonating Life

Also found in the Athletic Forest, this big balloon pit features pear-shaped floating balls that defy gravity and float up and down around you while changing colour. My inner child was fully unleashed here!

Light Shell

This loud and intense room reminded me of being at a gig, with the intense spotlight rig that is constantly moving. The lights can often be plain white, but when we were there they were multicoloured, and you could see how different coloured beams crossed to create new colours. We couldn’t stay long here because it was a true assault on the senses.

En Tea House

We didn’t go to the tea house as it cost extra, but we could see how it worked from the outside. Your tea cup becomes an interactive piece of art, with flowers projected from above seeming to grow inside your teacup.

Outside TeamLab Borderless

The gallery is located in a huge exhibition building, that seemed to be running a 'cars of the future' exhibition while we were there. Right opposite the gallery is a Wendy's, where everybody seemed to stop for lunch after their visit! And right beside the Wendy's is a very photogenic ferris wheel, each car painted a different rainbow shade. I couldn't help grabbing a picture, even though we didn't ride the wheel itself.

On the way home

If you're taking the train to and from TeamLab Borderless, the chances are you'll pass by Shiodome Station. You should probably get off the train and walk the few minutes to the Studio Ghibli mechanical clock, designed by director Hayao Miyazaki. It has a Howl's Moving Castle aesthetic to it, being three storeys high and suspended on little spindly legs. This intricate, fully clockwork spectacle jumps into action several times a day: noon, 3pm, 6pm and 8pm. We missed the noon show, sadly, but we still enjoyed the size of it!

Note, you have to climb some stairs to find the clock, as it's suspended above ground level in the grounds of the Nippon Television building. Also in those grounds, if visiting in April, you will find a lovely hidden cherry blossom garden!

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