Ray of light

Tokyo has some amazing museums.  I have been to quite a few and can attest to the quality of them.  But some are head and shoulders above the rest.  My cousins, son, and I went to a museum today that left us yearning for more.  We spent almost 3 hours there and didn't want to leave.  My son actually teared up as we departed asking if we could come again another day. 

What could have entranced us this much?  Lights!  teamLab Borderless is a permanent exhibit in Odaiba, Tokyo.  It is filled with immersive light displays that are revolutionary.  Since first hearing about it when it opened in 2018, I desperately wanted to go.  I sometimes force myself to wait for visitors before going somewhere I really want to go so we can experience it for the first time together.

I ordered our tickets online because I've heard that they sell out regularly.  I didn't want to get over there just to find out there aren't any tickets available.  Tickets are pretty spendy at ¥3,200 per adult ($30 USD).  I was not deterred by the price because the photos looked so fantastic.  I really wanted to experience the exhibit.

Even though we had advanced tickets, we had to wait for a few minutes at the entrance to the museum.  There were signs everywhere and people spoke to us first in Japanese and then in English with each announcement and notification, making it easy for us to understand everything that was being said to attendees.  When we entered the building, we put our bags in a locker.  Although we paid for the locker, it was only a deposit, which was returned upon collecting our things.  We then got into another line to enter into the exhibit.

My son desperately had to go to the bathroom, which he notified me of when we waiting in line.  Unfortunately, there are not any bathrooms outside the exhibit, so he had to wait until we were all the way inside.  The staff provided excellent directions and we were able to head immediately there after we finally made it inside.  To get to the restroom, we had to walk through a tiny bit of the exhibit.  It was at this point we realized that we would have difficulty all staying together in the dark museum.  There was so much to see and do, it would have diminished the experience to try to keep track of one another.  So, we broke up into two groups and made a plan for meeting back up in one hour.

Photo credit: unnamed cousin

When we began our official start to wandering around the museum, my son immediately ran to the walls and started touching the digital images projected onto the walls.  He was so excited to explore freely.  Every image was magical for him. 

We slowly left one room and entered another, experiencing a new level of excitement and wonder with each step.  Just when we thought we had found our favorite thing, we turned a corner and found something even more amazing.

The museum was filled with many, many people.  I didn't find it to be uncomfortably crowded, but it was very difficult to get photos without lots of other people in the shot.  I cannot imagine going on a weekend, as I assume there would be even more people there. 

Throughout the exhibit, there are cloth curtains that you can duck inside.  These take you into special rooms with distinct exhibits, like the LED room filled with strands of lights cascading down from the ceiling.  The mirrored floor makes even more of an impact as it extends the visuals. 

So many of the rooms are simply indescribable.  They took me to a place of fascination and awe.  My son held my hand and we lost ourselves again and again in the exhibits. 

Way too quickly, our hour was up and it was time to get together again.  We were a bit late because there aren't maps and we had to re-find our meet up location.  Once we found each other, we decided to go to the two main areas we had missed. 

The Athletic Forest was extremely interactive.  There were things to climb, slides to cascade down, oversized balloons to play with (gently), and even places to create artwork that could come to life once scanned.  My son's laughter in the balloon area was epic.

Our final destination was the only place we had to wait in line for.  The Lamp Room was a mirrored room filled with suspended Murano glass lamps.  We stood in a queue behind a two-way mirror.  So, at least we could see the room while we waited.  When we entered, I felt like I was in the lantern scene of Tangled, with the magical lights floating all around me.  A group of 20 or so people enter together.  They are given just a short time (we guesstimated 2 minutes) to wander and photograph the room.  Then everyone is shuffled out so the next group can come inside.  I understand the need to do this, but it was so hard to leave the room.

Photo credit: unnamed cousin

When it was time to go, none of us wanted to leave.  We unanimously agreed that we could have stayed for many more hours.  It was so unique and amazing.  I want to go back again and again.