I decided to let my son stay home from school to go to the museum. It would be a lot less crowded to go on a weekday and we'd get a bit more quality time with our family friend. We pre-purchased tickets online, specifying the date and time we wanted to go. After learning a bit more about the features of the museum, it made perfect sense that the tickets would be sold in time slots and not just willy-nilly.
Unfortunately our friend woke up with a bit of a stomach bug and had to cancel at the last minute. Since the tickets are non-refundable, my son and I forged ahead (with her insistence).
We arrived right on time for our 10 am timeslot. After waiting in the queue for a short bit, we were taken to a room where large television screens outlined the rules of the museum. Shoes are not to be worn inside the museum, as many of the exhibits were fully immersive. Several of the rooms have mirrors for flooring and might reveal more than people were wanting, so they offer a shorts rental service. There were also two exhibits with water. So, if people's pants were not able to be raised above the knees, these people could also use the shorts rental.
We were then guided to a large locker room. We removed our shoes and put everything, except my cell phone, in the locker. We knew about the water exhibits, so we were already wearing short pants.
It was time to enter the museum. We were welcomed into a dark corridor with color lights near the floor. It made me really feel the soft carpet under my feet as we walked along and really get into the mood of the museum.
After a bit of a wander, we stepped around a corner and saw a steep incline with water rushing down it. We smiled and hiked up the hallway. At the top was a beautiful, yet simple, waterfall. We exited right before needing to walk into the waterfall and found a woman passing out towels to dry our feet.
After a quick toweling, we were on our way to discover more. There was a room with a floor made of beanbags. It was very hard to traverse, but my son loved it.
The LED room from the Borderless museum was replicated (or maybe it was the original - I'm not sure!).
And the balloon room was similar, but different.
My favorite room was the one that required shorts above the knee. Patrons waded through warm, milky water that had flowers and fish projected onto it. It was great fun.
There was also a (kind of) hidden room that had a bench inside as well as a reflective pool that was slightly raised above the water we were wading in. At the far end of the room, was a interesting projection show that displayed the growth of a flowering tree. My son and I sat on the bench and watched in fascination.
I'm sad to say that none of my photos give this place justice. It was incredible from the get go. There were a couple rooms that I just couldn't capture on film. They were breathtaking, but not recordable. I didn't mind, because it gave me a chance to just put my phone away and really be in the moment.
Unlike Borderless, this museum had an actual path that directs attendees from exhibit to exhibit. There is a clear path to go on from start to end. I preferred the Borderless exhibit, but I found Planets to be very interesting and fun. I think Planets is possibly a better choice for families or groups since it has a defined path. Depending on the person wanting to go, I might have a different recommendation.
As we were leaving, I saw there was going to be a temporary teamLab exhibit at another museum this summer. I was super excited, until I looked it up and saw it was over 4 hours away (including a Shinkansen ride). Hmmm. Maybe I see a summer trip coming up.
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