TeamLab Borderless: A Digital Art Playground

by Tegan

TeamLab Borderless is one of the coolest places we’ve ever been to, despite not knowing much about digital art. Back when we lived in Washington, D.C. there was a Yayoi Kusama “Infinity Room” exhibit at the Hirshhorn that was wildly popular, but we never were able to get tickets (despite trying every possible way we could, but that’s a story for another day.) In large part due to this, we decided to give TeamLab a shot, despite the relatively hefty (for us) price tag of $30 USD each.

TeamLab was one of the most fun things we did on our trip to Japan, and we can’t recommend it enough! The maze of rooms (encompassing 500 computers and 470 projectors!) was a super neat sensory experience, with each one boasting a different theme, as well as different things to touch, observe, and immerse yourself in. The attractions don’t play on a loop– they’re always different, depending on how the people in the room interact with the exhibits. There’s even a trampoline area! We stayed for hours, and didn’t even notice time going by. You should definitely go out of your way to visit this place; you won’t regret it. 

Here are some tips to make the most of your visit:

  • As with most popular things, get there early. We arrived about an hour before it opened and there was already a line to get in. make sure you get in the line on the left side for “ticket holders”, and not the “buy tickets” line. You will definitely not regret buying tickets in advance when you see the line forming on the right side! 
  • It’s very easy to get there on the train, and we really enjoyed the scenic ride over the Rainbow Bridge and views of the water. It’s just a short walk from the Tokyo Teleport Station or Aomi Station stops. Make sure you are walking to the right place, though– after you walk through the station and a shopping center with a Toyota showroom below you, make sure you’re on the top floor, on a walkway. Follow the signs for “Mori Building Digital Art Museum: EPSON teamLab Borderless”, and you’ll walk up to an area next to a flight of stairs with a black facade, a set of double doors, and a ticket window, right underneath a Ferris Wheel. Truth be told, we wasted some pretty valuable time trying to figure out exactly where to go that we could’ve spent in line. 
  • While you’re waiting in line, decide what you’re going to bring into the museum with you and what you’re going to store in a locker. Once they open the doors, the line moves very quickly. You don’t want to waste a single second rummaging through your snacks and umbrellas and frantically stuffing them into a locker that you could be experiencing one of the rooms practically by yourself. Also, no tripods allowed.
  • Make sure you eat before arriving. We ended up spending 4 hours here practically without noticing, and the only place to eat/drink is a tea house that had pretty steep pricing. 
  • Before you arrive, research your visit and pick the rooms you want to see 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Immediately upon entering, make a beeline for the room you want to see most. For us, it was the (sadly no longer on exhibit) Forest of Resonating Lamps. Since we ran right to see it, we were able to cycle through it several times without waiting in line, and get awesome photos inside without other people in them. By the time we left, the line was enormous. We also loved the Crystal World room, which looks like crystallized sheets of rain, and the Flower Forest
  • By the time we made it to the more interactive part of the museum, the Athletics Forest, it was really crowded and we had to wait to jump on the trampoline (worth it) and interact with the other exhibits. If we could go back and do it again, we would perhaps have prioritized going here right after the Forest of Resonating Lamps. 
  • One neat idea is to wear white (or a solid, lighter color), in order for the images to project directly onto you. We clearly didn’t know this prior to going (i.e. Tegan’s striped turtleneck!) but it makes for really cool photos.
  • As always, we recommend taking your photos immediately upon entering (and as early as possible in your visit, to avoid other people in them), but then putting your phone or camera away and really letting yourself be immersed in the experience. There’s so much to listen to, touch, and look at! It’s good to get your cool photos out of the way and then just enjoy.

Have you been here? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

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