This audio is generated by AI, so pronunciation and expressions may not be fully accurate. The narration is only in English.
teamLab Planets Tokyo is the creation of the art collective teamLab, which was formed in Tokyo in 2001 and now operates throughout Japan and worldwide. In addition to teamLab Borderless (teamLab Planets' sister museum in Tokyo's Azabudai Hills complex), permanent and long-term artworks of varying sizes and scale are also found throughout Japan and across the globe. These include the domestic prefectures of Fukuoka, Ibaraki, Kyoto, Oita, Okinawa, Osaka, and Saga; as well as the overseas cities of Abu Dhabi, Hamburg, Jeddah, Macao, New York and Singapore—plus additional rotating artworks that are regularly curated both within Japan and abroad.
Drawing on a philosophy that challenges fixed boundaries, teamLab utilizes digital technology to encourage new ways of conceptualizing the world through themes of transcendence and connection.
This is achieved through blurring the interactions among humans—as well as between humans and technology—by synching digital responses to bodily movements, which represents another key theme of teamLab's work. Herein, the art collective's masterful incorporation of light and sound into its sprawling digital playground serves to completely disrupt human understandings of what is possible within both time and space.
Universe of Fire Particles Haunting the Sky and Earth.
Catching and Collecting Extinct Forest.
Aerial Climbing through a Flock of Colored Birds.
Graffiti Nature.
Existence in the Flow Creates Vortices.
Balance Stepping Stones in the Invisible World.
Sketch Umwelt World.
Multi Jumping Universe.
A Table where Little People Live.
A Musical Wall where Little People Live.
Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One.
Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms - Solidified Light Color, Dusk to Dawn.
The Infinite Crystal Universe.
Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity.
Expanding Three-dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors.
Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers.
teamLab Planets Tokyo is divided into separate areas titled forest, garden, water, and open-air, with each area offering a menu of distinct experiences.
The forest area offers a dynamic, fast-paced atmosphere, with many artworks geared toward younger visitors. These include the Catching and Collecting Forest, where museum-goers are encouraged to download the teamLab app to target and collect various extinct creatures as they move through vibrantly-colored forest trees projected onto the surrounding walls. After learning various facts about the animals, visitors may then release them back into the artwork.
The adjacent Athletics Forest houses numerous artworks that challenge visitors to physically engage with the space around them. These include the Graffiti Nature, which again features the shapeshifting imagery of gigantesque vibrantly-colored creatures darting and slithering throughout the 360-degree space, featuring a terrain of bouncy, uneven floors. Here, museum-goers can draw their own pictures of creature, which are then projected onto the walls—a thrilling experience for children and adults alike.
The Multi-Jumping Universe is strictly for the museum's younger visitors, however, as it is accessible only to those up to age 20. In this room, visitors are encouraged to tactilely experience a star's life cycle by continuously jumping atop it throughout its various developmental stages.
The water section similarly features unique sensorial encounters with light and sound. In the Infinite Crystal Universe, frenetically dazzling lights make one feel like a mere dot within the grandiosity of the cosmos. This artwork again features an interplay between humans and their surrounding environment, since individual stars may be selected via smartphone to be cast out into the surrounding starscape—thereby again creating a never-again-to-be-seen art canvas due to its constantly-shifting nature.
Visitors next make their way to the Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity room. Here, they are guided to walk knee-deep in water (which requires that shoes be removed, and long pant legs rolled up) amidst imagery of koi (carp) swimming on the water's surface—some languidly; others racing and whirling. Whenever someone comes into contact with the fish, they turn into blooming flowers which then scatter—thereby reflecting teamLab's signature style of creating unique artworks that feature the movements of the individuals who are present at any given time.
Towels are also provided upon leaving the artwork—a quintessential example of Japanese-style omotenashi (hospitality).
The artwork titled Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers is arguably one of the museum's most sensorially powerful. Visitors are encouraged to lay down on the floor as cosmic floral images drift by overhead—some tiny, and some enormous. The atmosphere is deepened even further by the soundtrack of ethereal music, which provides an intensely relaxing experience wherein one literally feels as if they are a minuscule speck amidst the vast universe.
Additional spaces in this area include Soft Black Hole - Your Body Becomes a Space that Influences Another Body, whose soft, squishy cloth floor and tranquil music make for an experience that is both immersive and calming. Another artwork features gigantesque multi-colored spheres, which are set amidst shifting lighting. Herein, visitors are immersed within an exquisite sea of chromatics—from icy white to turquoise to soft purple to striking vermillion red—along with numerous tones in-between. This features the historical phenomenon of kasane no irome (nuances of layered colors), which is used to describe the seasonal tones of silk. Although the light patterns are seemingly random, they are in fact synched to the surrounding human movements. Colors and tones shift as people pass through and push the spheres, which in turn influences the other spheres surrounding them.
In the garden area, visitors are invited to immerse themselves within an attractive, expansive space titled the Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One. Here, living orchids move to let visitors pass through—again shifting in tandem with their movements. In the adjacent outdoor "Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms," enormous jellybean-esque blobs (known as ovoids) dot the grounds, changing color and emitting sound tones when tilted. They also become illuminated after dark, providing an altogether different experience between night and day.
The entire museum grounds encompass the canvas for creating teamLab's fantastical worlds, since visitors' senses are activated not only inside the various areas; but also while moving between them. The twisty hallways that connect the different areas feature aesthetic touches such as fragrant aromatherapy-style air, swirling floor imagery, mood lighting, and of course more otherworldly music.
An array of artworks is additionally housed within the museum's open-air area, beginning with the fiery orange-red tower fronting the entrance. Here, a digital flame may be ignited from the tower via the museum's smartphone app, which can then be shared with others and taken home as a keepsake (while also appearing on a shared map).
In the museum's al fresco restaurant, visitors may enjoy vegan ramen from the Kyoto restaurant UZU. The dish features handcrafted noodles served in a rich broth of white miso, oat milk and shiitake mushrooms, along with seasonal grilled vegetables and hints of yuzu (a diminutive citrus fruit, whose flavor accent is available for a limited time only). The ramen may also be eaten outdoors in the Emptiness Table artwork space.
For overseas visitors to Tokyo—who comprise 70% of teamLab Planets' traffic—there are numerous must-have experiences while in Japan's metropolitan capital. These include exploring the city's fantastic options for shopping and cuisine, and exploring its dynamic bayside area. Tokyo also has incredible offerings for museums—and teamLab Planets' large-scale, boundary-defying artworks comprise an element of an urban art journey that no visitor here should miss.
"We have artworks here that are not found anywhere else, and which are able to be enjoyed by everyone regardless of attributes such as race, age or generation," commented a teamLab Planets Tokyo spokesperson. "We are doing our best to provide visitors with an elevated experience—and we will strive to continue curating artworks and a museum environment to ensure that everyone has a wonderful time."
Movie: Tokyo Metropolitan Government
