Tokyo’s most Instagram worthy spot. That’s a description often used for the Epson TeamLab Borderless exhibition. The Borderless exhibition is a huge, deeply including light exhibition in which a number of large rooms are lit up by various light installations.
E-tickets for teamLab Borderless
Spread over two floors, this enormous exhibition will leave you in awe (and maybe with a sense of disorientation). Upon entering you will find a number of large rooms, illuminated in widely different styles, all with the common purpose of breaking down the physical borders and creating imaginary spaces and relations between humans and nature. You are free to explore (and get lost) as there is no “correct” way to walk through this 10.000m2 exhibition area.
In some rooms, projectors are used to create a digital world of flowers, or water. Other rooms utilize a combination of objects and projected light to let you explore imaginary worlds of lilly pads, balloons and trampolines. Other rooms again lead you through mazes of small sparkly lights or hanging lanterns. Some light installations allow you to interact with the art, and some installations interact with each other.
TeamLab Borderless is a permanent digital art exhibition in Odaiba, Tokyo. The group behind the exhibition is “teamLab”, an art collective consisting of artists, engineers, visual design experts, mathematicians etc. Using digital art to break down the physical boundaries, the group seeks to explore the relationship between human and nature through art. For this particular exhibition they use more than 500 computers and 470 projectors.
Practical information
The exhibition has a very broad appeal, and is suitable for both adults and children, art lovers and instagrammers. While the exhibition has become quite popular it is necessary to reserve tickets in advance. When making your reservation you pick the date, and then show up during the open hours. My recommendation is to arrive 15-30 minutes prior to opening. A line will likely be formed already, but it generally moves quickly. Expect to spend 2-3 hours exploring the mesmerizing rooms.
Getting there
By train: There are two stations in the area near the MORI Building. The nearest station is Aomi Station, which is serviced by the Yurikamome Line, the driverless guided train system which runs between Shimbashi and Toyosu. If you come from the city, then you can catch the Yurikamome Line from Shimbashi Station or Shiodome Station. In some cases it might be easier for you to catch the further-reaching Rinkai Line, which stops at Tokyo Teleport, a 5 minute walk from the museum.
