Tokyo’s interactive art museum teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM, located in Toyosu, consists of several exhibition spaces where visitors become part of the art by moving through them. After opening in July 2018, 1.25 million visitors from 106 countries and regions visited within one year. The museum is famously known for its large mirror-walled room of water with an interactive projection mapping display where visitors move barefoot through the water to influence the beautiful display on the water’s surface.

 

With the coming of spring, teamLab Planets is giving two of their attractions a sakura makeover. The new attractions will run from March 1 to April 30, 2020.

The Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers exhibition, where visitors are showered in beautiful flowers which grow and change overtime, will be replacing the flowers with cherry blossoms for spring. 

The famous attraction Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity, where visitors move through water barefoot, will also be transforming for spring. The koi fish projection mapping will be replaced by an infinite number of cherry blossoms, which will gently fall apart as you move through the water and reform elsewhere. 

 

As spring arrives in Japan and the cycle of life is born again, teamLab’s world of digital art is the perfect place to explore changing seasons and the beautiful cycle of nature. 

Doraemon Future Department Store is the world’s first official Doraemon shop, and it’s set to open tomorrow on December 1, 2019. Before its grand opening, however, the store has given customers a sneak peek into what to expect.

 

The shop’s concept is from the perspective of Doraemon, who says, “I’ll help make your future a good one.” It’s split into three areas: the Secret Gadget Lab, the Customise Zone, and the Shop Zone, each of which offers a unique Doraemon experience you won’t find anywhere else.

 

Secret Gadget Lab

 

The Anywhere Door

Just like in the manga and anime series, the Dokodemo Door, or Anywhere Door, lets you travel anywhere.

 

Discover secret gadgets, like the air gun!

Have a go at trying to shoot and hit the 10 targets within the time limit.

*Requires one Doraemon Future Department Store coin to play

 

Dorayaki Baybayin Game

Touch the dorayaki to increase your score. Touch too many, and something crazy might just happen…

*Requires one Doraemon Future Department Store coin to play

 

Fly as far as you can with the Bamboo Copter

Reach the goal with the Take-copter, or Bamboo Copter.

*Requires one Doraemon Future Department Store coin to play

 

Customise Zone

 

Embroidered items

Embroider Doraemon characters and the logo onto towels, bags, clothes and more.

 

Characters (18 Designs): ¥700 Each (Before Tax)

Text  (45 Designs): ¥400 Each (Before Tax)

*The place where a design is embroidered is chosen for you

*There may be a waiting time during busy hours

 

Carved Seal Items

Have character designs, text and more carved onto various items like key rings.

 

Plate Key Ring (10 Designs) – ¥1,000 Each (Before Tax)

Room Key Holder (6 Designs) – ¥1,200 Each (Before Tax)

¥500 per carving (Before Tax)

*There may be a waiting time during busy hours

 

Shop Zone (Exclusive Merchandise)

These cute mugs have illustrations of Doraemon’s secret gadgets on one side, and the first letter of those gadgets written in Katakana on the other side. It makes you want to collect them all!

 

Product Name (Pictured): Doraemon Dora-moji Mug Cup A

Price: ¥1,200 (Before Tax)

 

This cute figure of Doraemon is actually a piggy bank, a perfect gift to yourself or someone else!

 

Product Name: Doraemon Piggy Bank

Product: ¥4,000 (Before Tax)

 

Book Corner

There’s even a book shop where you can pick up the latest issues of the Doraemon comic.

 

Bonus Items

To celebrate its grand opening, the store will give out the following items to customers.

Those who purchase any piece of merchandise will receive a free postcard with an original design with every transaction.

For every ¥4,000 (tax included) spent on a transaction on merch, you’ll get an original handkerchief.

And for every book bought, you’ll get a holographic postcard featuring a design of volume 0 of the manga.

 

*Bonus items available while supplies last

Christmas is about to fall upon VenusFort in Odaiba, Tokyo, with a snow-pile of Christmas content set to take place at the mall from November 30 onward. This will include the exhibiting of teamLab’s hugely popular “The Trees of Resonating Colors of Life” installation.

teamLab, The Tree of Resonating Colors of Life, 2018, Interactive Installation, Endless, H: 8000 mm W: 6000 mm D: 6000 mm Sound: Hideaki Takahashi© teamLab

Located in the Olive Plaza, this interactive art piece is a three-dimensional tree made up of many light spheres which change colour as people touch them.

The popular annual “SNOW WISH” event will also take place again this year, where delicate snow falls gracefully from the ceiling. This year the event is collaborating with “VenusFort Illumination 2019-2020 -Grateful Harmony-” to create a heart-warming and enchanting Christmas display that’s sure to put you in the Christmas mood.

There will also be a Christmas raffle where you can win prizes, a special VenusFort Christmas party menu, as well as a Black Friday Market where you can grab some serious bargains.

 

Be sure to add Odaiba on your list of places to visit if you’re celebrating Christmas and the holiday season in Tokyo this year.

teamLab has announced a new digital art event entitled “teamLab: Digitized Fukuoka Castle Ruins” which will bring interactive digital art to Fukuoka Castle from November 29 to February 2.

Breathing Resonating Stone Wall – Fukuoka Castle Ruins, teamLab, 2017, Digital Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Construction of Fukuoka Castle began in 1601 and took place over the course of 7 years. The historical landmark is lined with hundreds of meters of stone walls, which has led the castle to be nicknamed Stone Castle.

Animals of Flowers, Symbiotic Lives in the Stone Wall – Fukuoka Castle Tower Ruins, teamLab, 2017, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

The exhibition is a part of teamLab’s Digitized City art project, the concept of which is that non-material digital technology can turn a city into art without physically altering it.

 

The castle’s enormous span of 20,000 square meters will be decorated with interactive digital art that reacts to people’s presence.

Crows are Chased and the Chasing Crows are Destined to be Chased as Well in the Stone Wall – Fukuoka Castle Tower Ruins, teamLab, 2019, Digital Installation, 4 min 20 sec (loop), Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Sketch Kuroda Kanbei, teamLab, 2019, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi, Kenta Matsukuma, Jun Tanaka (Big Cats Creatives) 

7 installations will make up the exhibition, including 4 new ones such as Crows are Chased and the Chasing Crows are Destined to be Chased as Well in the Stone Wall – Fukuoka Castle Tower Ruins, where three-legged crowds from Japanese mythology known as Yatagarasu are rendered in light and fly across the castle walls, and Sketch Kuroda Kanbei, where people can draw Kuro Kanbei and historical figures and see them come to life.

With the increase in number of collaborations between contemporary digital art and traditional and historical Kyoto sites, teamLab is getting in on the action with its new digital art exhibition “Digitized Forest at the World Heritage Site of Shimogamo Shrine.”

 

We are joined by Instagrammer Macchan who recently attended the exhibition and who has provided photos for us.

 

Shimogamo Shrine is a shrine located between the Kamo River and Mount Kōya. It was registered it as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The shrine is associated good luck in marriage and welcomes sightseers from Japan and around the world. It can be reached by the 205 Bus from Kyoto Station and getting off at either Shimogamo Shrine (下鴨神社) or Tadasu Forest (糺ノ森前). It’s also about a 20-minute taxi ride from Kyoto Station.

 

This marks the third run of teamLab’s “Digitized Forest” exhibition at Shimogamo Shrine, and this year’s exhibition has been made even bigger. It is running until September 2, 2019.

Floating by the Rōmon Gate of the shrine are spheres of light which change colour and emit various musical tones unique to the colour when touched by a person. They also react to the other spheres around them, changing to the same colour and letting out the same tone, creating a chain reaction.

Egg-shaped orbs of light can be found dotted around the Tadasu Forest by the shrine which illuminate the trees. Like the light spheres, when the eggs are pushed they change colour and play a musical noise specific to that colour, the sound and tone spreading through the forest.

These objects of light can also be found at Mitarashi Pond where they float on the water. The orbs shine brightly and then fade slowly as if breathing. If pushed by people or blown by the wind they will change colour and emit sound.

 

The best part about teamLab’s art exhibitions is how visitors become part of the exhibition itself by interacting with the installations, offering a much more engaging experience than simply looking. Visit Shimogamo Shrine before the exhibition ends to see digital art meet a traditional Japanese shrine at night.

 

 

If you’re looking for more sightseeing recommendations for Kyoto then be sure to follow Macchan on Instagram!

 

Photos by まっちゃん

teamLab opened a permanent exhibition of their interactive art piece A blackboard where Little People Live on the 4th floor of MUJI Åhléns City in Stockholm, Sweden on August 16, 2019.

Inside this interactive digital art display lives a population of little people, and we can interact with their world by drawing lines and popping bubbles with our fingers. There is no goal in this game, you are simply encouraged to interact freely as you wish.

 

Experience the incredible world of digital art like you have never seen with teamLab.

teamLab Planets is a museum in Tokyo’s Toyosu area that will celebrate one year since opening on July 7. At this museum, visitors move through water and traverse its four vast exhibition spaces.

The museum is set to showcase its new digital art piece Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity for a limited time from July 7 to 21. Koi swim on the surface of the water that stretches to an infinite horizon. The koi fish are influenced by the movement of people in the water and turn into flowers when they collide.

 

As well as this, the museum will serve up new summertime foods at its restaurant The Bowl Steakhouse, where it will serve shaved ice, and its food stand Everything Is In Your Hand, where it will sell sandwich wraps.

Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity

teamLab, 2016-2018, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Three shaved ice desserts will be sold from July 20. In the picture from the left the flavours include strawberry, matcha adzuki and mango. Each is served with velvety fresh cream in each respective flavour.

Five wraps will be served from July 13. These include Mexican Chili Con Carne, Chicken Salad, Salmon & Cream Cheese, Avocado & Shrimp, and Vegan Salad.

 

Cool yourself down this summer by stepping into the waters of teamLab Planets and enjoying some refreshing seasonal food.

Spending a cool night overlooking the beautiful calm water at Odaiba and relaxing in the gorgeous pool sounds like an excellent way to spend summer nights in Tokyo. Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba is launching their summer-limited plan called Tokyo Twilight Pool Plan 2019 to allow you to do just that. 

The Tokyo Twilight Pool Plan 2019 comes with a delicious food menu that serves a variety of luxurious, mouthwatering dishes that look just as luxurious as they taste. Some examples include; mini hotdogs with chicken and vegetable sauce aurore, barbeque sauce spare ribs, and much more. They even serve all-you-can-drink top quality Jacquart champagne, which is a global top class wine chosen by many airlines and hotels. 

 

This hotel offers a unique view of the night sky and night waters of Tokyo from an open terrace. Guests can gaze at the relaxing view whilst enjoying delicious food and luxurious champagne. The Tokyo Twilight Pool Plan offers the perfect getaway for friends and couples. 

teamLab are currently holding an exhibition entitled “The Life of Animals in Japanese Art” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. until August 18.

 

The exhibition serves as the first devoted to artworks that represent animals―whether real, imaginary or religious. A selection of over 300 pieces are on display from artists back in the 5th century to today. The showcasing includes artirange from Sesson Shūkei, Itō Jakuchū, Soga Shōhaku, Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, to Okamoto Tarō, Kusama Yayoi, Issey Miyake, Nara Yoshitomo, and Murakami Takashi.

United, Fragmented, Repeated and Impermanent World / teamLab, 2013, Interactive Digital Work, Endless, 8 channels, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Itō Jakuchū was a Japanese painter of the early modern period who was active during Edo times in Kyoto. He is known for his unique painting method called masumega which sees his works built up of tens of thousands of squares which are all painted individually. One of these pieces is the above-pictured famous Birds and Animals in the Flower Garden.

 

The exhibition will feature a range of mediums including sculptures, paintings, textiles, ceramics, metalwork and more.

teamLab is a creative group of professionals and artists that creates collaborative digital art projects and exhibits them to the public. Visitors have the opportunity to fully immerse their bodies in the exhibition and become part of the art. Now, teamLab is heading to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Ishikawa).

 

From Friday 9th August to Sunday 1st September, the exhibition Impermanent Flowers Floating in a Continuous Sea will take place in the museum. Tickets can be purchased from Seven Ticket (Seven-Eleven convenience stores) or from event’s official website.

Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together
teamLab, 2019, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Learn more: https://www.teamlab.art/w/continuous_life_and_death/

Reversible Rotation – Black in White
teamLab, 2018, Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Learn more: https://www.teamlab.art/jp/w/reversible-blackinwhite/

The main exhibition features one continuous wave produced by one installation. The concept is; Black Waves: Lost, Immersed and Reborn. The movement of the patterns in the exhibition are influenced by the movements of the visitors. The exhibition aims to show people that the continuous cycle of life and death exists in a moment that lasts forever. You cannot control it, but you can learn to live alongside it. 

 

 Black in White is another immersive exhibition. Here, you stand in the exhibition space and watch Japanese sho (calligraphy) being drawn all around you in 3D. The Graffiti Flowers Bombing exhibition is where visitors can draw their own flowers which then grow and bloom on the walls and spread all over the exhibition space.

Graffiti Flowers Bombing
teamLab, 2018, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Learn more: https://www.teamlab.art/w/graffiti-flowers-bombing/

All visitors are invited to become one with the art together. As your body intwines with the art, the borders between people and the exhibition disappear, creating a new borderless relationship with the world.  This is a chance for anyone to experience the latest technology to their heart’s content.

MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless is an art museum co-managed by MORI Building and teamLab which is home to a borderless world without any maps in sight. The museum is currently displaying its spring display until the end of May.

 

It has been announced that this summer, from July 13 to September 1, the museum will extend its weekday hours to weekend hours where it will stay open until 21:00. They will also begin selling a limited number of Night Passes which enables guests to enter the museum from 18:00 for a closer, more intimate interaction with the exhibitions.

If you’ll be in Japan this summer then take advantage of this opportunity to enter teamLab’s immersive borderless world of digital art.

Shiseido Forest Valley is an immersive new indoor forest in Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore. Together with this new area, Shiseido has is also collaborating with teamLab on their new art installation SENSE. By opening Shiseido Forest Valley in Jewel Changi Airport which is used by people across the globe, Shiseido will be able to increase their international presence.

Jewel is a mixed-development and expansion of Changi Airport which describes itself as a “gateway where the world meets Singapore, and Singapore meets the world.” This 1.46 million sq ft complex is built up of gardens, attractions, retail and more all of which integrates with nature and sits under a stunning steel and glass dome.

 

Shiseido Forest Valley bathes in natural sunlight and is surrounded by nature with plants at every turn and a giant waterfall in the centre. teamLab’s SENSE installation combines nature, beauty and art through a Japanese aesthetic. Relax and take a stroll through the forest and enjoy the sights, sounds and tranquillity.