teamLab

What is teamLab?

teamLab is a Japan-based international art collective, which was founded in 2001. It is composed of artists, programmers, engineers CG animator, mathematicians and architects, and focuses on creating interactive works of art that combine elements of art, technology and nature. teamLab's artworks are characterized by their seamless integration of technology, art, and nature. The collective aims to explore the relationship between humans and the environment, blurring the boundaries between the virtual and physical worlds. Their installations often incorporate natural elements such as flowers, water, and animals, creating a sense of harmony and connection with the natural world.

With their innovative approach to art and technology, teamLab has attracted visitors from all over the world, who come to Tokyo to immerse themselves in the magical and transformative experiences offered by their exhibitions. teamLab's artworks not only entertain and inspire but also encourage contemplation and reflection on the ever-evolving relationship between humans, art, and the environment.

teamLab digital art museums in Tokyo

teamLab has introduced two innovative museum attractions in Tokyo, both of which have gained immense popularity. Each exhibition boasts its own unique concept.

1. teamLab Borderless

Situated in Odaiba, teamLab Borderless is a collection of artworks that seamlessly blend to create an environment without distinct boundaries. The concept of the digital art museum is being ‘a museum without a map’. Within this space, an expanse of myriad enchanting lanterns awaits, accompanied by an area where vibrant flowers cascade like a waterfall. This creates an attraction that holds the promise of all-day delight for visitors.

At teamLab Borderless, visitors are invited into a mesmerizing world where boundaries between art and the viewer dissolve. The exhibition is housed in a vast, multi-level space that spans over 10,000 sqm and features a series of interconnected rooms and installations.

One of the most popular attractions is the Forest of Resonating Lamps. This immersive installation consists of hundreds of hanging lamps that change color and respond to the presence and movements of visitors. As people move through the space, the lamps create a beautiful symphony of light and sound, transforming the environment into a dreamlike realm.

Another captivating exhibit is the Crystal Universe, a vast room filled with thousands of LED lights suspended from the ceiling. The lights form a stunning galaxy-like display that responds to the movements of visitors, creating an immersive and ever-changing visual experience.

teamLab Borderless was closed temporarily on August 31, 2022 and scheduled to open January 2024 in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo.

2. teamLab Planets

Also known as ‘six poems garden’, the Japanese garden is considered as the most beautiful landscape in Japan. From the cherry blossoms in spring to the foliage in autumn, Rikugien Garden offers seasonal scenes to visitors around the world.

teamLab Planets, located in Toyosu and open in 2020, delves into the concept of ‘Body Immersive’. The immense scale of the artworks is such that the demarcation between the human body and the art itself becomes indistinct, leading individuals to become fully enveloped in the realm of art. It offers a unique immersive experience where visitors can walk through water-filled rooms and interact with digital artwork.

Water is one of the core elements in teamLab Planets. Visitors can walk and play in the water, and the interaction with the water plays a role in connecting different areas throughout the exhibition.

There are various ways to interact with the work, including walking, touching, bending, etc. The actions of the viewer can directly affect the appearance and behavior of the work, creating a personalized artistic expression.

teamLab Planets remains open until the end of 2023.

3. Little Planet DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

Located in DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, one of the major shopping malls in Tokyo, Little Planet is a permanent digital exhibition that combines digital technology with play. It's characterized as a futuristic amusement park merging technology and kids' recreational activities, nurturing their curiosity and creativity through visual and tactile experiences. In a section where augmented reality (AR) technology converges with sand play, the piled sand forms seemingly projecting mountains and oceans. Within the sensor-equipped and projector-enhanced ball pit, the joy of playing with balls is elevated as hitting them against the wall triggers diverse visual effects. Numerous zones are thoughtfully designed to offer children ample opportunities for enjoyment.

4. MoonFlower Sagaya Ginza

Different from other teamLab’s exhibition, Sagaya is a restaurant in Ginza that serves seasonal dishes and high quality Saga wagyu beef, a Japanese brand of beef. There are only eight seatsand the minimum charge for the room is 200,000 yen. A special type of white porcelain ‘Arita tableware’ was used in this restaurant, which offers a 12 course set menu. The tableware showcases intricate patterns that transform monthly, influenced by the changing seasons.

5. Galaxy & teamLab

In partnership with Samsung and at the company’s Galaxy Harajuku concept store, teamLab unveiled “Catching and Collecting in the Sacred Forest”. The exhibition combines the real world and virtual reality with a Galaxy phone in the palm of your hand. When you step into the art exhibition, the sounds of birds and running water surround you, and the darkened room focuses all your attention on the other-worldly colors of flora and fauna all around.

Other digital spots in Japan

1. Huis Ten Bosch

Located in Nagasaki Prefecture in Kyushu Island, Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park which recreates a Dutch town. Besides of picturesque canals, iconic windmills, beautiful gardens and architecture, the theme park offers millions of LEDs illuminated from February to May. There are seven sections themed by nature.

“Flower Fantasia”, where beautiful flowers bloom as digital art; “Sea Fantasia”, where colorful fish swim around; “Space Fantasia”, where the entire room is a spaceship to unlock the secrets of the universe; “Forest Fantasia Cafe” where you can rest with a delicious drink while surrounded by a forest full of greenery; “Athletic Fantasia”, where you can enjoy a truly next-generation athletic experience; “Carillon Fantasia”, which is a magnificent collaboration of music and light art; “Art Fantasia,” which shows a love story between two people woven by digital art and welcomed by a majestic dance organ.

2. teamLab Forest Fukuoka

Opened in 2020, it’s another digital museum created by the art group teamLab. It is inspired by two elements of Fukuoka’s nature: a forest and the ocean. There are two areas under the name of The Catching and Collecting Forest and The Athletics Forest, where both children and adults can have a great and funny experience.

3. teamLab Acorn Forest

Located in Higashi Tokorozawa Park of Saitama, just an hour from central Tokyo, teamLab Acorn Forest opened in 2020. It’s an outdoor exhibition nestled among trees on a hillside. With the full name “teamlab: Resonating Life in the Acorn Forest“, it uses Teamlab’s trademark fluorescent color changing shapes, ovoid, on the forest floor to create art in nature. The other part of the installations in the Musashino Woods at the Higashi Tokorozawa Park is the Resonating Trees.

4. teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka

With a total of 240,000sqm, Nagai Park, where teamLab Botanical Garden is located, is one of the largest open-air parks in Osaka. There are different species of flowers and plants that change with the seasons. At night, the garden come alive with the immersive creations of teamLab's permanent exhibition, , turning into a surreal world of color and light.

5. teamLab Kanazawa Castle

The TeamLab Kanazawa Castle Light Festival will be held from Sep.30 to Nov.26, 2023. Digital technology by teamLab will transform the buildings, stone walls, and trees of Kanazawa Castle Park into an art space. Colorful flowers will morph into animals, strolling along the castle walls. Trees and luminous orbs in the park will dynamically alter colors and sounds based on visitors' actions and the environment.

6. teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live

Located in the Mifuneyama Rakuen, a large garden with 500,000 square meters in Kyushu’s Taeko Onsen town, teamLab Kami-sama ga Sumau Mori (The Forest Where the Gods Live) is held every year from summer to fall. Chosen as one of the must-see places in CNN's "Outdoor art exhibits to see around the world", the exhibition features more than 20 works where nature is made into art in its natural state, such as a waterfall drawn on a real boulder and fish swimming in a projection on the surface of a pond.

7. Nabana no sato illumination

Located next to Nagoya city, it's one of the most famed winter illuminations with over 5.8 million LEDs, creating romantic images of mountains, oceans, flowers, shapes and figures among immense flower gardens. There are series of events throughout the year including Flower Festival in spring, firefly watching in Summer, Momiji (maple) illuminations in autumn and winter illuminations.