RichardInSF

Team Lab is a digital art show at the Mori Building in Odaiba (right next to the large ferris wheel). It's open daily from 10am to 10pm.and costs Y3200 a ticket. Their website is https://www.teamlab.art/ . I went there today.

The good:

There is a great deal to like about this show whether or not you are a fan of art. The electronics, which includes a great deal of participant interaction, is magnificently done and executed very well. It's a fine show, accessible to adults and children both. It's also a large show with good variety and is roughly on the border between abstract art and an amusement park.

It's scheduled to be around at least until some time in 2020, so you have a fair amount of planning time to get there.

It's pricey but worth it. Towards the end, there is a tea room, selling a cup of tea for Y500. Buy a cup, you'll enjoy the bonus experience that comes with it. 'Nuff said.

The bad

It takes at least 3 1/2 hours to see it all. That's because 1 1/2 hours or more will be spent queueing. Ticket sales are limited, but you still need to queue to get in. Inside, there are three exhibits which each require an additional queue, sometimes quite long. They are taking lessons from Disney.

Team Lab have created an immersive experience clearly designed to be enjoyed without having to follow many rules. Unfortunately, whoever is running the show has hired a large number of employees who enforce a few necessary and many unnecessary rules loudly and annoyingly (even if you don't understand Japanese). Yeah, it obviously got to me.

It's a big show but I only spotted one set of restrooms. There are relatively few places where you can sit and take a load off your feet for a while.

If you get the chance, go see it. It could be the future of art. But try to pick a time, if there is one, when you won't spend hours in lines.

Team Lab has a second show in another part of Odaiba as well, but be aware that one requires getting your feet wet.

freecia

Some tips:

• There is a brochure with a map in a display near the entrance which also shows rest areas and bathrooms. I'm pretty sure there's more than one bathroom as there's a lot of nooks and crannies. I wandered past at least two bathrooms. There's a rest area with seating and vending machines, too.
• If you go early but aren't in the first few groups to enter, go up to the second floor while it isn't so crowded then back down since the congestion won't be much worse than when you entered
• There are lockers and lockable chains at the entrance area for bags, strollers, and luggage
• Ladies - there are exhibits with mirrored floors and some long dark wrap skirts outside those exhibits if you need them
• The "Light Shell and Light Vortex" room which resembles being inside a strobe light show gets very warm and can be a bit disorienting

Crowds: The lamp room probably had the longest wait while I was there. The digital waterfall also had people setting up camp at the top and no staff to enforce a time limit, so good luck there.

LCUF

Haha yeah, and wiht little kids running around the ramp area near the waterfall you have to be extra careful! There are staff there to tell them not to run around but kids gonna be kids.

I really like the tea room experience though. A bowl of green tea or some other tea options and you get to sit down and relax and also enjoy the digital cherry blossom.

I remembered the staff explained that since the digital arts on the walls are projected and can move around, one might want to come back to the same area a few times at different times for different effects. And you would definitely want to come as early as possible. They don't control how long you can stay in the exhibition but they control how many people are let in at any given time.

Gradfly

Heading there in a couple of weeks, glad to have some sort of heads up. Will crowding be less of an issue since I'll be going during a weekday?

davidgrahammd

Crowds are likely to be less during week days. Nevertheless, I would purchase a ticket in advance on the website (see above). It is not a timed ticket so you don't have to stress about getting there at a particular time but same day tickets do often sell out. No fun to travel there and not be able to do it.

A group of 6 with ages ranging from teens to 50+ all had a great time. You might (as we did) adopt the phrase "damn birds" after a while though

ainternational

Took me less than an hour to see Bordlerless and again less than an hour to see Planets. Both located fairly close to one another and both were still open as of 6 weeks ago. I believe one may be closing or has recently closed.

By far the best art experiences of my life. But I like sound and lights, and all that is ultra modern, so it suits me.

Planets used to sell VIP tickets where you could skip the line but going to Borderless on a weekday yielded a very short wait as well. Suspect those of you experiencing long lines and crowded interiors are just going during peak times. Highly not recommended to do but the exhibits themselves are highly recommended by this Japanophile.

angra

any thoughts on the ideal time to go for avoiding crowds? I have a 10 day stay in Tokyo later this month with no set plans, so I can optimize this.

lobsterdog

Presumably you mean January (as there's only one day left later this month)? I would avoid January 1-6, avoid weekends and holidays (January 14), and try to get there by 2 or 3pm. Or as early as possible. Buy tickets in advance.

BTW in case than names are confusing, "TeamLab Borderless" is the name of the show ("TeamLab" is the company that puts on the Borderless and Planet shows). It's held at a venue called "Mori Building Digital Art Museum," which is located in the Aomi district of the Odaba area. The venue is owned by owned/managed by "Mori Building," the real estate company that also owns the Mori Building in Roppongi Hills.

angra

lol yes, sorry I'm already mentally in January.

So, before noon on a weekday maybe?

lobsterdog

That's probably a good idea, although if that's inconvenient then probably early afternoon is okay....

angra

Thank you, sir! I have almost no plans so I can literally pick my time at will.

nutwpinut

Double posted by accident.

nutwpinut

Although it is less likely to be sold out on a weekday, I don't think I've seen it not sold out so it doesn't matter. The weekdays sell out later than the weekend, but they do sell out. A sold out weekday and a sold out weekend will still have the same number of people going to the exhibit. We went on a Monday 2 hours after opening and the line to get in was an hour long. The Odaiba area will be less crowded during the weekday and that's nice if you want to see other things around the area.

lobsterdog

Yes, but a lot of people who buy tickets on a weekday will be planning to go after work, since the venue is open until 10pm. So going at 1pm on a weekday should be much less crowded than 1pm on a weekend, when most people are free.

SteadyAT

Thanks for posting a review! Have an upcoming trip to Tokyo in the spring and have been populating our schedule with things to do, and didn't come across this until I read your review. Will keep an eye out for tickets being released for sale for April. Looking forward to checking it out!