Let me preface this by saying that our travel philosophy is to plan one or two “adventures’ per day and then leave the rest of the time for exploring and impromptu activities or sightseeing.Overplanning tends to make things rushed and too scheduled leading to irritation and exhaustion. This is especially true when traveling with children. If you want to just see everything, the Internet can meet those needs. We really want to experience things and create lasting memories.
Leading up to our trip, Ira spent hours and hours researching what to see and do. Actually, years. Our first trip was canceled due to covid after he had already planned most of it. This trip looked nothing like that trip, however. Things change. Ideas grow. All that research and planning left us with too many choices and not enough time to do it all. So we each picked something we really wanted to do and then we built around that. Ira picked Team Lab because he thought we would all really enjoy it.
Have I mentioned that we are perpetually early to everything? Being late stresses both of us (probably one of the few things similar between us) and so we tend to always be early. We took this opportunity to casually enjoy our train ride – one of the few above ground – and let the boy ride up front (or back?) with a full view of railway.
Team Lab isn’t really near anything in particular, so we just hung out and waited for our reservation time. There is an art store and coffee shop, but since Japan just opened back up to tourists, not everything is up and running. There was a planting of seating and the weather was perfect, so all we had to do was entertain the boy.
When our time block came (they organize by 30 minute blocks) we lined up to go in, watched a quick instructional video and took off our shoes – plus I had to roll up my pants. Wait, what? Yes, no shoes allowed. We would be walking in water, up to our knees at times. I was a little skeptical, but willing to give it a go. Lockers are provided to put your belongings in and off we went. The initial walk I assumed to be the feet cleaning process as we were herded through a dark hallway in several inches of water. I can imagine this might be a little intimidating for some people.
Our first room was crawling, yes, crawling through what I would compare to a floor of squishy stuffed toys. It was actually a little challenging. I did notice, however, that there were alternative routes for those who would find this difficult physically.
Quick note, you’ll notice us wearing masks through a lot of Japan. It isn’t mandatory and actually most people we saw were not wearing them. We chose to wear them for our flight (hardy anyone wore them) and to all indoor places because of our impending trip to Thailand after Japan. Ira’s mother is 86 and even though she is vaccinated, we didn’t want to chance bringing covid to her. We also didn’t want to ruin our own trip by getting sick and traveling can expose your immune system to things it hasn’t had to deal with.
We exited into darkness and then into a room of sparkling brilliance.
We spent quite a bit of time in this room as there were mazes of lit paths to wander and it was so amazingly beautiful.
As we exited, it was onto another room filled with warm, cloudy water – a little sketchy, but I know it was to allow the illuminated fish to be seen.
Then it was into the red room filled with humongous bouncy balls. Clearly, Bodhi loved this.
The garden side of the tour begins with a room of virtual flowers accompanied by sweet floral scents and gentle music. So lovely and relaxing. In the next room, we encountered a greenhouse type environment and it was a little bizarre. I felt like these alien eggs were going to hatch and eat us all. Ok, maybe I’m being a little dramatic.
Enough of that. Onto the next room with a line to get in. Clearly enjoyed by everyone, this room of orchids was amazing.
The entire walk through took us under 2 hours, but I’m sure we could have lingered longer. Some rooms felt a little rushed, but that was mostly because we encountered some tourists who were a little obnoxious and loud and we just wanted to get away from them.
Overall, this experience was really enjoyed by all of us and I would highly recommend it for all ages. It can be a little overwhelming for those with sensitivity to overstimulation, so just be aware should that be something of concern. I was a little disappointed that their app for exhibit interactivity didn’t really seem to have any “spots” to connect to (wi-fi was available throughout) with QR codes as I think this particular exhibit didn’t have any.
Next stop, Akihabara!
Ira’s Note: TeamLab is advertised as an immersive experience. And it very much is. But the immersion starts with the state of mind you bring. You have to disconnect, and allow yourself to be present. But like everything in Tokyo, you can never truly be alone. There were a lot of people, and though each exhibit contained its own special magic, there were moments I really couldn’t fully immerse myself. For me, a big bodied person, certain rooms made me feel very aware of my body and the space it filled. Still, TeamLab Planets presents something I have never experienced before. Each room is a reset of the senses. The closest is the Van Gogh Immersive Experience we attended a year ago, but even that was nowhere near as extensive and unique as TeamLab. TeamLab is a complete sensorial experience. You move through water. You touch objects. You are encouraged to lie down and look up. You smell a lot of feet. Lots of feet. I was grateful to wear my mask.
You do not smell feet. Such an exaggeration.
Bodhi’s Note: “That was amazing. Now let’s go to Akihabara.”
Under the Bodhi Tree 
There are parts of your experience that reminded me of the Omega Mart in Las Vegas. Meow Wolf has a few locations around the US and they’re all trippy, interactive sci-fi/fantasy fever dreams where you’re trying to uncover a story while you’re going through. The sparkle room is absolutely glorious and I would have found my peace there.
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Having seen ads for Meow Wolf, it is something we would like to check out!
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