One of the world’s most creative digital art collectives has just opened its latest interactive museum in Tokyo.
Intro
Japan’s teamLab Borderless has opened its latest museum in Tokyo. The award-winning and record-breaking digital art collective earned a Guinness World Record title in 2021 for being the most visited museum dedicated to a single group or artist in the world. It also gained a reputation for being one of the most Instagrammable locations in all of Japan! The collective’s newest museum - opened last month in Tokyo - has already become one of Japan’s hottest new attractions and another excellent reason for international visitors to make this incredible country their next travel destination. Here at JR Pass, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about this dazzling new museum, its new interactive art installations, and much more. Get ready to enter a mind-bending world of digital art.
Who are teamLab Borderless?
In short, teamLab Borderless is a Japanese-based art collective of ‘ultra-technologists’ made up of artists, animators, mathematicians, engineers, programmers, designers, botanists, and architects. However, perhaps the best description comes from the group’s own website:
“teamLab Borderless is a world of artworks without boundaries, a museum without a map created by art collective teamLab. Artworks move out of rooms, relate to other works, influence each other, and at times intermingle, without boundaries. Through this group of works, one continuous world without boundaries is created. Immerse your body in borderless art. Wander, explore with intention, discover, and create a world with others.
“Founded in 2001, teamLab exhibitions have been held in cities worldwide, including New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Silicon Valley, Beijing, and Melbourne among others. teamLab museums and large-scale permanent exhibitions include teamLab Borderless and teamLab Planets in Tokyo, teamLab Borderless Shanghai, and teamLab SuperNature Macao, with more to open in cities including Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Hamburg, Jeddah, and Utrecht.
“teamLab’s works are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Asia Society Museum, New York; Borusan Contemporary Art Collection, Istanbul; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; and Amos Rex, Helsinki.”
As we mentioned above, teamLab won a Guinness World Record as the most visited museum dedicated to a single group or artist in the world with 2.3 million visitors in its first year of opening. The group’s installations have continued to prove hugely popular ever since, right up to the launch of their latest museum in Tokyo, which opened in February 2024.
What’s new for teamLab Borderless Art in 2024?
Check out these teamLab Borderless installations
- Bubble Universe
Hundreds of reflective bubbles create a dazzling universe of light spheres.
- Infinite Crystal World
A mirrored infinity room featured hundreds of LED string lights.
- Microcosmoses - Wobbling Light
A room of spheres, light, mirrors, reflections, and more than 40 colours.
- Universe of Water Particles - Born in the Darkness, Return to the Darkness
An ever-changing digital landscape of structure and form.
- Sketch Ocean
Design your own sea creatures in a digital ocean in this unique, interactive, and colourful installation.
- EN Teahouse
An ultra-technologist vision of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
- Walk, Walk, Walk: Search, Deviate, Reunite
A digital landscape created in response to Japanese Zen Buddhist beliefs.
- Universe of Water Particles on a Rock where People Gather
A universe of digital art featuring traditional kanji characters.
- Light Sculpture Series
An evolving series of innovative light sculptures.
- Memory of Topography
Delicate colours and patterns reflect the seasons and take inspiration from Japan’s rice terraces and paddies.
- People Create Space and Time, at the Confluence of their Spacetime New Space and Time is Born
An interactive digital installation challenging the concept of physical boundaries.
How To Get There
Azabudai Hills is connected directly to Kamiyacho Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line at its north west point. It’s also a short walk from Roppongi Itchome Station on the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line to the northeast. Bonus tip: You’ll want to invest in a prepaid travel card such as an ICOCA, PASMO or Suica card, for metro travel in Tokyo and other major cities, as well as a Japan Rail Pass for getting around the rest of the country. Check out our Top 30 Tips for Using Japan’s Metros for advice and guidance on using the city’s subway network.
Bonus Recommendations
- Japan has lots to offer lovers of art and culture, from leading museums and galleries to an island dedicated to outdoor art and more. Read about the Miho Museum in Shiga, the Edo Tokyo Museum, or plan a visit to Naoshima Art Island with the JR Pass.
- Want to upload your photos of any stunning artworks you see in Japan onto your social media? To stay connected to the internet we highly recommend investing in a PocketWifi device for constant internet access and high speed unlimited data.
- If your visit to teamLab Borderless is your first time in the country, why not make life easier by using our Meet & Greet service on arrival? It’s like having an expert on Japan as your personal assistant. We’ll take care of you from the moment you arrive.
