When you are in the full flow of work, it is easy to find yourself in a rut where each weekend becomes a carbon copy of the one before. Sleep, eat and a short walk to somewhere local for a stock up. However every now and again you plan something interesting to break the routine and this weekend it was a trip to the most instagrammed spot in Tokyo at the moment… TeamLab’s digital art museum in Odaiba.

We booked our tickets almost three weeks in advance but it would be possible to book them as early as a week in advance if you are wanting a weekend visit. Earlier if you can visit on a weekday.

The day before our visit I received a reminder email which was was handy but it made me a little nervous to read the line,

“At crowded times it may be necessary to wait over an hour before entry outside.”

Even though you have reserved your tickets, it does not mean that you will be able to stroll on through. When we arrived around 4:00pm, we were directed down some stairs to the ‘queue’ man with his placard indicating the back of a rather long line. In Japan, queues are common and they are often very long so people are employed to stand at the back of queue lines with a placard to indicate the end of the line. We stood there wishing we had picked a warmer day when to our surprise the queue started to move and quickly. Within 10 minutes we were inside where we proceeded through another three smaller queues. One for the lockers (even if you have no desire to use them), one to pass through the ticket gates and another to enter the actual museum. It felt quick but it was still 30mins before we made it through the whole queuing process.

Once through, you are encouraged to wander and explore at your own pace. In fact you are even told to revisit rooms as the light exhibitions change over time giving you an ever changing experience.

It was great fun and one that is designed to be enjoyed by people of all ages and tastes. My husband hates art galleries and to put it bluntly is just not interested in understanding the underlying meaning, but enjoyed the 4 hours it took for us to explore this museum. There is so much to see and do. It is definitely a place for all the senses but the biggest attraction is the more kinaesthetic approach to art. The fact that people can physically enjoy each exhibition and feel apart of each room, really creates a unique experience. Add to that, the fact that you are free to take photos (no flash obviously) and take videos also means that you have a myriad of locations to play and create your own artwork, if that is your passion.

It is certainly mine and we had great fun playing around. I will leave you with a few pictures that we took…

I could go through a break down of each room but that would ruin all the fun. What I will say is though, don’t skip the tea room… you will not be disappointed. Even if you don’t drink tea!!

Well that’s it for now.

SP x