First Look: TeamLab Borderless Azabudai Hills
The world’s most popular single-artist museum returns.
Cover photo: Visitors enjoy teamLab Borderless, Azabudai Hills, Minato City, Tokyo, Japan (2024). Photo by Danny With Love.
Intro
On Friday, February 9th, the Japanese artist collective teamLab (チームラボ) opened the second edition of their pioneering museum Borderless in Azabudai Hills, Minato City, Tokyo. The map-less labyrinthine space offers guests total immersion in a variety of picture-perfect, ever-changing, multi-media installations.
With a promise to ‘transcend boundaries,’ Borderless originally opened in 2018 as the world’s first digital art museum. It was a viral sensation, attracting international celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. With over two million visitors in 2019, the institution was certified by Guinness World Records as the “Most Visited Museum” by a single group or artist.
Borderless had closed about a year and a half ago amidst redevelopment on its island site of Odaiba. Since then, teamLab’s second museum, Planets, has become the most popular tourist attraction in Tokyo. The collective has also announced new projects opening in China, the UAE, and Germany.
Anticipation was high for the museum’s return. It took me multiple tries to purchase a ticket for opening weekend as the Borderless website was overwhelmed with traffic. I was able to enter for the very-first time-slot on Saturday. I arrived 15 minutes prior to 10:00, with many people already waiting ahead of me.
Nevertheless, I was thrilled to see the new museum for myself. Please read on for more details about the museum’s changes, criticism, and tips for the best possible experience.
Changes
“I don’t really know what the difference between Odaiba and Azabudai Hills is, but we’re different,” claims teamLab founder Toshiyuki Inoko (猪子 寿之).
Personally, I’m disappointed teamLab didn’t take greater advantage of their intermission to develop something radically new. Having enjoyed teamLab’s art multiple times in various settings, I find the group’s novelty has worn thin.
Visitors familiar with Borderless will find few surprises in this second edition. While the size of the museum is smaller — 7,000 square meters (approx. 75,000 feet) compared to the previous 10,000 (approx. 107,000 feet) — it boasts about the same number of artworks: some 50 installations. Multi-sensory En Tea House also returns.
Admittedly, there are a few exciting additions, such as the mesmerizing Light Sculpture. With smoke, mirrors, and lasers, it’s like staring into pure color! The Forest of Resonating Lamps is replaced by the wondrous Bubble Universe, a welcome upgrade as it allows more variation in hue. Another new installation plunges visitors into total darkness. Best enjoyed in person, it’s my favorite of these works.
The biggest change is the loss of the Athletics Forest, an activity space designed for “three-dimensional thinking.” The original site’s suspended-net area was also cut from the museum’s redesign. Now, the main interactive element is Sketch Ocean, in which visitors can color a sea creature for a digital aquarium. As teamLab’s primary Tokyo audience is online ‘influencers,’ it’s sad — but not surprising — that more kinesthetic experiences were omitted.
Criticism
At the original Borderless site, teamLab claimed to have grand ambitions, hoping to inspire interest in science, nature, and collaboration. The group’s noble pretenses are done away with here, accepting their reputation as creators of Insta-worthy sets for the phone-crazed masses.
While beautiful and photogenic, Borderless is not challenging or even especially contemplative. Culture critic Thu-Hong Ha argues, “The onslaught of stimulation and constant pressure to both interact and capture gives very little room for reflection, stillness or observation.”
On the teamLab app, guests can read about artworks nearby, but their esoteric titles provide little insight. There are no benches or chairs; it’s impossible to sit anywhere for very long. Instead, visitors are dragged into the perpetual motion machine of ceaselessly-transforming art for camera consumption.
Maybe I’m naive to expect more from an artsy playground, but as teamLab’s reach expands further around the world, it’s worth considering the group’s appeal and affect. Nearly a quarter-century since the group’s founding in 2001, is teamLab’s viral success a testament to their hypnotic craft, or is it proof of our insatiable narcissism, even humanity’s growing divorce from the natural world? In this digital age, are we still experiencing life for ourselves or for others? Honestly, I don’t know.
Tips
The museum’s reopening revives the question, “should I visit teamLab Borderless or Planets?” To be curt, the answer is whichever museum has earlier time-slots available. Whether interested in the experience itself or a dedicated photoshoot, both museums are much more enjoyable immediately upon opening, with smaller crowds. It’s best to make reservations at least two months in advance.
All things being equal, the answer is not so simple. Borderless is open-plan, where you can revisit (or miss) any work, while Planets is designed in a clear, fixed path, where you’re guaranteed to see every artwork once. Borderless includes a tea shop located inside the museum, while Planets has a unique ramen shop outside. Personally, I still prefer Planets as it offers a more tactile experience, with water, sculptures, and plants.
For photography, I recommend wearing neutral hues to avoid clashing with the kaleidoscope of colors. White is good for reflection, while black can create a nice contrast with brighter lights. Because floors are mirrored, avoid wearing short skirts. Tripods are not allowed. It’s worth bringing a DSLR camera as many rooms are very dark.
I recommend arriving at least 15 minutes prior to your scheduled time-slot. Again, the first slots of the day are best; visitors are allowed to stay until the museum closes at 21:00 (9:00 PM). Complimentary lockers are available, but located outside the exhibit space and cannot be accessed until departure. Re-entry is not permitted. Budget two to four hours. Ticket prices range from 3,800 yen (approx. 25 USD) to 4,800 (32 USD) depending on the day of the week. Click here for more information.
