Located on the 5th floor of MARK IS, the entrance of the Orbi Yokohama—a joint collaboration between BBC Earth and Sega—is one of the most high-tech museum attractions I have ever been to. Tickets... what tickets? They have electronic wristbands that are not only used to activate exhibitions but also to store any photos you have taken at photo spots and in attractions.
At the reasonable price of 2,600 yen for a single adult ticket, you can access all the attractions in the museum and also watch the featured nature film in their state of the art theatre equipped with the largest screen in Japan (80x40m), 3D surround sound, wind, fog, vibrations and even custom scents to match the movie. Even if you do not experience the other exhibitions, the theatre alone is enough to justify the ticket price.
After being overwhelmed by the film, you can pop on over the large interactive motion-sensor controlled screen to pick out animals of your choice to read up on. If not, you can watch a surprisingly thrilling short film on the wildebeest migration, complete with vibrations and surround sound. Should you ever wonder how fast we humans move in comparison to the speed demons of the nature world, there is an exhibition that takes slow motion videos of the visitors and compares it to that of hummingbirds and other animals. Knowing that a humming bird flaps its wings 5 times faster than you per second makes up for feeling silly flapping your arms in front of a camera.
Other exhibitions also makes full use of SEGA’s technology to recreate a variety of experiences normally unachievable by people through the skillful use of fans, custom-made screens, projects and high-definition footage. These include a simulation of flying over canyons, valleys and deserts, looking into the microscopic world of insects and close-up of deep-sea creatures. All the exhibitions are not only engaging but also very educational.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the exhibits, nearly all of them require visitors to wait in line for up to 20 minutes at a time, which does not bode well for visitors with little children or those with aching feet. Depending on the person, aside from the 23.4 theatre, the wait may not be worth it. Also photography an videography are not allowed inside the museum. However if you love nature or if you are interested in seeing nature from a completely radical perspective, then Orbi Yokohama is definitely for you.
As an extra incentive, the museum’s café sells earth burgers, where the buns are literally modelled after mother earth and is a strange mix of blue and green in color. The staff assures everyone that it is edible and tastes delicious, however there are limited numbers of burgers every day, so make sure to get your hands on them before they are sold out! If strangely colored burgers are not your thing, the museum also carries limited edition Orbi Kit-Kat where you can get your own photo printed onto the packaging for your very own custom Kit-Kat.
So what are you waiting for?
