Honestly, I don't like to go museums. I don't have strong feelings about it... But most of the places I have visited were so boring and uninspired and made me fall asleep after only seeing the first painting or exhibit.
My other mistake is to visit popular places everyone loves, which is completely uninteresting for me.
I will never forget how I was once in a 4-story weapons museum (which was quite good and has advanced technologies) and while looking at the 1st floor expositions realized it was not my thing...at all. And so for 4 hours I slept in a chair while waiting for my group to finish the excursion.
Since then, I've become very selective about the places I go and always check information online before visiting, but this is definitely not necessary if you are considering visiting the MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM. It’s not just a gallery but also includes advanced technologies in the shape of art. If someone asked me what the most interesting places to visit in Japan are, Mori Art would be at the top of the list.
This fantastic art space is perfect for adults and kids (excluding only very small children) since you can spend at least three hours there or the whole day more likely! The entire museum has five zones which are separate exhibitions forming a united space:
• Borderless World
• Athletics Forest
• Future Park
• Forest of Lamps
• EN TEA HOUSE
Each of the zones has its own unique fabulous atmosphere. I will not rewrite here what many many people have already done in their own blogs. You can read them. In addition, there is also a full description of each exposition on the official website.
By the way, there are two museums TeamLab Borderless and TeamLab Planets which are close to one another. I visited both and advise you to go to “Borderless” first if you want to see more exhibits and have enough time to explore. If you want to finish up earlier the “Planets” should be your choice.
NOTE! Due to the current Covid-19 situation, you can purchase tickets online only!
In my opinion, it's even better if the number of people is limited and you don't have to line up for a ticket, and can take photos with no crowds.
One notable thing here is that the artworks shift and also change colors depending on the seasons.
For example, “Proliferating Immense Life” features sunflowers, morning glories and blackberry lilies in September and completely different flowers in other months. It is the same for the “Forest of Resonating Lamps” which also changes color depending on the season.
Another great installation is “Memory of Topography”. It shows traditional Japanese fall rice fields and brightly colored autumn leaves.
Well, if you still have any energy left you might be interested in going to the “Tee House”. They have a few tea varieties grown in Hizen.
They also make the tea and a flower bloom inside the teacup, or draw a circle with a single brush stroke which is a traditional Japanese Zen practice “Enso”.
So, if you have never been there and want to not just a look at artworks, but interact with them as well, you know for sure where to go next weekend!