Team Lab Borderless holy smokes

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Months before our trip began, Kylie would show me fantastic pictures of sci fi light shows and insist we need to visit this art installation in Tokyo. I didn’t quite get it but also the pictures were stunning so when Kylie announced she was booking tickets I was up for it.

Honestly though I. Had. No. Idea…

Team Lab Borderless is the most incredible interactive art display I have ever seen. When we walked into the first area (pictured above) I thought “ok, this is what this place is”.

But as we explored it just kept revealing more and more and more.

I was thankful for the kids, as their inclinations taught me a lot. I would not have thought to smear the colours around on the wall, and maybe would never have realized that they would react.

I would not have thought to hit the birds flying by, or swipe at the butterflies, and I would have missed them exploding into stars, or dying on the floor…

Also the kids were much more able to navigate this dreamscape, recognizing where we had been before and seeing hidden doors into new realms. Ty in particular was skilled at investigating new zones, returning to the crossroads and then dragging his starstruck parents though the sensory maelstrom. I know I sound a bit cheesy but seriously…

The below area was full of toplit lily pads that allowed you to find a path between them, and the walls were mirrors making the room feel endless. Every room had different music, but it wasn’t a tune it was a deep thrumming with intermittent percussion and rising strings.

However this room was my absolute favourite. In reductionist terms it was made of hanging fiber optic lines creating a lit up maze of corridors, but the lights were centrally controlled producing intricate patterns that played through the entire room, simulating thunderstorms, flying through space, being inside a cloud of spirit birds. Seriously…

We took a lot of funky pictures and wondered at some mind bending illusions but this wasn’t the point.

Especially in these theme rooms, some of which people were encouraged to sit in a corner and just experience, I could feel the artists reaching into my mind and smoothing it out. Like a warm bath for your brain or a massage for your emotions.

The room pictured below was particularly immersive. It had mirrored floors and odd shaped polygons sticking out of the walls and ceiling. Almost every surface was covered in LED screens and the repeating patterns were completely disorienting.

This room was literally full of smoke and mirrors. Zeke and Levi were doing ominous poses and I enjoyed doing Tai Chi.

Tai Chi reminds me what I most appreciated about this art installation. It was a crazy effective meditation short cut. I have been meditating on and off for about 20 years, after taking instruction from the Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Edmonton at the behest of my Chinese medicine professor in med school (U of A pride!). The goal as I understand it (and as further clarified by Sam Harris) is not really inner peace or better concentration, although those can be side effects. It’s the realization that there is no self, only conscious experience. There is no tiny person sitting behind your eyeballs experiencing your experience. There is only experience. With the help of an artificial psychedelic environment, this awareness was suddenly attainable with a few intentional breaths and a widened gaze. Additionally being in a room with 20 other consciousnesses experiencing almost identical sensory overloads, the feeling of one’s “self” being merely an aspect of a larger whole was overwhelmingly apparent. Not sure if I’m getting this across, words are failing me here… Thanks Team Lab! Holy smokes I am a big fan.

Needless to say the family had to drag me out after over three hours. I woulda stayed til closing or maybe hid in some corner...

Rising on an escalator out of the exhibit felt like exiting a dream. On the way up and out we stopped at a health food store  and bought some snacks and ate them on the steps in the sunshine beside a Hermes store with a security guard out front (to keep precisely us out, as I explained to the kids…)

I was buzzing for hours and the kids had a lot to talk about. A truly transcendental experience.

Tokyo Disney

​After a few days in Tokyo we headed to Tokyo Disney for one day. Everyone (Marc included!!) had a wonderful and magical day and we literally closed out the park. 

Here is Zeke”s journal entry: 

It was so fun! When we started we couldn’t find the entrance but after 5 minutes of searching we found it.  Our first ride was one called “It’s a small world” where you go in a boat and in every room you try to find Groot. (Kylie here, yes this is the updated version of “It’s a small world” and very funny that this is what Zeke took away from it). 

Our second ride was Haunted Mansion. It was really fun, it was all pitch black. When we were entering we saw a little girl crying probably because of how scary it was for her. (Kylie here, unfortunately this is the only picture we have of Haunted Mansion. Very haunting 👻) 

Now onto Mikaya’s journal for her favourite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean:

I really like pirits of the kariben because you would get shot by fak kanins and the shots sounded reel. There were skelltins, pirits and gold.  It was so so much fun.  I love Disneyland!!! 

Kylie now . . . afterwards we went on the Thunder Mountain rollercoaster. The lineups for some rides were long but they moved fast and had interesting things to look at or read (and people watch all the people in line dressed in varying Disney gear, to full groups with matching outfits to all different kind of headbands and hats.) 

We had a Baymax burger for lunch along with Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets for Mikaya. After lunch we went on a 3D Starwars spaceship simulator which I remember from my time at Disneyland in grade 4.  If felt very much like we were flying through space and made Levi very nauseous. 

The cherry blossoms are out at Disneyland too! 

At this point around 4:00 we decided to really move to get on as many rides as possible before closing at 9:00.  We stopped briefly in the Beauty and the Beast area to pose in front of the fountain of Gaston but decided the 90 minute wait for the ride was too long.  We went on a small roller coaster and the Jungle cruise where we had a hilarious tour guide.  We couldn’t understand what she was saying but she was so dramatic about all the animals and was laying on the ground of the boat shouting at us to be aware about the spouting elephants and alligators coming up. She deserves a raise.

Next came Marc and my favourite ride.  Exclusive to Tokyo Disney it is called Pooh’s Honey pot.  It is a whimsical adventure where the car you are sitting on runs and spins on magnets to give you views of a crazy colourful adventure for Pooh and friends. 

By the time we left the Winnie the Pooh ride it was dark.  We quickly got in line for the Monster’s Inc hide and to seek ride. We enjoyed the beautiful ceiling while waiting in line. Next we queued for Splash Mountain which we thought was just a quick drop off where you got wet. Instead we found ourself meandering through kitschy Disney scenes before the final drop. We had no time for dinner as we decided we wanted to keep riding! 

This is the only decent shot we got of one of the groups of theme dressed 20 year olds. So many groups wearing the same outfit. Probably more Japanese 20 somethings than young families.

To end the day we decided to ride Thunder mountain again.  We ended up doing it three times as there wasn’t much of a line and as we were starting to walk out of the park at 9:10 the attendants at the gate to Thunder Mountain enthusiastically encouraged us to do it one last time! We were officially the last people off the Thunder Mountain ride. 

We stopped for a few more photos on our way out, riding the magical Disney high.  A wonderful day we won’t soon forget. 

We stopped at 7/11 for dinner after everyone conked out on the train.  Levi wrote this “after Disney” on a pic to send to a friend. 

Now off to more adventures!