Tokyo 2023 Travel Log: Day 5 — Exploring TeamLab Planets TOKYO

We took the train back to Osaka from Kyoto and we were so tired by then that we just had a quick conbini dinner (e.g. cup ramen, a sandwich, and an onigiri), showered, and went straight to bed because we had to take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo early in the morning. Why the rush? Because we had to get back to Tokyo in time for TeamLab Planets TOKYO.

The Infinite Crystal Universe
The Infinite Crystal Universe
The Infinite Crystal Universe
The Infinite Crystal Universe
Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity
Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity
Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity
Matter is Void - Fire
Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Free Floating, Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors
Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Free Floating, Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors
Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Free Floating, Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors
Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One
Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One
Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One
Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One

It's one of the most unique museum experiences I've ever had. You're barefoot the entire time (they provide lockers for you to put your belongings in), and you use your whole body to immerse yourself in the artwork spaces — through an uphill water stream, a maze of colour-changing LED light strings, a massive pool of knee-deep water, a sea of body-swallowing sandbags, a chamber of massive rubber helium balloons, a ceiling of projected falling flower petals, and moving orchid walls. 

Is it overrated? A little bit. Is it totally worth going? Absolutely.

TeamLab Planets TOKYO

6 Chome-1-16 

Toyosu, Koto City

Tokyo, Japan 〒135-0061

NYC — Spring 2017: Snapshots, American Museum of Natural History

Looking at dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History.

Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs

Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals

The Titanosaur in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center

The Titanosaur in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center

The Titanosaur in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center

American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West & 79th Street
New York, NY 10024
(212) 769-5100

NYC (Winter 2011): Day 5, MoMA

Shawn and I spent our last afternoon in New York at the MoMA. For those who have never visited, it's definitely a must-see in New York. It has six floors of modern art, so it'll pretty much take up your entire day, but it's worth it. My favourites were probably the pop art pieces (Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, etc.):

Here are some other highlights:

I also took a picture of this piece that just creeped me right out:

And, of course, there were many that made me wonder how they got into a museum:

NYC (Winter 2011): Day 2, Guggenheim

We took the subway uptown and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Guggenheim. Definitely a must-see if you've never visited before. The building itself, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is a New York landmark. I think the architecture is actually what makes it more distinctive than the actual art, at least in New York; the viewing gallery forms a spiral from the main level to the top. It was my second time visiting the museum, the first time during a senior year art trip in high school; it has since undergone a major exterior restoration. They're currently featuring an exhibition called The Great Upheaval, featuring modern art from 1910 to 1918 by artists such as Kandinsky, Picasso, and Delauney (my personal favourite from this exhibition). It's always worth taking the free audio set that accompanies the artwork, too, because it does provide a lot of insight and history to the pieces. I find this especially important in modern art, since a lot of it is meant for interpretation.