Teamlab Borderless

So Teamlab Borderless is a big deal to me. It was actually the biggest inspiration for me to want to visit Japan before Covid. Even though every Asian country I came to visit in this trip were kind of spiritual journeys for me in different ways this place counted as one by itself. Taiwan represents home for my late parents and a place I could've spent my life in filled with people that are objectively most like me. Japan represents everything I enjoyed and found solace in in my youth and ended up growing out of. Korea represents the things I enjoy now. And finally the Teamlabs represent an evolution of the things that inspired me to dedicate major parts of my life to art.

Teamlab Borderless is the first one and now that it has been renovated and moved the largest one. It had been closed for 2 years so it wasn't a possibility last time. While Teamlab Planets has the gimmick of being partially in water and being completely linear, Borderless is like its namesake without borders. You are free to travel back and forth and discover for however long you want and there is no map or location signs. In fact I almost missed the last room if I didn't find someone's haphazardly drawn map from memory posted on an online forum.

While standing in the hanging ornament room pictured above I had this thought that if I were completely alone in this room I would probably break down crying. Even editing the video that I took of the flower disc room pictured below made me feel like I'd witnessed something special.

I've seen many places try to mimic what this place does but there's a sensibility and aesthetic here that I haven't seen in any of the others.

Anyway I edited this video down as short as I could and the 4k quality is noticeable compared to HD. My camera was having a lot of lens flare issues at the time. You really have to be there to experience it.

I walked to Harajuku to shop and it was just as busy and crowded as last time. Then walked down to Shibuya to have some Yakiniku where the whole place had booths with partitions for solo dining. There were large groups of people walking towards Shibuya and when I got there I was met with a large standing crowd. I guess the area by the famous Shibuya Crossing is a huge hangout spot.

There was a NewJeans pop up at this mall in Shibuya! I wanted to check out this very fancy pudding shop but it wasn't open when I got there. The next day I got some Unagi at a place that only served eel. There were also a bunch of anime figures decorating the place. This is my first time seeing a sweet potato roasting stand. it was inside of this basement supermarket. There's so many brands and snacks that are in the supermarket that aren't in the convenience stores.

Next stop was I wanted to go back to Kura Sushi (conveyor belt sushi) and I had no idea it was a particularly special one with a confectionary. The menu was much more expansive at this location. I found a late night ramen spot while exploring near my hotel, it had a pub vibe with a few regulars drinking. The last photo is of the flowers they sell at Uniqlo. I ended up buying a bunch of clothes and had them alter some jeans.

I took the subway to the airport for the first time and it was a fairly pleasant but long ride. There's an express rail but it requires a premium fare. My last meal in Japan was at this very nice food court inside Narita Airport Terminal 2. I got another beef bowl instead of waiting in line for other stuff. I did not cross paths with this place last time I was at Narita but both times I was able to find plenty of last minute souvenirs and even things I couldn't find elsewhere.

Flight to Korea