A Perfect Tokyo Afternoon: teamLab Borderless and Tokyo Tower

Like seemingly every person planning for a trip to Japan, of course I was scrolling through social media and poring over blog posts trying to find the best things to see and do and eat in Tokyo. So of course visiting teamLab and the Tokyo Tower made it into our Tokyo itinerary.

And it became one of the most memorable days we had (Although let’s be real. All the days are the most memorable days). 

Our homebase for the Tokyo leg of our trip was Asakusa, and it was so convenient to hop on a train to Kamiyacho Station after a quick onigiri and egg sandwich breakfast at the 7-Eleven. From Kamiyacho Station, it was only a short walk to the Mori Building Digital Art Museum for teamLab Borderless. 

teamLab Borderless

So, what is teamLab?

teamLab Borderless (and all the other teamLabs in Japan) is an interactive digital art museum that immerses you in galleries filled with light, sound, and effects.

There’s actually two in Tokyo, teamLab Borderless and teamLab Planets, so make sure you get tickets to the correct one.

Before I get into our teamlab Borderless review, here’s a quick breakdown on the logistic differences between the two.

Now onto our teamLab experience!

teamLab Borderless is exactly what it says. A collection of artworks with no borders, with rooms upon rooms of beautiful (and Instagrammable) displays that bleed into each other. There is no map or any set route. You’re free to walk around and get lost in whatever catches your eye.

At some point, Tim and I started following a parade of frogs down the hall, then turned into a new hallway and marveled at the new display, only to realize an embarrassing few moments in that we’d already been down that way.

But it was a good thing we ended up there again because we realized there was a whole room that we didn’t realize was there on the first go around. 

We loved our experience.

Gazing into the spheres of light in the Bubble Universe.

Drawing sea creatures and watching them swim around in the Sketch Ocean. Here, visitors’ drawings are animated and projected swimming along the walls.

Watching light through the mist in the Dissolving Flames.

And just sitting together and watching the scenes change.

Tim and I spent around 4 hours strolling around, talking, and getting lost. 

Of course, your experience is what you make of it. We really love taking our time in these kinds of art installations, but if you enjoy a speedy discovery, or you’ve got places to be (understandable if you’ve got a packed Tokyo itinerary and only a little time), you can go through all the rooms as fast as you want and snap all the beautiful pictures. 

But Tim and I are slow travelers. We love to take our time, and we really do recommend strolling along and letting your eyes and mind wander and fully immerse yourself in the experience.

One thing about teamLab Borderless (and all the other teamLabs) is that it is touristy. Tickets can sell out weeks in advance. And you might not get THE photo. You know the super aesthetic one of you in an empty room surrounded by amazing projections. 

A Katsu Curry Detour

So. It’s 4 hours later and we’ve just finished our stroll through the digital art museum. 

But before heading to our next stop, we decided to have a little bite to eat (since we missed lunch and the last thing we had was shared bites of tuna onigiri and an egg sandwich). 

The walk from the Mori Building to Tokyo Tower is a short 15-minutes with plenty of shops along the way. 

We figured we’d walk into one of the cute coffee shops and have some coffee and pastries. But that idea was derailed when we smelled the amazing scent of spices and fried stuff coming from across the street. 

The signs were in Japanese but Google Maps told us that the place was called Hinoya Curry (which I’m pretty sure is a chain). 

It’s a quaint little shop with a ticket machine outside. So we put in our money, chose what we wanted to order, and the machine quickly dispensed a ticket. We headed inside, hung up our coats on the hangers on the wall, and handed our ticket over to the man behind the counter. I think there’s a second floor, but we chose to sit in the first floor that only had counter seating and faced into the kitchen. 

Now I’ve had it before when I lived in LA, but this was the first time I’ve ordered katsu curry in Japan! And it was so good! 

The base of fluffy, delicious, Japanese rice with a perfectly crispy katsu on top and then smothered with curry sauce. 

After the meal, we gave a practiced Gochisousamadeshita (thank you for the meal) to the couple who prepared our food, and we continued our walk to the Tokyo Tower. 

Tokyo Tower

So I’ll be honest. The Tokyo Tower was not our final destination. There were plenty of people taking photos of the tower when we passed by, and many more heading up to the observation decks for a view of the city from above. But we had different plans.

We continued past the tower and found ourselves once again not in our planned destination but at Shiba Park, an expansive park with beautiful gardens, temples nearby, and an amazing view of the Tokyo Tower.

We couldn’t help but take a short stroll before we finally headed up to The Prince Park Tower Tokyo, before 5pm.

Now there’s a reason we were so keen to go to this hotel at this time.

It’s because on the 33rd floor, you can visit the Sky Lounge. The perfect place to catch the sun set over the city with a front-row view of the Tokyo Tower. And it’s got the best view of Tokyo Tower at night.

We didn’t have a reservation, so we made sure to arrive early before the lounge opened. Even then, we were still behind a few parties.

Walk-ins are welcome, but you might get stuck waiting in line until a table opens up, or at the bar away from the windows.

Luckily, we were able to get amazing window seats with a great view of the city skyline. And of course of the main event, the Tokyo Tower.

It was magical. 

We started our evening with a bottle of sake and we sat there, chatting and watching the sun go down.  

When the sky turned dark and sake ran low and the tower lights turned on, we ordered new drinks (and a basket of fries!) and chatted with the couple sitting nearby. 

Finally, tipsy and very very happy, we made our way back down to Shiba Park.

We did another little stroll (this time with the tower lights) and finally to the metro that took us back to Asakusa.

Late-Night Ramen

Now you might be thinking “What an amazing day they had. What a perfect end to the day with a romantic night-time walk.” 

That’s what I thought too! But after a long soak in the public baths offered by our hotel, Tim and I looked at each other and decided we didn’t want the night to end quite yet.

We really only had a basket of fries to go with our drinks for dinner. So we bundled up once again, and headed out to a nearby ramen place for a late-night bite. 

Tim got a bowl of spicy tonkotsu ramen and I got a bowl of tsukemen, and we got an order of gyoza to share.

I don’t know if it was because we were still a bit tipsy or it was really just that delicious but we enjoyed every bite.

What a fantastic day in Tokyo, Japan.

Tips

So here’s a few tips to make the most of your visit.

teamLab Borderless

• Book your tickets in advance whenever you visit a teamLab, especially if you’re planning to go at a a specific time. It’s super popular and tickets sell out weeks in advance.  
• Try to book the earliest or latest time slots. People tend to sleep in so the early morning is less crowded. And there tends to be less people later in the evening. Do keep in mind that the last entry is one hour before museum closing time!
• There’s always a line for the Sketch Ocean because there’s only so many tables available. Head there first if you arrive early.
• If you want a little tea break while inside, get tickets for the En Tea House (not included with the base entrance ticket). 

Viewing Tokyo Tower

A Slow Afternoon in Tokyo

So teamLab and Tokyo Tower. Two very touristy things to do in Tokyo. You might be wondering how exactly this could be considered slow travel.

Slow travel is more than spending long stretches of time in one location and visiting paths less traveled. You can still visit the popular places. It’s good to find the right balance that works for you.

It’s about taking the time to fully immerse yourself in what you’re doing and giving yourself the freedom to commit however much time you want to a chosen activity without worrying about missing the next spot in your itinerary. 

On that afternoon in Tokyo, we wanted to intentionally find some stillness.

Sitting together in a crowded room surrounded by digital flowers and watching crowds of people pass by. Walking hand in hand between alleyways with the view of Tokyo Tower in front of us. And watching the sun set over the busy city, drinks in hand and conversation overflowing.

So buy your tickets and make your reservations. But also allow yourself to fully explore that museum, detour to that great smelling restaurant, and walk down that alley with the amazing view of Tokyo Tower.

Conclusion

Tokyo is a city that runs at lightning speed, but you don’t have to match its pace to fall in love with it. 

Our day was made up of wandering aimlessly through digital waterfalls and sipping sake as the Tokyo Tower lit up the night sky. But not only that, it was also about being spontaneous and going on delicious detours and peaceful strolls. 

It’s a reminder that the best travel memories aren’t just the amazing plans on your itinerary, it can also be the little choices you make in between stops.

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