Immersing yourself with others, body and soul, perceiving with your body, and becoming one with the world

Source: teamLab Planets

I work in a field that moves people's hearts, so I believe it's important to move my own heart as a starting point. I'm a middle-aged man with big ambitions! (👉Self-introduction)

I saw the news that teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM in Toyosu, Tokyo, was recognized as Asia's Leading Tourist Attraction 2023 at the World Travel Awards, often called the Academy Awards of the travel industry.

I've been curious about teamLab Planets for several years, but I've always put those feelings on hold because my sons would complain about going to places I wanted to visit.
(The pressure of 'I have to study,' 'I want to play games,' 'Let's go home already...' etc.)

Despite all that, this time, both kids had extracurricular activities for a few hours, so my wife and I went together as a side project!

What I experienced at teamLab Planets

About 80-90% of the visitors seemed to be foreign tourists, making it a place that felt like being in a foreign country. You store your luggage in lockers at the entrance and walk around barefoot with minimal belongings. This allows you to focus on the world.

After going there, I truly understood what is meant by 'the sense of immersion is incredible.'

Every artwork is filled with visual stimulation from rapidly moving images, light, objects like flowers, the movements of the people there, and further amplification by mirrors.

There is auditory stimulation from sounds that differ for each artwork, including tone, sound quality, changing volume, and acoustics.

There is tactile stimulation from walking around barefoot and feeling the temperature of water and hot water through your bare feet, the resistance of movement, hard floors, soft floors, and cold mirror floors. You sit or lie down there and touch the objects.

There is olfactory stimulation from the scent of cypress or flowers that differs by location, and the intensity of those scents.

In a space cut off from the outside world, your vision, hearing, touch, and smell are stimulated by an overwhelming amount of information. You enter the spatial world. This is what immersion is.

You enter the world of art with your whole body. Your own body, having entered, also becomes part of the art. It is art where no matter where you look, the same moment never happens twice.

Walking through the dark corridors between spaces, I couldn't stop being excited by the series of unimaginable spaces, wondering what on earth would be next.

(Note) Official website: Click here for an overview of the works!

Things I felt I needed to learn more about

The fusion of art, digital technology, and the body. After this first experience, questions I want to know the answers to have sprung up.

• How were these works created?

• How were these works designed as integrated experiences that stimulate the five senses?

• What kind of people were involved in that process, and what kind of chemical reactions occurred?

• What kind of technology is used to realize this series of experiences?

• How will it evolve in the future as technology advances?

• What is the underlying mechanism that moves people's hearts?

I wanted to know, so I bought this book to learn.

To move other people's hearts, I must move my own heart more and learn more and more.

If you are interested in art, want to take wonderful photos, or are planning to visit Tokyo, I think you should go at least once.
This tourist attraction, representing Asia, was amazing. No matter who you are, you can have an experience you can only have here that will move your heart.

I decided I would bring my sons here even if they grumbled. There is definitely something here that you can only feel in this place.

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