Today our minds were blown… in more ways than one. First, Maneau had arranged 9 am tickets for us to the Team Labs Planets Museum on one of the man-made islands in Tokyo Bay. A 40 minute rail commute got us there just in time and well ahead of the crowds coming later in the morning.
Team Labs Planets is an interactive digital museum where the art changes depending on the presence of the human body. As you touch the walls and move through the spaces, the art follows you. In one section, digital animals roam around, stopping to look at you. Then there’s the LED light show as if you are standing in a virtual meteor shower. In another section, hundreds of living Orchid flowers suspended on strings rise and fall as you stroll through. In yet another section, you take off your shoes and wade through knee-deep water as digital fish swim around your legs. Very very cool! I highly recommend this museum experience.
Walking back to the train station, we passed the enormous Unicorn Gundham statue. This is a full scale, 20 meter tall, 50 ton replica of the famous military robot from Japanese anime. At certain times of the day, it transforms into battle mode but today was hot and humid so we didn’t wait for the show. Ryan has enjoyed Gundham animation since he was a little boy and it was wonderful to see him experience this art and relive his memories.
We also saw the Statue of Liberty on the waterfront. It was given to Tokyo by France in 1998 to celebrate French-Japanese friendship.
We rested in the afternoon, had refreshments in our rooms and then at dusk, we took the subway to the Akihabara district to see the night lights. This area is Japanese Anime central and the sidewalks were jam-packed with young people (like Ryan) seeking escapism from daily life. It was colorful, weird, mesmerizing and intimidating for a senior like me. I was the only white-haired person among thousands. However, Ryan was in his glory and I loved that he got to see (and purchase) some of his favorite anime art.
As I said, out minds were blown today… our feet worn out…. our bellies empty. Finding a seat in a restaurant was almost impossible but we did finally get an Italian meal near our hotel. Then we crashed. It was a great day.
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