HOME Tokyo and Surroundings Tokyo Harajuku Explore a Magical Indoor Forest with teamLab's Latest Collaborative Illumination

Explore a Magical Indoor Forest with teamLab's Latest Collaborative Illumination

• Written by: Cassandra Lord

Date published: 27 May 2022

When it comes to year-round illuminations and fantastical adventures blurring the boundaries of reality and the virtual, teamLab is the first (and perhaps only) name that comes to mind. So it’s always exciting to see a new exhibit of theirs.

Their newest addition in Harajuku is a collaborative experience created together with Galaxy Harajuku, so let’s take a look at what’s involved.

Main image: © teamLab

In a building that is usually home to a large Samsung Galaxy shop and café, the third floor has been transformed into the Galaxy and teamLab collaboration known as “Catching and Collecting in the Sacred Forest.”

Stepping into the art exhibition, you’ll instantly forget that you’re in central Tokyo. The sounds of birds and running water surround you, and the darkened room focuses all your attention on the other-worldly colors of flora and fauna all around.

The art exhibition aims to give you a “Catch, Study, Release” experience. The Sacred Forest itself seamlessly combines the real world and virtual reality, connected by a Galaxy phone in the palm of your hand.

With a Galaxy phone in hand, walk through the psychedelic colors of the Sacred Forest, and catch and observe different animals along the way to create your own collection book. The forest is home to a variety of endangered and even extinct animals. When you approach and touch an animal, it reacts in real-time and may make a sound or even run away.

But the magical animals are not just for viewing; you can learn more about them, too.

When you point the smartphone’s camera at an animal, you can release a “Study Arrow,” which escapes the boundaries of the phone and enters the forest itself. When the arrow hits, the animal disappears in a magical cloud and appears on your phone.

Once you’ve learned about the animal, you can release it back into the Sacred Forest by swiping it into a location visible on the phone’s camera. It will return to the forest and continue as it was.

You also can set down a “Study Net” to capture the animals wandering around the forest floor. When you set down a net, you can work with others to encourage the animals into the net and bring them together in your collection book. To release it again, swipe the animal into the spot on your camera, and it will be released and appear at your feet.

To learn even more about the animal, you can capture the same animal more than once, and the information written in your collection book will become more and more detailed.

The experience makes use of all your senses while allowing the incredible animals to travel boundlessly between the physical world and the digital world inside your Galaxy smartphone.

The experience started on April 1, 2022, and has no set end date at the time of writing. Entry is free, and you can easily make your way to the sacred forest from Harajuku Station. Tickets can be booked in advance.

Source: PR Times

Written by:

Cassandra Lord

Cassandra Lord is a British journalist specialising in food, travel, and culture, and has been in Japan for five years after studying Japanese at Edinburgh University for four. With a year of experience as co-editor for LIVE JAPAN, Cassandra has since transitioned to freelance writing, contributing to a variety of platforms including The Japan Times and Tokyo Weekender. During her time in Japan she has visited 25 prefectures, with a goal to eventually visit all 47. She also manages her own YouTube channel, "Cassandra Lord", which is dedicated to all things related to Japanese culinary culture. She also works as a translator and photographer.

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