Artistic charm
Day 2: Amazed by scenic Tokyo and teamLabs art
A bright summer morning with clear blue skies. The day started with a satiating breakfast.
After contemplating what dress would yield the best pictures in an art museum, we stepped out. It was an hour and half long journey by a fascinating train ride through the city.
The view alternating between river canals and landmass displaying variety of architecture, rows of trees planted along colorful pavements, well-marked roads with streamlined traffic and fancy modes of transit through both water and land. Even when not trying to impress, Japan had its charm.
Our destination for the day, teamLab Planets Tokyo!
This much hyped tourist attraction was an immersive display of art, something like I had never seen before. The perfect blend of art and engineering with various artwork spaces. The amount of thought and efforts gone into making this place is commendable.
There were 4 artwork spaces and 2 gardens, each creatively using lights and projections to make a breathtaking experience. The “Infinite Crystal Universe” art and “One with the flower” garden were my personal favorites.
The infinite crystal universe was a maze between a tall array of lights with instrumental music in the background. One could not stop gazing into these never-ending patterns running all around. It was hypnotic.
The garden had hanging arrays of orchids which would approach a person sitting beneath. The flowers would shy away with slightest shift in focus. As described at the art, ‘When someone continues to look at a flower closely, the flower looks back. At that moment, they become one with the flower and may truly see flowers for the first time.’
After losing into infinity, finding, and becoming ‘the one,’ we exited the museum and ordered my first official bowl of ramen, UZU’s Vegan Ramen. This was also the start of my month-long struggle with chopsticks, but I am not the one to give up so easily.
We then made our way to the upscale shopping district of Tokyo, Ginza. Given my budget, not sure what were we thinking. Surprisingly, I managed to buy a bucket hat and some touristy outfit from H&M and Uniqlo.
After admiring the aesthetic market and getting a lesson on brand positioning and marketing, we soon found ourselves in a konbini. My eyes startled at the sight of doracakes, actually known as dorayaki or bean jam cakes. Sadly though, does not taste that good. Sorry, Doraemon!
Sunday, July 30, 2023
