“Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation

If ogling giant resonating eggs and gawking at color-changing trees isn’t what you’re planning to do this weekend, cancel your plans and get thee out to Hanno to see this new digital art installation instead! It meanders halfway around the small lake in the Metsa Village recreation area, and it’s everything glow-in-the-dark entertainment should be.

The first part features these resonating spheres, which are tethered on short leashes so they bounce around in the breeze. If you touch them, they change color
As you make your way around the shoreline, you can see the delights ahead reflecting in the water
As you draw near, the reflections are amazing…
…and changing faster than you can click the shutter
Once you get into the forest, the path is lit by the eggs and trees, in a kaleidoscope of changing hues influenced by visitors walking among them. The natural forms of the trees and bamboo become intricate designs in the dark
As you make your way along the path, you catch a glimpse of these ovoids through the bamboo, floating in the water and sort of, uh, “breathing”…
A short flight of steps brings you right up to the water’s edge, where you can watch them resonate in a symphony of colors
I would probably still be standing there, mesmerized by the glow…
…except it was Chilly McChillface out there, so despite the nearly unbearable urge to take just one more photo, I eventually had to move on
But was rewarded for reaching the end of the path by this installation of many many resonating eggs

Here’s a little walk through the ultimate eggy part:

“Digitized Lakeside and Forest” was put together by (you guessed it) TeamLab, but this one is a temporary installation, which is why you need to get your butt on a train soon. It’s only on until March 3, 2018. Miyazawa Lake is in Metsa Village, which is outside of Hanno, a 50-minute express train ride from Ikebukuro Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. From Hanno Station, there are regular buses ferrying people back and forth to Metsa Village.

Open: Every day until March 3, 2019

Hours: 18:00 – 21:00

Admission: ¥1000 on weekdays, ¥1200 on weekends and holidays

No need to buy tickets in advance – you can get them from the ticket machines near the entrance when you get there. There’s a nice selection of indoor and outdoor food and drink places at the entrance/exit, including coffee, beer & wine.

Here’s a map of the installation:

As you can see, it’s a nice little hike. The trail is unpaved, so wear comfy walking shoes and dress warmly.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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For three hundred years, a missing tea bowl passes from one fortune-seeker to the next, changing the lives of all who possess it…read more

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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had

Published by Jonelle Patrick

Writes all the Japan things.

10 thoughts on ““Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation

      1. They make me think of The Prisoner the guy who is in this village and if he tries to run away he’s pursued by giant white bubbles

      1. Now looking like it’s going to be June for the month during summer. I heard a lot of Japan is hideously hot during June, what are your thoughts? Should we retreat to the mountains during this time. Either than or thinking of Enoshima or Kanagawa around there

      2. Yeah, it’s hot. June is rainy too. Sometimes REALLY rainy. But it’s also the month where you can see glorious hydrangeas and iris gardens, so kind of great too. And you can eat shave ice and cold somen noodles! I think I’ll be back here in July, which is even hotter, so have been trying to look on the bright side of summer lately!

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