TeamLab x Galaxy: Catch & release rare sea creatures without getting your toes wet

How do you sell a phone that will set your Japanese customers back over *cough, cough* ¥150,000 (about $1,100 USD)?

Well, first, you hire TeamLab to build you a killer undersea digital environment…

then you hand visitors your want-worthiest model…

and set them loose to catch and release all kinds of rare sea creatures.

Like its other immersive digital environments, TeamLab’s Galaxy collabo is a mesmerizing odyssey that wends it way through a series of rooms…

that make you feel like you’re floating amid the wonders swirling all round.

Schools of fish move seamlessly across the floor, up the walls, and from room to room…

while crabs, lobsters and other bottom-dwellers scuttle beneath your feet…

just begging for you to point your ¥150,000 phone at them and toss a net…

then identify which rare sea creature you’ve captured!

And unlike patrons of most live Japanese aquariums, who can’t resist speculating on the tastiness of the exhibits, TeamLabGalaxy visitors are encouraged to release their catches back into the wild digital sea to be hunted another day.

You are also encouraged to snap photos with your loaner phone, six of which can be uploaded to your contact site at the end of your visit, so you can wow your friends with what excellent low-light photos could be yours, if only you had a crazy-expensive folding-screen Samsung Galaxy.

(Okay, I gotta admit, the photos *were* excellent, and the folding screen flip phone was ultra-satisfying to use. I was pretty tempted to start saving my laundry money…)

Where: Galaxy Harajuku 1-8-9 Jingumae, Shibuya

Hours: Open every day, 11:00 – 19:00

Admission: FREE*

*You do have to reserve your one-hour visit in advance, which you can do here (in Japanese only, but all you have to do is click on the calendar date at the time you want to come, and it’ll send you to a confirmation page with your QR entry code)

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for
Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon

“A fascinating mix of history and mystery.” —Booklist

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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