August 5, 2025 — 5:00am
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You snooze, you lose. My tardiness to book one of Tokyo’s most popular attractions is testament to that. Both of the interactive attractions by international art collective teamLab in Japan’s capital are booked out on my one free day in the city. Tickets for teamLab’s Planets and Borderless go on sale at least three months in advance.
Fortunately, I discover, I still have a bite at the teamLab cherry because it operates an attraction in Osaka, another destination on my Inspiring Vacations tour of Japan. And blessed be, teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka can be booked a day or two in advance and some tickets are even available at the gate for impromptu visits.
Forest of Autonomous Resonating Life at teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka.
Opened in 2022, this immersive exhibition held in the Nagai Botanical Garden after sunset is considered by many to be a gentler, less intense experience than its Tokyo counterparts, with the gardens transformed by digital technology that dictates the rhythm and flow of the experience.
As dark descends over the upmarket residential area of Nagai – a 30-minute ride on the Midosuji Metro line from the centre of Osaka – its 24.2 hectare botanical garden comes to life with projections, light installations and pulsating pods tucked into secluded groves.
Like all teamLab installations, the experience is entirely interactive, with artworks influenced by human presence, bird and animal life and even wind and rain. The idea is to create a continuum, with the boundaries of the artworks ambiguous in the context of the forest, gardens and lake.
A light rain falls as we enter the gates at 7.45pm; attendants hand out white plastic ponchos to keep guests dry which transforms the crowd into an army of caped clones.
Sculptures of Dissipative Birds in the Wind.
Just beyond the entrance a floodlit avenue of majestic cypresses hum as we walk by, the musical drone radiating to nearby trees. It’s a surreal start to the experience, with the plants appearing as breathing, communicating entities.
On the banks of Oike Lake, monumental concrete slabs become a projection screen, swirling galaxies of light created by the energy of birds and insects that feed and flutter through the surrounding flora.
Translucent pods are a hallmark of teamLab’s artistic vision. The Osaka garden has two displays of ovoid sculptures, small ones among camellias and three metre-high eggs in a eucalyptus forest. In response to human touch, the pods change colour and emit tones that are then transmitted to the next structure, much like a technological pass-the-parcel, replete with the giggles of children.
Digital ubiquity also comes into play with the artwork Universe of Fire Particles in the Forest, which explores teamLab’s concept of Distributed Art. When you download a smartphone app and approach the work, a digitised flame will ignite on your phone via the app and can be passed to others near you. The flames are tracked globally on the Map of the Flame and the artwork allows you to take the images home as it is locked into the cloud.
Resonating Microcosms in the Common Camellia Garden.
But for me, it’s the simplest display that resonates most effectively. Walk, Walk, Walk is a series of images that portray diverse marching figures projected along an avenue of trees. There are chariots pulled by horses, samurai and hopping bunnies – classic Japanese imagery that reflects the Zen expression “Hoho kore dojo”, every step is a place to learn. A computer programs ensures the scene is ever-changing and each picture unique, never to be seen again.
There’s no set route for visitors to take in the 13 artworks in the garden; you can return to your favourites at leisure until close at 9.30pm depending on the season.
Walk, Walk, Walk.Related Article
In a world where light installations seem ubiquitous, some of the displays in teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka may feel familiar – think Field of Light at Uluru or Nocturnal at Scenic World in the Blue Mountains.
But in a similar way to those exhibitions, it’s the use of technology to connect the elements and landscape with humanity that makes this such an enticing and refreshing slice of Japanese artistry.
DETAILS
FLY
Japan Airlines flies from Sydney to Osaka via Tokyo. See jal.co.jp
VISIT
Entry to teamLab Osaka Botanical Garden is 1800 yen ($19) for adults, 500 yen for children. See teamlab.art/e/botanicalgarden
The writer travelled as a guest of Inspiring Vacations. She visited teamLab Osaka Botanical Garden at her own expense. See inspiringvacations.com/au
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Julie Miller scrapes a living writing about the things she loves: travel, riding horses and drinking cocktails on tropical beaches. Between airports, she lives in a rural retreat just beyond Sydney.Traveller GuidesFrom our partners
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