From July 15 until November 6, the popular teamLab exhibition A Forest Where Gods Live will be returning to Mifuneyama Rakuen Park in Saga Prefecture! This year, a new work titled Ephemeral Solidified Light will be on display, with rainbow-colored lights swirling and shining across the gorgeous landscape. The exhibition is being sponsored by Volvo.   

Ephemeral Solidified Light makes it seem like the lights themselves have come to life. Visitors will be tempted to reach out and touch them, but they’ll only find normal water against their fingertips.

teamLab <Ephemeral Solidified Light> ©teamLab

  The exhibition will be held for the eighth year at Mifuneyama Rakuen Park, which opened in 1845 and spans an enormous 500,000 square meters. teamLab hopes to use digital technology to transform the natural environment into something new and unique. The company uses the rocks, caves, and forests to encourage contemplation of the meaning of life through their digital art which is non-material and does not harm nature in any way.   The massive event is held each summer and fall and was named CNN World’s ‘Best Outdoor Art Exhibition to Visit’ in 2021. 

teamLab <Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and Boats> ©teamLab

 Mifuneyama Rakuen Park is also home to Mifuneyama Rakuen Park Hotel which has won awards for its beautiful sauna facilities. How would you like to visit this unique event?

From July 15 until November 6, 2022, the ‘teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live’ exhibition at Mifuneyama Rakuen, an ancient forest at the Takeo Hot Springs in Saga Prefecture. The massive event is held each summer and fall and was named CNN World’s ‘Best Outdoor Art Exhibition to Visit’ in 2021 and one of the Top 10 Art Installations in the world by DesignboomMagazine in 2017.   Works on Display   Universe of Water Particles on a Sacred Rock, 2017Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and Boats - Mifuneyama Rakuen Pond, 2015   Ever Blossoming Life Rock, 2017    Life is Continuous Light - Azalea Valley, 2017   Rock Wall Spatial Calligraphy, Continuous Life - Five Hundred Arhats, 2017   Split Rock and Enso, 2017   Resonating Forest - Cherry Blossoms and Maple, 2017   Megaliths in the Bath House Ruins, 2019   Graffiti Nature - Living in the Ruins of a Bathhouse, Red List, 2017-   Resonating Forest in the Ravine, 2019   Abstract and Concrete - Forest Entrance, 2018   Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup, 2016   Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest - One Stroke, Summer Forest, 2018Mifuneyama is said to have risen from the Ariake Sea 3 million years ago. The 500,000 square meter Mifuneyama Rakuen Park was created in 1845, at the end of the Edo period. The park is home to megaliths, caves, and forests that have been slowly shaped over thousands of years. teamLab believes that the shapes and textures of these objects are important, serving as traces of ancient people and natural changes over time.  The concept of the project is that non-material digital technology can turn nature into art without harming it. The creative team will be holding a number of other high-profile exhibitions this year, including installations in Paris, Tallinn, Shanghai, and Geneva. Their sauna collaboration with TikTok for teamLab Reconnect in Roppongi made huge waves in 2021--guests would take alternating hot and cold baths to experience intense physical sensations while surrounded by digital art.

Creative company NAKED has begun producing a collection of workshops on traditional crafts found in Saga Prefecture. Along with local creators, the event will continue through February 2022.    NAKED, together with Saga Prefecture, started a project called the ‘Saga Art Prefectural Government Project’ in 2016, which focuses on promoting the night economy in Saga. From the fall of 2021 until winter 2022, visitors to Saga will be able to enjoy a night walk surrounded by lanterns and local pieces of artwork. During this event, workshops led by Saga’s top creators will invite visitors to create a number of unique, personalized items, from lanterns to hand lotion. Certain workshops are for both adults and children, making this a fun event for the entire family.   

Workshops

  aroma*aroma Fragrance School Seminar House: Aromatherapy Soap Making for Parents and Children   Arita Porcelain Lab Painting Experience   Ogi Akari Project Bamboo Lantern Making Experience   Making Magatama at Yoshinogari Historial Park   Balloon Museum: Paper Balloon Making Experience for Parents and Children   full of flowers hyakka Flower Swag Making Experience   aroma*aroma Fragrance School Seminar House (with aroma lecture) Hand Cream Making Experience   Bubbleman Store for Adults: Saga Lotion Making Experience/ Bubbleman Store Candy Soap Making Experience for Parents and Children   Ureshino Warmth Festival Lantern Making Experience

The natural art exhibition "VOLVO teamLab: A Forest where Gods Live," hosted by teamLab at the Takeo Onsen in Mifuneyama Rakuen park, will be decorated in autumnal scenery for a limited time to mark the season. The lights will be lit up in the shades of autumn leaves, while interactive seasonal flowers will bloom in your tea. The Light Sculpture of Flames will also be unveiled, exhibiting until November 7 2021.   VOLVO teamLab: A Forest where Gods Live

   

Works that change with the seasons 

  Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest - One Stroke, Autumn Mountain, teamLab, 2018.  

    Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup, teamLab, 2016.

     

Newly Opened Works

  Light Sculpture of Flames, teamLab, 2016.

  The Mifuneyama Rakuen Park was built on a 500,000 square metre site that has been surrounded by nature for over three million years. This year marks the seventh year of the 'VOLVO teamLab: A Forest where Gods Live" outdoor exhibition, which opens every summer and autumn. The exhibition combines nature and art on a grand scale, even featuring in CNN's list of "Outdoor art exhibitions to see around the world."   One of the special features of teamLab's works is that they change with the season, including this one, where the colours will be changed to match the Autumn.The lamps in the Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps, which can be found in the lobby of the Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel, will light up in warm fall shades to create the Autumn Mountain. In addition, you can enjoy drinking tea brewed using seasonal flowers at the Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup installation. This is a unique Autumn experience!   The Light Sculpture of Flames has been on display at teamLab's large-scale solo exhibition and will be shown in public for the first time, having been described as the "first art piece to be accepted in Silicon Valley."The interactive light sculpture forms a 3D flame using multiple light points and will be shown in a collaboration space with VOLVO, the exhibits main partner.    Why not immerse yourself in the nature of Autumn with teamLab?

The new OPEN SAGASAKE campaign is set to launch on January 14, 2021 to help spread awareness of sake brewed in Japan's prefecture of Saga.   The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the world into confusion and disorder and made it difficult to predict the future. In response to this, Saga Prefecture's sake brewers have come together for Japan's sake fans to launch a campaign that is imbued with the hope for a brighter future. It will release a variety of content for people to look forward with positivity as they go into the New Year. Saga was originally known as Hizen and hails as Japan's oldest location for rice farming. It's home to Nabatake Ruins, an ancient ruin of rice paddies believed to be the oldest in Japan, and the enormous Yoshinogari site which is suited for rice cultivation. It's also home to many 'power spots,' a concept in Japan where a specific place is considered to give one energy by visiting it. The people of Saga have lived in rhythm with nature throughout history, and it's here where many sake breweries have opened.   Those who spend over ¥1,500 on Saga sake (tax included) for the campaign will be given a special leaflet by Pleiades Reina when it begins on January 14. Reina is the first child of Getters Iida, a Japanese fortune teller. 100 lucky people will also be given another special product to make their Saga sake drinking experience that much more special. Sign-ups begin on January 14 and end on March 12 in Japan.  

2021 OPEN SAGASAKE Limited-Edition Bottles

Special Saga sake brand limited-edition bottles will be sold starting on February 1. The labels feature colourful gradations so you can pick which bottle you want depending on which one you're feeling.  

Online Event

An online event will take place for Japanese sake fans on YouTube on March 6 at 18:00 (JST). Various actresses, models, and influencers will take part in a talk, including fortune telling by Pleiades Reina. There will also be prizes and other content to look forward to.

Japanese art collective teamLab opened its teamLab: Rinkan Spa & Tea Ceremony, Ruins and Remains series of artworks at Mifuneyama Rakuen in Kyushu as permanent exhibitions on November 10. The artworks can be enjoyed as part of a set which includes enjoying the exhibits as well as a soak in Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel's sauna and a complimentary cup of Japanese tea.   Rakan no Yu, a sauna located at Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel, won the Saunachelin Grand Prix two years in a row in 2019 and 2020. The sauna and open-air baths enjoy natural water from Mt. Mifune and are surrounded by the vast nature of the local area.  

A sauna and new art experience fusion

Sitting on the borderline of Mifuneyama Rakuen Park is the 3,000-year-old sacred Okusu tree of Takeo Shrine, which is Japan’s 7th largest. Also in the heart of the garden is another 300-year-old sacred tree. Knowing the significance of this, Japan's forebears turned a portion of this forest into a garden, utilizing the trees of the natural forest. The border between the garden and the wild forest is ambiguous, and when wandering through the garden, before they know it, people will find themselves entering the woods and animal trails.   Visitors can get their hands on a combo ticket which includes access to teamLab's exhibition as well as daytime entry to the sauna. These are limited to 40 people per day.   Below are some of the artworks that visitors can experience.

Megaliths in the Bath House Ruins teamLab, 2019, Interactive Digital Installation

Graffiti Nature - Living in the Ruins of a Bathhouse, Red List teamLab, 2017-, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Butterflies Dancing in the Depths of the Underground Ruins, Transcending Space teamLab, 2019, Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest - One Stroke, Autumn Mountain teamLab, 2018, Interactive Installation, Murano Glass, LED, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi