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, 2017

Drawing 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, 2018

Mifuneyama 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?

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

teamLab’s annual A Forest Where Gods Live exhibition is currently taking place at Mifuneyama Rakuen Park in Saga Prefecture until November 8, 2020. For autumn this year, the digital art team has introduced a seasonal piece entitled Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest – One Stroke, Autumn Mountain.

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

Available to see for this autumn season only, ​Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest – One Stroke, Autumn Mountain showcases Kasane no Irome, which are nuances of layered colours that were seasonal colours created in silk before Japan’s modern era, in the form of lit lamps.

The lamps in the exhibition shine brightly and then fade. In the light, one can see the eight autumn Kasane no Irome colours: Budding Leaves, Green Leaves, Fallen Green Leaves, Yellow Leaves, Fallen Yellow Leaves, Fallen Leaves, Fallen Red Leaves, and Autumn Leaves.

Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup
teamLab, 2016, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Make tea in the tea house at the exhibition. Flowers will bloom inside the teacup, which if you pick up, sends the flowers scattering and spreading to the outside of the cup. Flowers will bloom infinitely as long as there is tea. For September, there are safflowers, dianthus, and Chinese asters, while next month will introduce cosmos, osmanthus, and chrysanthemums.

Ever Blossoming Life Rock
teamLab, 2017, Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

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

You can also see autumn flowers in the Ever Blossoming Life Rock and Megaliths in the Bath House Ruins exhibits too.

Visitors can also get set tickers which includes entry to the exhibition as well as a dip in the Rakan no Yu hot springs of Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel. These tickets are limited to 40 people per day.

teamLab’s annual digital art exhibition teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live, which is held every year from summer to autumn at Mifuneyama Rakuen’s Takeo Hot Springs, is collaborating with Rakan no Yu, a new sauna facility which opened at the Kyushu-based hot spring facility and won first place in Sauna Chelan 2019.

The exhibition will open in the 500,000 square meter Mifuneyama Rakuen Park on July 22, 2020 to both guests and non-guests of Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel, Onyado Chikurintei, and other surrounding accommodations. Set tickets to enjoy both Rakan no Yu and the teamLab exhibition went on sale on July 20 and are limited to 40 people per day.

Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and Boats – Mifuneyama Rakuen Pond​
teamLab, 2015, Interactive Digitized Nature, 13min 24sec, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

The water of Rakan no Yu is pure, low-alkali hot spring water with no colour, smell, or taste. It’s known for its superior moisturising effect, leaving the skin nice and smooth. Rakan no Yu won first place in Sauna Chelan 2019. Sauna Chelan is considered the “Michelin” ranker of the sauna world.

In June 2020, a dry sauna and new baths were added to Rakan no Yu’s women’s open air baths. Guests can enjoy the meditation sauna, indoor and outdoor baths, hot springs, and more in both the men’s and women’s sections.

Ever Blossoming Life Rock
teamLab, 2017, Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Universe of Water Particles on a Sacred Rock
teamLab, 2017, Digitized Nature

This year marks teamLab’s sixth collaboration with Mifuneyama Rakuen. Their teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live is held every year at the site, and this year they have 22 art pieces to showcase. Takeo Hot Springs opened in 1845 and is registered as a national monument.

Life is Continuous Light – Azalea Valley

teamLab, 2017, Interactive Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Floating Resonating Lamps – One Stroke, Fire
teamLab, 2019, Interactive Installation, Murano Glass, LED, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

teamLab’s incredible interactive digital art will react to people’s presence and movement throughout the 500,000 square meter space.

The Arita Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced that the online Arita ware website “Arita Toukichi” has been extended until May 5, 2020 where it will close at 5:00pm (JST).

Arita Toukichi is a marketplace in the town of Arita in Saga Prefecture which bustles every year with people all year round who flock there to buy the town’s famous Arita porcelain wares. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the market has been postponed and instead has temporarily moved online.

Around 130 makers of Arita ware have close to 10,000 pieces of ceramics and pottery on display. Until now, you had to actually make the trip to visit Arita to get your hands on such goods, but now people all around Japan can purchase the latest items online.

If you spend more than ¥2,000 from one seller shipping (within Japan) is free.

If you’ve never seen the beautiful wares from Arita then make sure you check out the website before it closes.

From their popular AWAPA Foam Party event where you can dance in a club filled with foam to their BATHTUB CINEMA event where you can watch a movie with your friends in a bathtub, Afro&Co. never fails to bring us new and creative ways to have fun. They are now collaborating with Saga prefecture to run the ‘ichigosan bus’: a sightseeing bus which will introduce you to wonderful spots in Tokyo with an unexpected strawberry twist to celebrate the first anniversary of Saga prefecture’s strawberry farm ‘ichigosan’. Enjoy strawberry picking inside the bus and then tuck into a strawberry-tastic afternoon tea set and much more. The bus will be running for a five day period from January 1 to 19, 2020.

ichigosan Afternoon Tea

ichigosan Panna Cotta

The ichigosan bus commemorates one-year since Saga Prefecture launched their new brand of delicious succulent strawberries called ‘ichigosan’. The collaboration hopes to spread the delicious flavour of ichigosan strawberries to as many people as possible with the five-day-limited strawberry-tastic bus tour. Hop on the red double-decker bus, which looks just like a London tour bus, to enjoy strawberry picking on floor one and an original strawberry afternoon tea set prepared by a chef from Royal Garden Cafe Aoyama on floor two.

ichigosan Crêpe

ichigosan Tart

This three-experience-in-one tour bus introduces you to the newest famous spots in the city, offers you a fun strawberry picking experience and even comes with a delicious strawberry afternoon tea set. You can book tickets in advance online and there are two kinds of tickets available for on-the-day purchases. As this is the best season to enjoy ichigosan strawberries in Japan, make the most of it on this tour and you will be berry pleased.

Daisho Temple is located up 350 meters in Saga Prefecture’s town of Kitagawa. Every year, from early June to late July, around 5,000 hydrangeas of 70 varieties bloom across the area. Since the temple is situated at such an elevated level, those that climb up there can also see a sea of clouds. Because of this, the temple is also nicknamed Tenkuu no Ajisaiji, or “The Hydrangea Temple in the Heavens.”

This year, from June 8 to 30, a festival will be held to celebrate the hydrangeas. Stalls will line the area and be open from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

A visit to Daisho Temple also means you get to see Japan’s oldest tree, an Inumaki that is over 500 years old, as well as the Mochi and Kashi trees that have merged together to become one.

If you’re looking to get out into nature in Japan this summer then don’t miss the colourful Hydrangea Festival.

teamLab’s annual A Forest Where Gods Live exhibition is set to take place for the fifth year in a row from July until October 31 at Mifuneyama Rakuen Park in Saga Prefecture.

The exhibition is part of teamLab’s Digitized Nature project which is conscious of how nature has formed over a very long period of time, and that we can gain a sense of the continuity of nature by turning it into art through forms like rocks, caves and forests. This is the same at Mifuneyama Rakuen where these elements have formed over a long time which people across all generations have sought meaning in them.

Mifuneyama Rakuen Park opened in 1845 and spans an enormous 500,000 square meters. It is considered a National Treasure of Japan.

Standing at the borderline of the park is the grand and scared 3,000-year-old Okusu tree of Takeo Shrine. The park is also home to another 300 year old Okusu tree which sits in the heart of the forest. teamLab notes how the border between the garden and the wild forest is ambiguous and that before people know it, they have already entered the woods and animal trails.

teamLab will use the rocks, caves and forest to encourage contemplation of the meaning of “Continuous Life” through their digital art which while is non-material does not harm nature in any way.

List of Major Works

Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and Boats – Mifuneyama Rakuen Pond
teamLab, 2015, Interactive Digitized Nature, 13min 24sec, Sound: Hideaki Takahash

Life is Continuous Light – Azalea Valley
teamLab, 2017, Interactive Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Ever Blossoming Life Rock
teamLab, 2017, Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Universe of Water Particles on a Sacred Rock
teamLab, 2017, Digitized Nature

Rock Wall Spatial Calligraphy, Continuous Life – Five Hundred Arhats
teamLab, 2017, Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Resonating Forest – Cherry Blossoms and Maple
teamLab, 2017, Interactive Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Abstract and Concrete – Forest Entrance
teamLab, 2018, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

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

Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup
teamLab, 2016, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

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

This is just a sample of the exhibitions set to arrive this year. teamLab has many new pieces in the works, so don’t miss out on the chance to experience this wonderful coming together of digital art and nature.

Digitized Nature is a project organized by the creative group teamLab under the slogan ‘Nature Becomes Art’ that makes use of extraordinary digital art. teamLab notes how nature has formed over a very long period of time, and that we can gain a sense of the continuity of nature by turning it into art through forms like rocks, caves and forests.

teamLab are currently showcasing their ‘earth music & ecology’ exhibition titled ‘A Forest Where Gods Live’ at Mifuneyama Rakuen. One of the pieces there is called ‘Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest,’ which has just been updated to incorporate the autumnal colours known as kasane no irome.

Before the modern era of Japan, kasane no irome, or ‘layered colours,’ were autumn colours created in silk. They were a complex combination of front and back colours (silk during this time was so thin that the material was transparent, creating complicated colors), overlapping colour gradations, and combinations of warp and weft.

The updated exhibition, entitled Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest – One Stroke, Autumn Mountain, makes use of these colours with lamps which fade in and out 8 autumn-time colours including reds and greens.

The group’s ‘earth music & ecology: A Forest Where Gods Live’ was packed up by news platforms around the world including CNN and even came top designboom’s Top 10 Art Installations of 2017. This year marks the 4th run of the exhibition which takes the form of a huge garden spanning 500,000 square meters. It features new digital art installations as well as the old ones which change and manipulate as people walk by them. Mifuneyama Rakuen first opened in 1845 and is a nationally registered place of scenic beauty.

Witness the worlds of technology and nature collide with your own eyes.