TeamLab Acorn Forest, Higashi Tokorozawa Park

On August 1st 2020 TeamLab opened a permanent digitized nature solo exhibition called Resonating Light in the Acorn Forest. It is in the Musashino Woods of Higashi Tokorozawa Park. The Higashi Tokorozawa park is located next to the much anticipated Shin Tokorozawa Sakura Town. Sakura Town has several attractions including a library and manga museum, an anime hotel and a “Cool Japan” modern shrine. The Musashino Woods has a small cafe too. The outdoor seating overlooks the Teamlab installations.

Teamlab

This is not Saitama’s first partnership with Team Lab. In fact, Saitama Prefecture was the very first place in the whole world to get a permanent indoor TeamLab. In the play area in the Teamlab Islands in Lalaport in Fujimi. Unfortunately, that branch closed down during and due to the pandemic. Saitama also hosted a TeamLab collaborative illumination event at the Metsa Village (Moominvalley Park) in Hanno which was extremely popular.

—This post first appeared on the events section of insaitama.com to disseminate information about the opening of Acorn Forest. It has been adapted for the main section of the blog.—

Acorn Forest

The art installation is in the Musashino Woods Park within the larger Higashi Tokorozawa park. The rest of the park is free to use. It has a children’s playground in it, right beside the Teamlab exhibition. The exhibition is the Acorn Forest or its full name “teamlab: Resonating Life in the Acorn Forest“. It uses Teamlab’s trademark fluorescent color changing shapes, ovoid, on the forest floor to create art in nature. From the website:

“The Kadokawa Culture Museum calls the collection of oaks and other deciduous broadleaf trees of Musashino the Musashino Woods. These Musashino Woods transition through the greens of spring and summer, display beautiful autumnal leaves from fall until early winter, and are home to ripe acorns in autumn.

Deciduous broadleaf forests were widespread in Japan during the Jomon Period. These forests were home to acorn-bearing trees, and acorns were a major food source for the Jomon people. During the Jomon Period, many people existed alongside the acorn forests, living easily with this abundant food source.

teamLab’s Digitized Nature art project uses non-material digital technology to transform nature into art without having a physical impact on it. teamLab: Resonating Life in the Acorn Forest will transform the acorn forests of Musashino into an interactive art space which changes due to the presence of people.”

Source: TeamLab official English website.

The acorns / ovum are interactive – they react to touch and motion. When you touch or roll one it omits a sound that “resonates” with the surrounding acorns. Creating a ripple effect of sound reverberating in the forest. The lights around also change in reaction to the one you touch. During the height of the pandemic they were giving out gloves to touch the ovoid, but as of August 2022 they are no longer provided.

Resonating Trees

The second part of the installations in the Musashino Woods at the Higashi Tokorozawa Park is the Resonating Trees.  Or for its full name: Autonomous Resonating Life – Liquified Light Color, Sunrise and Sunset . As the ovoid change color, so do the trees. The lighting creates a dramatic effect in the woods. If you are visiting in summer though, I recommend you wear long trousers and / or bring mosquito repellant. As it is a natural wood, there are mosquitoes galore!

Hours

The park is open from Wednesdays to Mondays, and two Tuesdays a month. It is closed on the first, third and when applicable, fifth Tuesday of the month. It is also closed when there is heavy rain and / or strong winds. If they close the park due to bad weather and you have a pre-booked ticket for that date, you can use your ticket for up to three months after. They announce on their Twitter account if the installations will be closed that night.

Initially when this Teamlab opened, there were two sessions a day. A daytime session and a night session. However, since 2021 there is only one session – the night time session. It starts at 4 pm and is open until 9 pm.

Acorn Forest Cost

When there were two sessions a day there were also two different pricing systems. Now there is just one, the more expensive one! The night time visits costs 1,000 yen for adults, 800 yen for junior high students and 500 yen for children on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. From Friday to Sunday it costs 1200 yen for an adult, 800 yen for a junior high school student and 600 yen for an elementary aged student.

Children younger than six years old can enter for free. If you book online you can receive a 100 yen discount. Also, residents of Tokorozawa get a 200 yen discount. In addition, until Friday September 30th you can get a 500 yen discount when purchasing a ticket to one of the exhibitions at the Kadokawa Museum.

One day family plan

There is so much to do in Tokorozawa. Even before Sakura Town opened the area had a lot of attractions. It is probably best known for the Seibu Leisure park which has an amusement park, snow kingdom, sporting facilities, pools and an indoor ski resort. The latter is only open from October to the end of Winter.

In Sakura town there is plenty to do and see and dozens of seasonal events. Within Kadokawa Musashino Museum, a culture museum in the town, they have various events in their gallery and event space. You can also find the anime museum in the Kadokawa museum. And there is the EJ Anime hotel within the town too.

Nearby attractions that would make a good stop include the House of Kurosuke, home to a life size Totoro. But unfortunately that is closed indefinitely due to the Coronavirus. The Totoro forests though are open and a nice place for a hike. Also, the gorgeous Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial park and the aviation museum on its grounds are also open and relatively close to the Acorn Forest. Its a really lovely park for families with a great playground.

Teamlab Acorn Forest Information

Access by public transport from Higashi Tokorozawa Station. Parking is available at Tokorozawa Sakura Town, but it is charged. There is a maximum charge of 800 yen for the day.

All images from the official website.

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