This weekend in Japan was like no other and I’ll tell you why: my dad and grandma visited me in Tokyo. 

I took the bullet train, or Shinkansen, to meet them at the hotel for the first time. My best friend Mia joined me as I tentatively navigated Japan’s subways. After many wrong turns, I finally met my family at Tokyo station for an ecstatic reunion. 

We headed to our hotel and made plans for the next day. We intended to take the train to teamLab Planets Tokyo, an interactive art museum, and wing it for the rest of the day. 

I’ve wanted to go to teamLab Planets since I heard about it online. I knew it would be a truly unforgettable experience and it certainly was. 

The next morning, we quickly realized that going to Tokyo on a Saturday with no prior planning was not a smart idea. 

Our bus to the museum was filled to the brim with tourists and commuters. My grandma grabbed a seat but the rest of us were not so lucky. 

The three of us got pushed into a back corner. I had to balance on my tippy toes just to stay upright. At our final stop, our fellow travelers came flowing out of the bus and we went out with them. 

We walked across the street and right up to teamLab Planets to buy our tickets. It turned out the ticket kiosk had limited options. Every time slot for the museum was filled up until 8 p.m. We were disappointed but not discouraged.

We bought four tickets and planned to come back after exploring Shibuya. What happened next was a whirlwind of trains, shopping, eating, walking and more walking.

By the time we made it back to the museum, we were all so exhausted that I was sure we would turn around and go right back to the hotel. With tired feet, we steeled our resolve and went inside. 

One odd thing about the museum is that it’s meant to be a fully immersive experience, so we were asked to walk the attraction barefoot. We understood why when we walked up to the first attraction, a diagonal waterfall. 

Even stranger was the next room which I can only describe as one giant blanket. The walls were completely padded and the floor squished under our feet like a large comforter. I tried to lay down and nap in the room but my family left me behind before I could get a wink of sleep.

The rest of the exhibit stayed consistently odd. One room was lined floor to ceiling with LED lights surrounded by walls of mirrors. I liked this room a lot, but the path through it was narrow and difficult to navigate. 

The lights were always changing and moving around the room. When the lights were turned off, the room became pitch black and I couldn’t move without running into an LED strip. 

Another room contained a dome-shaped ceiling where viewers could lay on the floor and watch projections of flowers pass over them. This exhibit felt the least genuine to me since the animation was in a short loop and the domed ceiling made me nauseous. 

This didn’t stop my grandma from enjoying the exhibit, however. She found it extremely calming and identified the flowers as they fell across the screen. This was one of her favorite rooms. 

Mia’s favorite room was a knee-deep pool with koi projected onto the water’s surface. She found the waters incredibly soothing. I watched a toddler wade waist-deep to get to the next room. 

When we finally made it to the end of the main exhibits, we had only the interactive garden left to explore. The first part of the garden was far too odd to properly put into words, but the second was actually quite lovely. 

The employee in the next room asked us to crawl into the mirrored floor. As we lay on our backs and looked above us, we were greeted with live orchids dangling mere inches from our faces. 

I marveled at the garden as my grandma helped us identify the different flowers. It was so peaceful compared to the hectic day we’d had. Sometimes when plans go astray, it’s important to take a moment and appreciate what you have. 

I’m so glad to have family and friends willing to go on such an incredible journey with me. I plan to enjoy every second of the time I have left with them in Japan.

Liz Curtin can be reached at [email protected].