Located right next to the Mizuho PayPay Dome, the seven-story complex facility BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA lets you enjoy leading-edge entertainment and activities. In Part 1, Fa-So-La AKIHABARA staff member Kazu enjoyed “Zekkei 3 Kyodai by SMBC Nikko Securities” (official English name is Superb Attraction SMBC Nikko Securities), a new type of attraction that lets you enjoy the amazing view in a unique way from the top floor. Only a ten seconds’ walk from Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka! A visit to BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA!: Part 1 In Part 2, Kazu visited teamLab Forest Fukuoka – SBI Securities, which is on the fifth floor, to report on the enchanting experiences it offers!

teamLab is a Japan-based art collective that has been exhibiting its unique digital art in 15 cities around the world. When Kazu, who had never been to any teamLab exhibitions, stepped inside with a feeling of excitement, he was welcomed by vivid and colorful “plants and animals” inhabiting the space. In the first section called Catching and Collecting Forest, you can not only catch creatures by yourself using an app, but also observe and learn their modes of life under the concept of “catch, study, and release.”

The beauty takes you into another world in an instant.

A smartphone app is necessary to get the full experience of this art space, so it is recommended to download the Catching and Collecting Forest app beforehand.

When you shoot a Study Arrow at a creature displayed on the app’s camera screen, and if the arrow hits the creature, information about the creature will show up on your smartphone. Creatures you caught are collected in your app’s database. Once you finish observing them, release them from your app so that they can go back to where they belong. The more you catch the same type of creatures, the more detailed information you can get about the creature in your database, so let’s catch them multiple times!

Kazu randomly tries to catch himself.

As you go further, you will get to the Athletics Forest area. Since its concept is to “feel the world with one’s own body and to think about the world three-dimensionally,” this area lets you experience art using your entire body.

This is the Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House, which features vivid eye-catching colors that stimulate your senses. When you jump onto a certain number of the soft, squishy spheres of the same color in a row, the spheres will pop, and a caterpillar will appear.

It sounds easy, but you need decent attentiveness and a sense of balance to jump on the unstable spheres. Unfortunately, Kazu couldn’t make a caterpillar appear because he lost his balance and failed to keep stepping on the same color. . .

Bouncing right back from his failure, Kazu headed to the picture coloring area called Graffiti Nature in a Beating Valley. Here you can pick and color an illustration of your choice from several kinds of creature illustrations. After coloring, you can bring the illustration to life by scanning it with a scanner, and the creature will pop out. Kazu got to it right away!

Choose and color an illustration of your choice. Kazu picked a lizard.

Kazu’s colorful lizard.

Scanned and brought to life, Kazu’s lizard appeared right in front of his eyes!

The creatures that are brought to life will become a part of the food chain, eating other creatures or being eaten by other creatures, just like in nature. This activity teaches you the importance of such connections in the world of nature. Sadly, Kazu’s lizard was eaten by a snake in the blink of an eye without even the time to point his camera at it. . .

With additional fees, you can make your original tin badge, hand towel, T-shirt, and tote bag using your illustration. It’s nice to be able to preserve the memory in a physical form.

Athletics Forest also features other breathtakingly beautiful pieces of art that you can enjoy tactilely and by moving your body.

Note that you cannot enter some of the areas if you are wearing certain types of footwear, such as high-heeled shoes, sandals, and geta sandals, due to the nature of the works.

Why not visit teamLab Forest Fukuoka, a place where you can enjoy the fusion of nature and digital art, for a fun and inspiring experience with many beautiful works that are created using state-of-the-art technology?

■DATA teamLab Forest Fukuoka – SBI Securities (5F, BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA) Address: 2-2-6 Jigyohama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka Opening hours: Weekdays 11:00 - 20:00 / Weekends & Holidays 10:00 - 20:00 *Subject to change when there is a night game or an event at the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka. For details, check out [BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA’s official website]. Fees: [Adults (16 and up)] Peak season ￥2,700 / Regular season ￥2,400 [High school, college, and vocational school students] Peak season ￥2,200 / Regular season ￥2,000 [Kids (4-15 years old)] Peak season ￥1,200 / Regular season ￥1,000 Official website: https://e-zofukuoka.com/en/ Instagram: BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA (@ezofukuoka) X:BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA [Official] (@EZOFUKUOKA) (Information as of December 2024)

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