teamLab Tokyo: Planets vs Borderless — Which to Choose? (2026 Guide)

What Is teamLab?

teamLab is a Tokyo-based art collective that creates some of the world's most spectacular digital art experiences. Their installations use projection mapping, sensors, and mirrors to create immersive rooms where art responds to movement — flowers bloom as you touch them, fish scatter as you wade through water, light ripples with your steps.

Tokyo currently has two permanent teamLab venues, and choosing between them is one of the most common questions from visitors. Both are excellent; they're genuinely different experiences. This guide will help you decide — or confirm you should do both.

teamLab Planets (Toyosu): The Immersive Body Experience

Opened in 2018 and originally intended as a 3-year installation, teamLab Planets is now permanent at its location in Toyosu, east of central Tokyo.

What makes it unique: You remove your shoes and socks and physically walk through the installations. The famous Water Area has you wading through ankle-deep water surrounded by projected koi fish. Another room has you lying on a mirrored floor surrounded by flower projections. The experience is visceral and physical in a way that most digital art installations aren't.

• Number of rooms: 6 main installations + 2 garden areas
• Duration: 45–90 minutes
• Tickets: ¥3,200 (adults), ¥1,000 (ages 4–12), free under 4
• Address: 6-1-16 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo
• Access: 3 min walk from Shijo-mae Station (Yurikamome line) or Shin-Toyosu Station (Yurikamome)
• Opening hours: 9am–9pm daily (last entry 8pm)
• Book at: teamlab.art/e/planets

What to wear: Bring a bag for your shoes and socks — they'll be wet/damp in the water room. Wear clothes you don't mind getting wet at the hem. Skirts and shorts work well. White clothing shows projections most vividly.

teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills): The Labyrinth Experience

After closing at Odaiba in August 2022, teamLab Borderless reopened in February 2024 at its new permanent home in Azabudai Hills — the enormous new mixed-use development in central Tokyo developed by Mori Building.

What makes it unique: Borderless is a labyrinthine maze of 60+ interconnected rooms where art flows between spaces and installations bleed into one another with no clear boundaries. Unlike Planets (which has a set path), you wander freely — rooms connect unexpectedly, you can spend as long as you like in any space, and you'll never see the same view twice. Some visitors spend 3+ hours and still miss rooms.

• Number of rooms: 60+ interconnected spaces
• Duration: 1.5–4+ hours
• Tickets: ¥3,800 (adults), ¥1,500 (ages 4–12), free under 4
• Address: Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza B, 1-2-4 Azabudai, Minato-ku, Tokyo
• Access: Direct access from Kamiyacho Station (Hibiya line) underground. 5 min walk from Roppongi-Itchome (Namboku line).
• Opening hours: 10am–10pm (weekends until 10pm, last entry 9pm)
• Book at: teamlab.art/e/borderless-azabudaihills

teamLab Planets vs Borderless: How to Choose

• Choose Planets if: You want a shorter, more intense physical experience. You're traveling with young children (6–12 year olds love the water rooms). You're on a tighter budget. You want to combine with an Odaiba/Toyosu day out.
• Choose Borderless if: You want the fuller, more comprehensive digital art experience. You're happy to spend 2+ hours exploring. You want to be in the heart of Tokyo (Azabudai Hills/Roppongi area). You're a photographer looking for more variety of shots.
• Do both if: You're in Tokyo for 4+ days and this is a priority for your trip. They're genuinely different enough that doing both back-to-back on the same day is possible (Planets opens at 9am, Borderless at 10am) though exhausting.

Booking Tips: Don't Show Up Without Tickets

Both venues operate on timed entry and regularly sell out, especially during Golden Week (late April/early May), summer school holidays (July–August), and weekends year-round. Walk-in same-day entry is sometimes available for Tuesday–Thursday visits, but never rely on it.

• Book on the official teamlab.art website
• Tickets go on sale approximately 3 months in advance
• No cancellation or refund once booked (date and time slot are fixed)
• Both venues have English language booking interfaces

Photography Tips

• Photography and video are encouraged at both venues (no flash)
• Tripods are not permitted
• iPhone's Night Mode and Live Photos work well in the dark projection rooms
• Wide-angle lens gives best coverage in mirror rooms
• Arrive at opening time for fewer people in shots (especially at Planets' water room)

Nearby Activities to Combine

With Planets: Combine with a Toyosu Market morning fish breakfast (open from 5am), then teamLab from 9am, then Odaiba afternoon for Rainbow Bridge views and Decks shopping mall. Consider a JDM drive from Samurai Car Japan to cover the Toyosu-Odaiba loop in style.

With Borderless: Azabudai Hills is a short walk from Roppongi, which has art galleries (Mori Art Museum, 21_21 Design Sight), restaurants, and Tokyo Midtown. Or walk to Tokyo Tower for the classic view (15 minutes from Azabudai Hills).

Related Guides

🌙 Things to Do in Tokyo at Night
🎯 25 Unique Tokyo Experiences
👶 Tokyo with Kids Guide
🌆 Things to Do in Shibuya

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