teamLab Planets vs teamLab Borderless — Tickets, Timing, Which to Pick (2026)

The question "Planets or Borderless?" lands on every Tokyo itinerary forum within minutes of someone announcing their first Japan trip. Both museums are the work of the same Japanese art collective, teamLab — but they are built around fundamentally different ideas of what immersive digital art should feel like, and they attract different kinds of visitors as a result.

teamLab Planets puts you inside the art physically: you remove your shoes and socks, wade through water that can rise to knee height, and press barefoot across mirror floors as projections bloom around your ankles. teamLab Borderless gives you over 75 works spread across a labyrinthine building with no fixed route and no map — art flows between rooms, installations react to your presence, and the whole space operates as one continuously connected world. Both sell out on Tokyo weekends. Both require advance booking. What differs is the experience, the location, and how much time you have.

Two museums, one city: a quick orientation

teamLab Planets — the water museum

teamLab Planets opened in Toyosu in 2018 and today runs across four named zones: Water, Garden, Forest, and Open-Air. The Water zone is the founding experience and the reason most visitors come. You enter barefoot and wade through a corridor where shallow water — rising to knee height at points — surrounds a floor-to-ceiling projection of koi, seasonal flowers, and flowing light. The images scatter wherever you step. Mirror walls extend the scene in every direction. It is physically disorienting in a way that photographs cannot capture, which is part of why the queue consistently stretches before opening.

The Garden zone follows a different register: a field of oversized flowers whose digitally projected blooms respond to touch and movement as you walk through. The newer Open-Air section takes the experience outside, into an elevated courtyard setting.

In January 2025, teamLab Planets expanded its site by one-and-a-half times with the addition of the Forest area. This brought two entirely new concepts: Athletics Forest, a creative physical space built around three-dimensional challenge structures and spatial perception; and Catching and Collecting Forest, where visitors use a smartphone to "capture" virtual extinct animals, which they can then release onto shared projection screens. The expansion pushed the total number of significant artworks past 20 and confirmed Planets' operation through at least the end of 2027.

teamLab Planets held the Guinness World Record for most-visited museum dedicated to a single group or artist, attracting over 2.51 million visitors in 2025 — a figure that reflects both its global reputation and the consistent sell-out pressure on weekend slots.

teamLab Borderless — the maze

teamLab Borderless moved from its original Odaiba venue and reopened on February 9, 2024, inside Azabudai Hills — a landmark mixed-use development in Minato City near Roppongi. The new facility was purpose-built for the borderless concept: artworks flow between rooms without fixed boundaries, influence each other, and at times merge into a single connected world. The Azabudai Hills museum opened with over 75 works, several never previously exhibited, and was selected by TIME as one of the "World's Greatest Places 2024." It attracted approximately 1.69 million visitors in 2025.

The museum is divided into five named areas, though the divisions are intentionally porous:

• Borderless World — the largest section; a labyrinth of interconnected rooms where projections flow freely across walls, floors, and ceilings. Individual artworks migrate between rooms and merge with others. There is no map, no suggested route, and no arrows — this is by design.
• Athletics Forest — a creative physical movement space with three-dimensional challenge structures designed to build spatial recognition through the body.
• Future Park — a co-creation project in which visitors draw or colour figures that are then absorbed into a shared projected world on the surrounding walls.
• Bubble Universe — a room of spherical light objects suspended at varying heights, each sphere resonating with colour in response to nearby movement. This installation replaced the Forest of Resonating Lamps from the Odaiba era and is among the most photographed rooms in the building.
• EN Tea House — a single-room installation in which the tea poured into your bowl reveals a blooming digital garden; the flowers persist and continue to bloom as long as tea remains in the cup. Opens 30 minutes after the museum's main doors; last orders taken 30 minutes before closing.

Ticket prices — what to budget in 2026

Both museums use dynamic pricing that fluctuates by day type (weekday vs. weekend or national holiday) and, at peak periods, by season. The figures below reflect confirmed prices as of 2026-05 and are drawn from the official ticket stores and Klook. Prices at the door carry an on-site surcharge at Borderless of ¥200 — a straightforward reason to buy ahead.

Which one should you pick?

The practical answer almost always comes down to three variables: available time, who you are visiting with, and what kind of experience you want. Here is an honest decision guide.

Choose teamLab Planets if:

• You have 1.5–2 hours rather than a full half-day — Planets has a defined beginning and end.
• You are visiting with young children (ages 4–10): the water zone and the new Athletics Forest are physically engaging in a way that works well for that age group.
• You want art that is sensory and physical, not purely visual — the water experience has no equivalent elsewhere in Tokyo.
• You are in the Toyosu or Odaiba area and want something to anchor the day.
• This is your first-ever teamLab visit: the water zone is the installation the brand is built on.

Choose teamLab Borderless if:

• You want a longer, open-ended experience where discovery itself is the structure.
• You are travelling as a couple or with adults who appreciate wandering without an itinerary.
• You have 75+ distinct artworks to explore rather than a fixed sequence of rooms.
• You are already in the Roppongi / Azabudai Hills / Toranomon area and want to combine the visit with dinner at the Azabudai Hills complex.
• You visited Planets on a previous Tokyo trip and want to see teamLab's contrasting approach at Borderless.

When to go and how far ahead to book

Both museums sell out on weekends and during Japan's major holiday windows with considerable regularity. The booking pressure has intensified since teamLab Planets set its Guinness record: in 2025, Planets attracted 2.51 million visitors and Borderless attracted 1.69 million — a combined 4.2 million in a single year across two venues. Treating both museums like a popular restaurant (book immediately when you know your travel dates) is the correct strategy.

How to get there

teamLab Planets (Toyosu, Koto City)

The most direct route is via the Yurikamome Line (ゆりかもめ) to Shintoyosu Station — a 2-minute flat walk from the station gates. The Yurikamome is an automated elevated monorail that connects Shimbashi (on the Yamanote Line) and Toyosu Station with the bay waterfront. Alternatively, Toyosu Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line is approximately a 10-minute walk along a clearly signposted riverside route. Museum address: 6-1-16 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo. From central Shimbashi Station, the Yurikamome ride to Shintoyosu takes approximately 20 minutes.

teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills, Minato City)

The closest station is Kamiyacho on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line — use Exit 5, then follow the Azabudai Hills signage for a 5-minute walk through the complex to the B1 basement level of Garden Plaza B. Roppongi-itchome Station on the Tokyo Metro Nanboku Line (Exit 2) is also a 4-minute walk. Museum address: 1-2-4 Azabudai, Minato-ku, Tokyo. From Shibuya Station via the Hibiya Line to Kamiyacho takes approximately 15 minutes. From Shinjuku Station, the simplest transfer is to the Toei Oedo Line towards Roppongi and then walk, or transfer at Tochomae onto the Nanboku Line.

Practical tips before you arrive

• Arrive at opening time. Both museums are at their quietest in the first 30–60 minutes. Water-zone crowd density and projection quality at Planets improve significantly with fewer people in each room; Borderless feels genuinely magical when the labyrinthine corridors are sparse.
• Planets dress code. Shorts, capris, or roll-up trousers. Avoid white clothing (coloured projections saturate fabric unexpectedly). Slip-ons or sandals over lace-up shoes. Free wrap-around shorts are provided for short skirts at the entrance locker.
• Borderless dress code. No restrictions beyond comfort. Supportive footwear is recommended — the labyrinthine floor plan involves a lot of standing and walking.
• Photography. Personal photography is permitted at both museums as of 2026-05. Tripods and monopods are not permitted. Wide-angle smartphone or mirrorless camera settings handle the large installation spaces better than telephoto.
• Bags and lockers. At Planets, all bags go into the free lockers before entering (two size options). At Borderless, small bags can be carried in; larger luggage should be left at the lockers near the entrance.
• EN Tea House at Borderless. This single-installation tea service opens 30 minutes after the museum's main doors and closes 30 minutes before the museum closes. It is worth prioritising early in your visit if you want the tea experience — it does not appear on a queue system but has limited seating.
• Dining. Planets has a café area outside the main galleries. Borderless is surrounded by the Azabudai Hills restaurant complex, which ranges from quick-service to multi-course dining — a natural end to an afternoon visit.
• Disability access. Both venues offer approximately 50% discount for visitors presenting a disability handbook. The Water zone at Planets involves wet surfaces, shallow water, and some narrow passages; the rest of Planets and all of Borderless are more accessible, though some Borderless rooms have uneven flooring.