Get your feet wet at the immersive, interactive, barefoot digital art museum teamLab Planets in Tokyo's Toyosu district.
The “Floating Flower Garden” at teamLab Planets features hundreds of orchids - image © Florentyna Leow
First opened in 2018, teamLab Planets is a digital art museum combining art with light, water, and sound. It’s the sister museum to teamLab Borderless in the Azabudai Hills shopping complex; we’ve also reviewed teamlab Borderless on Truly Tokyo. Both museums have one overlapping exhibit, but that’s where the similarities end — teamLab Planets is a wholly different experience to Borderless.
What sets Planets apart is that you’re barefoot for the entire duration. That, and the diversity of experiences across the rooms. Some have shallow water to wade through, punctuated by dark corridors with uneven surfaces. Huge, bouncy, balloon-like balls that change colours fill up an entire room. There’s even a space with hundreds of orchids floating in the air. Our walkthrough shows you some of the highlights.
The rooms are separated mostly by dark corridors that look like this - image © Florentyna Leow
Where To Get Tickets For teamlab Planets
The teamLab Planets museum is wildly popular with tourists and locals alike, so it’s best to purchase tickets in advance. You can purchase tickets online from Klook — it’s a straightforward, fuss-free process. We purchased ours for ¥4200 per person. You can also buy online from GetYourGuide if you wish.
Upon payment, you’ll receive the tickets as QR codes in an email, which you should open on your smartphone on the day you’re visiting. When you arrive, have your QR codes ready at the entrance. You’ll scan the QR code at the ticket barriers.
What’s useful on Klook is that you have several ticket packages to choose from. Besides the standard admission ticket, there’s an option to bundle an admission ticket plus a shuttle bus to/from Ginza Station together for the same price (¥4,200). There’s even a “skip-the-line” premium pass, which allows you to visit teamLab Planets at any time of the day on your selected date, without having to choose a timeslot or stand in line when it’s busy. These packages aren’t available from teamLab Planets’ official ticket website.
There are a few hundred lockers for museum-goers to store their belongings - image © Florentyna Leow
Things To Know Before You Go To teamlab Planets
- At present, there are two teamLab exhibits in Tokyo; TeamLab Planets is in Toyosu, while teamLab Borderless is in Azabudai Hills. Don’t mix them up.
- Book timed tickets up to two months ahead. A limited number of tickets are available for each time slot.
- You will enter the museum barefoot. There’s a locker at the entrance where you can stash your shoes and any bags you don’t want to carry. Strollers also aren’t allowed inside.
- Wear shorts or trousers that you can roll up, as you will be wading through water in some of the rooms. The water can be shin to knee-deep for most adults, so plan accordingly.
- Skirts aren’t advisable in the mirrored rooms, for obvious reasons. If necessary, you can borrow shorts for free before entering these rooms.
- Photographs and videos are highly encouraged; however, auxiliary equipment like tripods and selfie sticks are not.
- Be careful not to drop your phone in the water!
A pillar of shining water does have a certain je ne sais quoi about it - image © Florentyna Leow
Inside teamLab Planets
After a short introductory video subtitled in multiple languages, you follow a dark, winding corridor (each room is separated by a dark corridor leading to the next one) and then climb a sloped path to the first exhibit. A glowing column of water greets you. This is “Waterfall of Light Particles at the Top of an Incline.” Most of the other artworks are similarly-named.
It’s like being a kid again! - image © Florentyna Leow
In the next room, make your way across to the other side, on a floor that's like a huge, uneven squishy mattress. This is pretty fun when you’re barefoot, especially for children. Those with physical disabilities (or your grandparents) can take the regular corridor that runs parallel to this room; just ask a nearby member of staff for assistance. This room is called “Soft Black Hole – Your Body Becomes a Space that Influences Another Body.”
Warning: Not for the epileptic - image © Florentyna Leow
Similar to Borderless, Planets also has another infinity room with shimmering strands of LED lights. At Planets, it’s called “The Infinite Crystal Universe.” At Borderless, it’s called “Infinite Crystal World.” It’s pretty cool even if you’ve seen it before.
A remarkably pretty moment with pastel starbursts across the water. Don’t think too hard about all the feet - image © Florentyna Leow
After another dark corridor, you wade into a room that’s probably the most interesting and delightful of all the exhibits at Planets — “Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity.” Shimmering arcs and webs of rainbow-coloured light beams and swimming koi are projected onto the water’s surface, colliding with people as they wade through and bursting into flowers. It’s genuinely quite beautiful, at least for a few minutes.
This was such a fun, surreal room - image © Florentyna Leow
“Expanding Three-dimensional Existence in Transforming Space – Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors” is essentially a room filled with giant bouncy globes that shift colours. We enjoyed them when they turned pink, as though we were tiny ants walking through a bowl of pink Koshu grapes.
This room is far better enjoyed in person than photographed - image © Florentyna Leow
The “Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers” room is shaped like a dome, and projections of flowers soar and arc across the ceilings and walls. You’re supposed to sit in the center and look upwards; this reliably gives us vertigo on each visit.
There are more artworks beyond the ones we’ve mentioned, but we wouldn’t want to spoil the entire museum experience by giving away too much detail. Don’t forget to bring your camera or smartphone to this museum, as recording your journey here is arguably a crucial part of the teamLab experience.
The “Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms” is oddly humid and steamy, but perhaps that was just summer - image © Florentyna Leow
When to Visit teamlab Planets
TeamLab Planets is one of Tokyo’s most popular tourist attractions, and tickets are more likely to be sold out on the day than not, whether or not it’s a weekend. It's best to book your tickets in advance. Make sure you check the official website for the current schedule, as well as any upcoming closures.
Another beautiful moment in the “Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity” room - image © Florentyna Leow
Planets or Borderless?
We’re sometimes asked which is the “better” experience between Borderless or Planets. The two aren’t really comparable, as the experiences are quite different. Planets is a more tactile, sensorily interactive experience with its shallow-water rooms. Borderless is more about pretty projections — albeit really cool ones.
A key factor to consider is that teamLab Borderless is 100% accessible, meaning it’s great for those with physical disabilities. Planets, on the other hand, has rooms with water or uneven surfacesen in dark or dimly-lit spaces, oft. While there are alternative routes (corridors) that bypass those particular rooms, it means that those visitors won’t have the full experience at Planets.
However, there’s no reason you can’t do both museums if you have no physical limitations to speak of.
Outside teamLab Planets on a warm summer’s day - image © Florentyna Leow
How to Get to teamLab Planets in Toyosu
Take the Yurikamome Line from Toyosu Station, one stop to Shin-Toyosu Station. Head to Exit 1A and take the escalator down. Make a U-turn once you get off the escalator and walk for a minute. teamLabs Planets will be on your left.
English name:
teamLab Planets TOKYO
English address:
Toyosu 6-1-16, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japanese address:
〒135-0061 東京都江東区豊洲６丁目１−16
Opening hours:
Monday-Sunday: 9am-10pm
Closed on 17 October and 7 November.
Check the official website for future closures.
Admission:
¥4,200 for adults
Nearest Transport:
A 1-minute walk from Exit 1A of Shin-Toyosu Station (Yurikamome Line)
A 15-minute walk from Exit 7 of Toyosu Station (Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line)
Nearest Hotels:
:: Check availability and pricing for hotels near teamLab Planets on Booking.com or Agoda.com.
Telephone:
N/A
Website:
Official website
Near To Here:
teamLab Planets is located in Tokyo's Odaiba district. See our complete list of things to do in Odaiba, including places to eat, nightlife and places to stay.
Tokyo Vacation Checklist
- For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Tokyo guide
- Check Tokyo accommodation availability and pricing on Booking.com and Agoda.com - often you can book with no upfront payment and free cancellation
- Need tips on where to stay? See my one page guide Where To Stay In Tokyo
- You can buy shinkansen (bullet train) tickets online from Klook - popular routes include Tokyo to Kyoto, Tokyo to Osaka and Tokyo to Hiroshima
- You can buy an eSim to activate in Japan or buy a Japan SIM card online for collection on arrival at Tokyo Narita or Haneda airports. Or rent an unlimited data pocket wifi router
- See my comprehensive Packing List For Japan
- Compare airline flight prices and timings for the best Japan flight deals. Check my guides to arriving at Narita Airport and at Haneda Airport.
- If you're visiting more than one city, you might save money with a Japan Rail Pass – see if it's worth it for you
- A prepaid Welcome Suica card makes travelling around Tokyo much easier - here's how
- World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world
- Do you want help planning your trip? Chris Rowthorn and his team of Japan experts at Japan Travel Consulting can help
