teamLab Planets vs Borderless: Which One to Visit in Tokyo

teamLab is the most famous name in digital art in Tokyo, and there are two permanent teamLab museums in the city: teamLab Planets in Toyosu and teamLab Borderless in Azabudai Hills. I have been to both, and they are much more different than the shared name suggests. If you only have time for one, this guide will help you choose.

My short answer: teamLab Planets is clearly my favourite, because you do not just look at the art, you feel it. You walk barefoot through water, sink into soft floors and push your way through giant balls. teamLab Borderless is more artistic and calmer, and the best thing you can do there is sit down in its tea house.

teamLab Planets vs Borderless at a Glance

teamLab Planets: Art You Can Feel

teamLab Planets is a walk through museum in Toyosu, on the waterfront in the east of Tokyo. At the entrance you take off your shoes and socks and leave them in a free locker, and from then on you walk barefoot. That is what makes it special: every room works on more than just your eyes.

What you will experience

• The water room. You wade through knee deep water while koi fish made of light swim around your legs and turn into flowers when they touch you.
• The room of hanging lights. Thousands of strings of LED lights hang from the ceiling above a mirror floor, so the room seems to go on forever.
• The giant balls. A room packed with huge soft balls that glow and change colour as you push your way through them.
• Soft floors. In one room the floor gives way under your feet like a giant cushion, which is harder to walk on than it sounds.
• The Floating Flower Garden. Thousands of real orchids hang from the ceiling and slowly move up and down as you walk in.

This is why I prefer Planets. In most museums you stand and look. Here you feel the water, the soft floor and the balls, and you remember the visit with your whole body, not only through photos.

What to wear at teamLab Planets

• Shorts or trousers you can roll up above the knee. The water reaches your knees in one room.
• Avoid short skirts. Several rooms have mirror floors.
• Nothing you mind getting wet. There are towels at the exit of the water area.
• Leave big bags in the locker. You will want both hands free.

teamLab Planets fits well into a day in the east of Tokyo. The Toyosu fish market is close by, see my guide to the Tsukiji and Toyosu fish markets, and Odaiba is only a few stops away on the Yurikamome line.

teamLab Borderless: The Artistic One

teamLab Borderless is in Azabudai Hills, a new district between Roppongi and Tokyo Tower. It is a large, dark maze of connected rooms. The artworks are not tied to one room: they move along the walls into the next space, mix with other works and change all the time. There is no map and no fixed route, so you wander, get a bit lost and keep finding new rooms.

Compared with Planets, Borderless feels more like an art museum. It is more about watching, light and atmosphere than about touching. If you love art and like to explore at your own pace, it is a great choice, and you can easily spend a few hours inside.

The tea house: the best part of Borderless

For me the best thing to do at teamLab Borderless is to sit down in the tea house. You order tea or a dessert, and when it is served, flowers are projected onto your table and into your cup. They keep blooming and changing while you drink. It is a small, quiet moment in the middle of a busy museum, and it was the part of the visit I liked most. The tea house costs extra on top of the entry ticket.

Which One Should You Choose?

• Choose teamLab Planets if it is your first teamLab, if you travel with kids or as a couple, or if you want an experience you can feel and not only see. This is the one I would recommend first.
• Choose teamLab Borderless if you love art, prefer to wander without a set route, or have already been to Planets. Plan time for the tea house.
• Do both if you have the time. They are different enough that the second one does not feel like a repeat.

Tickets and the Best Time to Go

Both museums sell timed tickets online, and prices change depending on the day. Weekends, Japanese holidays and school holidays sell out early, so book as soon as your dates are fixed. My list of what to book in advance for Japan has the other places that sell out.

• Go early or late. The first slots in the morning and the last ones in the evening are the least crowded.
• Avoid weekends if you can. Rooms feel very different with fewer people, and photos are much easier.
• Come on a rainy day. Both are indoors, which makes them perfect bad weather plans. See my guide to rainy season, typhoons and winter in Japan for more ideas.

Tips for Visiting teamLab in Tokyo

• Charge your phone. You will take more photos than you expect, and the dark rooms drain the battery.
• Use the lockers. Large bags are not allowed inside, and you move more freely without them.
• Take your time in each room. The art changes constantly, so a room can look completely different a few minutes later.
• Look down and up. Many works continue on the floor and ceiling, especially in rooms with mirrors.

Frequently Asked Questions

teamLab is one of the highlights of any trip to Tokyo, and it works in every season. For more ideas, see my guide to the best museums in Tokyo and my big list of things to do in Tokyo.