Tokyo has two teamLab venues with near-identical names and similar prices (adults from about ¥3,800), but they're two different experiences — and first-timers constantly mix them up. Verdict up front: if you can only do one and it's your first time, I'd pick teamLab Planets in Toyosu — the barefoot, knee-deep, sink-into-the-art immersion is a physical hit that Azabudai's Borderless simply can't deliver, while Borderless' "borderless wander, with works flowing between rooms" suits people who've already done Planets and want the advanced version. This guide breaks down the two on concept, tickets, location and transit, how long to stay, what to wear, and whether you can do both in a day. One common trap first: Borderless is no longer in Odaiba — it moved to Azabudai Hills in 2024 and the old Odaiba venue is closed, so the old address will leave you stranded.
- One venue only on a first trip → I pick Planets (Toyosu): barefoot in water, the most immersive, most photogenic, best with kids
- Borderless (Azabudai Hills): a borderless maze where works flow between rooms — higher art density, more "look-with-your-eyes," best for repeat visitors and spatial-photo lovers
- Borderless is no longer in Odaiba — it moved to Azabudai Hills (Minato Ward) in 2024; don't use the old address
- Both need an online, date- and time-slot booking — weekends often sell out
- For Planets wear shorts, no skirts (you wade through water + there are mirrored floors); doing both in one day is rushed and not advised
📖 Table of contents
The core difference (in one line)
Most people get stuck on "they're both teamLab, both immersive digital art — what's the difference?" One line sorts it: Planets is "go in with your body," Borderless is "get lost inside."
teamLab Planets (Toyosu) is about immersion and wading. Its signature is those rooms where you walk barefoot into knee-deep water rippling with swimming light, plus the room where you lie down surrounded by countless points of light, floating in a sea of flowers. It doesn't want you to think; it wants you to hand over your body — which is exactly why most of the jaw-dropping teamLab images online actually come from Planets. In early 2026 it also expanded, adding more "get moving" zones like Athletic Forest and Future Park, raising its family-friendliness another notch.
teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills) is about no boundaries. There's no fixed map and no set route — works "walk out" of their rooms, flow into corridors and climb into other spaces, so you wander a shape-shifting maze of light where the same corner looks different minutes later. The art concept is more avant-garde and more rewarding on a second look, but it's relatively "heady," it asks you to explore, and the physical jolt isn't as direct as Planets'.
To close the loop: want the "whoa, I'm soaked / I'm inside it" physical shock, go to Planets; want "wander slowly, surprises round every corner, shoot spatial portraits," go to Borderless. First time, one venue only, I put the instant impact first — so Planets. For other indoor Tokyo options, pair this with our Tokyo rainy-day indoor guide — both teamLab venues are strong rainy-day plays.
Tickets and booking ahead
The most important line first: both require an online, date- and time-slot booking — neither is a "just queue at the door" attraction. Borderless (Azabudai) weekend and holiday slots regularly sell out days ahead, and last-minute door tickets often fail; popular Planets weekend-afternoon slots fill too. Plan both like Disney — reserve your window first, and you're safe.
On price, both use date-based dynamic pricing for adults:
- teamLab Planets (Toyosu): adults from about ¥3,800 (weekday baseline, higher on peak days).
- teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills): adults about ¥3,800 on weekdays and roughly ¥4,200 on weekends (higher in peak season).
The price bands are close, so you won't be deciding on cost — the deciding factor is your experience preference. Teens (13–17) and children have discounted tickets; the exact figure is whatever the official page shows on your date. Online booking is usually a little cheaper than the door, includes same-day re-entry, and locks your slot, so there's no reason to gamble at the gate. You can reserve a date-specified Planets ticket here:
Book a date-specified teamLab Planets ticket →
If you're still building the whole Tokyo trip and wondering which day to slot teamLab into, cross-reference the logic in our Tokyo 5-day itinerary; for a family-paced version of the sights, see our Tokyo family travel guide.
Location and transit
teamLab Borderless: on the B1 floor of Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza B (1-2-4 Azabudai, Minato-ku); the nearest stations are Kamiyacho on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, or Roppongi (Hibiya/Oedo lines) within walking distance. It's central and pairs naturally with Roppongi sights. Again: Borderless is no longer in Odaiba — it moved here in 2024 and the old Odaiba venue is permanently closed, yet many old articles still list the Odaiba address, which will leave you stranded.
teamLab Planets: in Toyosu (6-1-16 Toyosu, Koto-ku), about a 1-minute walk from Shin-Toyosu Station on the Yurikamome line, or roughly 10 minutes from Toyosu Station on the Yurakucho line. It's on the Tokyo Bay side and strings together nicely with Odaiba and Toyosu Market for a "Tokyo Bay half-day."
The two are in different parts of the city (one central in Minato Ward, one on the bay in Koto Ward), and that geography is the crux of the "both in one day" question below. Transferring between the Hibiya, Oedo and Yurikamome lines trips up a lot of first-timers, so our Tokyo trains and subway guide is worth a read before you set out. Get your data sorted before you fly so checking slots, hailing rides and sending photos all flow on the spot — set up an eSIM online before departure:
Get a KKday Japan eSIM (live on landing) →
How long to stay, what to wear
How long: budget 1.5–2 hours for either to be comfortable. Planets follows a designed one-way route, but you'll want extra time in the water and flower rooms for photos, plus shoe removal, drying off and lockers — 1.5 hours is the floor, 2 is comfortable. Borderless, being "borderless and easy to lose track in," tends to run long; allow 2–2.5 hours if you want to see it all. Both usually let you stay until closing once inside, so you won't be rushed out — but your entry slot is fixed, and arriving late can affect admission.
What to wear (this matters most for Planets):
- Planets involves water and bare feet: several rooms have you walking into knee-deep water, and you'll be asked to remove your shoes. Best is shorts or loose trousers you can roll above the knee; skinny jeans or narrow trousers get awkward. The venue lends shorts, but they may not fit well — bring your own and skip the hassle.
- No skirts/dresses at Planets: beyond the water, there are rooms with mirrored floors where a skirt is very uncomfortable. For good photos, trousers are the move too.
- Socks and belongings: you'll take off socks before going barefoot — a small towel to dry your feet is handy; stash larger bags in a locker. Hold your phone tightly or use a waterproof pouch in the busy water zones.
- Borderless involves no water: wear anything; the only tip is comfortable shoes (you walk a fair bit and floors are occasionally reflective).
Kids / couples / photos — which suits which
Sort people into three buckets and you won't choose wrong:
- With kids → Planets: barefoot water play, touch-and-step interactivity children love; after the 2026 expansion the new "get moving" zones (Athletic Forest, Future Park) make it even more of a family stage. Borderless leans toward static viewing, and little ones get restless. See our Tokyo family travel guide for the kid-paced route.
- Couples date → either, depending on what you want: choose Planets for talking points and shared physical memories (wading together, lying in the flowers); choose Borderless for a quiet, slow wander and atmospheric portraits in the light corridors — moodier and more romantic.
- Pure photos → depends on your style: Planets' water mirrors and flower rooms are the most "instantly recognizable as teamLab" and the easiest wins; Borderless' light corridors and mirror rooms have more depth, hold up better, and are harder to duplicate. Want IG-ready in one shot, Planets; want an art-piece feel, Borderless.
Can you do both in one day?
In theory yes, but I don't recommend cramming both on a first visit. Here's why: (1) the two are in different parts of the city — Toyosu and Azabudai — so cross-town transit eats real time; (2) each deserves 1.5–2 hours, and Planets adds the shoe-off, dry-off, shoe-on buffer; (3) both have fixed entry slots, so a same-day double means timing two windows precisely, and one late arrival cascades. The usual result is a rushed, watered-down version of both.
If you genuinely want both, the comfortable way is to split across two days, half a day each (say Day 1 morning Borderless then Roppongi, Day 2 morning Planets then Toyosu Market/Odaiba), or at least put one in an early slot and the other in a late slot the same day, with a real transit-and-lunch buffer between — and reserve each slot in advance on its own day. For how teamLab fits the rhythm of a whole trip, see how the Tokyo 5-day itinerary balances indoor/outdoor and active/quiet. Pre-trip prep — entry, tax-free, data, budget — is rounded up in our Japan trip essentials checklist.
Side-by-side comparison
| Item | teamLab Planets (Toyosu) | teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills) |
|---|---|---|
| Core concept | Immersive, barefoot wading, enter the art with your body | Borderless maze, works flow between rooms, free wander |
| Location | 6-1-16 Toyosu, Koto-ku (Tokyo Bay side) | Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza B, B1, Minato-ku (central) |
| Nearest station | Shin-Toyosu (Yurikamome) ~1 min; Toyosu (Yurakucho) ~10 min | Kamiyacho (Hibiya) or Roppongi, walkable |
| Adult ticket (dynamic) | From about ¥3,800 | Weekday ~¥3,800, weekend ~¥4,200 |
| Book ahead? | Yes — date + slot, book online | Yes — date + slot, weekends sell out, book early |
| Wet / barefoot? | Yes — several rooms knee-deep water, barefoot, mirrored floors | No — shoes on throughout, no water |
| What to wear | Shorts / roll-up trousers, no skirts; easy-to-dry feet | Comfortable shoes; no special restriction |
| Suggested stay | 1.5–2 hours | 2–2.5 hours (tends to run long) |
| Best for | First-timers, kids, instant wow and photos | Repeat visitors, couples wandering slowly, spatial/art photos |
My final call
Plainly: first time in Tokyo, limited time, one venue only — I'd choose teamLab Planets (Toyosu). Not because it's "better," but because it's the hardest to be disappointed by — wading barefoot, surrounded by points of light and a sea of flowers, is an immediate, physical sensation that makes you go "whoa" whether or not you follow contemporary art; for kids, for instantly recognizable photos, and for talking points, it covers everything. Borderless is actually more avant-garde with higher art density, but it asks you to wander slowly and explore before the payoff appears — which suits people who've already done Planets and want the advanced version, or who simply love shooting spatial portraits in a maze of light.
If you want both, split them across two days, half a day each, rather than jamming them into one. Two final practical reminders: Borderless is at Azabudai Hills, not Odaiba (don't use the old address), and both need an advance, date-specified slot booking — especially early on weekends. For other Tokyo decision questions like which observation deck to climb, read on with our Tokyo Tower vs Skytree guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q1：teamLab Planets vs Borderless — if I can only do one on a first trip, which?
- If it's your first time and you can only pick one, I'd go with teamLab Planets in Toyosu. The reason is simple: its barefoot, wade-into-the-water, sink-your-whole-body-into-the-art immersion is a physical sensation Borderless can't match, and those water rooms are basically where the famous teamLab images come from. Borderless (Azabudai Hills) is conceptually smarter — its "borderless" works flow between rooms and the art density is higher — but it's more of a "look with your eyes," think-about-it experience. Pick Borderless if you've already done Planets and want the advanced version, or you simply love shooting spatial portraits. For kids and the most instant wow, choose Planets.
- Q2：Do I have to buy tickets online in advance with a specific date for both?
- Yes. Both run on date- and time-slot-specified advance tickets, and I strongly recommend booking your date and slot online before you travel. Borderless (Azabudai) weekend and holiday slots often sell out days ahead, and walk-up tickets are not guaranteed; popular weekend-afternoon Planets slots fill too. Plan for both like Disney — you reserve a time window first. Online tickets are usually a touch cheaper than the door and include same-day re-entry.
- Q3：Does teamLab Planets really get your feet wet — what should I wear?
- Yes. Planets has several rooms where you genuinely walk barefoot into knee-deep water; you'll be asked to take off your shoes, with lockers and rinse facilities on site. So two things on clothing: (1) shorts or roll-up trousers you can fold above the knee are ideal — skinny jeans or fitted trousers are a pain; (2) avoid skirts/dresses — there are rooms with mirrored floors where a skirt is awkward, and while the venue lends shorts, they may not fit well. Borderless involves no water, so wear anything, but still bring comfortable shoes.
- Q4：Can I do both in a single day?
- In theory yes, but I don't recommend it on a first visit. The two sit in different parts of the city — Toyosu (Koto Ward) and Azabudai Hills (Minato Ward) — so cross-town transit plus 1.5–2 hours at each makes a same-day double rushed and watered-down, and Planets adds time to dry off and put shoes back on. If you really want both, the comfortable way is one in the morning, the other the next day, or at least leave a real transit-and-meal buffer between them. Reserve a separate date/slot for each.
- Q5：Kids, a couples date, or pure photos — which one suits each?
- With kids: Planets — barefoot water play, touch-and-step interactivity that children love (an early-2026 expansion even added the more family-friendly Athletic Forest and Future Park zones). Couples date: both are romantic; choose Planets for shared physical memories and talking points, Borderless for a slow, quiet wander and atmospheric portraits. Pure photos: Planets' water mirrors and flower room are the most instantly recognizable and the easiest wins; Borderless' light corridors and mirror rooms have more depth and are harder to duplicate.
- Q6：How much are tickets, and is there a big price gap?
- Both use date-based dynamic pricing for adults. teamLab Planets (Toyosu) adults run from about ¥3,800 (weekday baseline, higher on peak days); teamLab Borderless (Azabudai) adults run about ¥3,800 on weekdays and roughly ¥4,200 on weekends (higher in peak season). The price bands are close, so cost shouldn't decide it — the real question is whether you want the barefoot-in-water sensation or the borderless-wander art density. Teens (13–17) and children have discounted tickets; check the official page for the exact figure on your date.