teamLab Planets Tokyo Guide: Hidden Highlights & Top Tips

If you don’t know teamLab’s work, you are in for a real treat when you visit Tokyo. In truth, it defies explanation. But we’ll try anyway.

teamLab is an international art collective based in Tokyo, comprising dozens of specialists from around the world. Using cutting-edge technology, teamLab crafts interactive experiences that dissolve the boundaries between artwork and observer.

teamLab Planets Tokyo is one of their most wildly successful creations. It received approximately one million overseas visitors in six months last year and was ranked Tokyo’s top attraction among foreign tourists in one industry survey.

This collection of interactive artworks is called a “museum,” but is really something all of its own. What other museum walks you barefoot up an indoor stream toward a waterfall of light? Or puts you in a mirrored dome, suspended in space with a universe of colossal flowers floating all around?

As you progress through the Water Area, Garden Area, and Public Area, the experiential artworks transport you beyond the everyday world. To another “planet,” you might say. Or a series of them.

Certainly an unforgettable experience that lives up to Tokyo’s hype as a vanguard of technological marvel. It has to be experienced to be understood. But with a little knowledge you can prepare for the perfect visit.

teamLab planets Tokyo is unlike any other museum, so planning the perfect visit needs a little inside info. Keep these points in mind for a smoother experience.

Book in advance

This place is popular! And entry numbers are restricted, with fixed admission times to avoid overcrowding. If tickets are still available on the day, you can buy from the ticket machine onsite. But they do sell out, especially on weekends and around holidays. You can get advance tickets from Rakuten Travel Experiences, and booking weeks ahead is not a bad idea. Mornings usually sell out first.

Get the app before you go

Some of the works are even more interactive with the official app. Just in case you have Wi-Fi issues, do yourself a favor and download the app in advance. This is less of a concern if you have a travel SIM or pocket Wi-Fi router (compare options here), but don’t waste time at the museum waiting for the app to arrive. The iPhone app is here and Android app is here. There’s a separate app for Distributed Fire (iPhone and Android).

Use light, mirrors, and secret corners to get the best photos

Some artworks are harder to capture than others. Check our tips for the artworks below, and hopefully your albums will be full of amazing teamLab images.

Dress for the pool

No, not the swimming pool! But some parts have you wading in water, reaching up to about knee height. Before entering, everyone puts their shoes and socks in a locker, and goes barefoot throughout. The locker room is unisex, so avoid wearing stockings that are hard to take off. There are some changing rooms, but only a few, so if you plan to fully change clothes be prepared to wait during peak times. If you're wearing pants, make sure they can roll up above your knees. If you’re in a skirt or dress, be aware there is mirrored flooring, so a pair of short leggings underneath are a good idea.

Use the restroom first

There is only one restroom at teamLab Planets, in the locker room at the entrance. Since the museum course is one-way, be sure to relieve yourself before going inside and passing the point of no return!

Parents be prepared

1)    Strollers are not allowed inside the museum. If you bring a young child, be ready with a baby carrier so you can strap them on to carry as needed. Even toddlers normally happy to walk may have trouble in darker areas and the deeper waters. If you bring a stroller, there’s a spot to lock it up before you enter.

2)    Bring a change of clothes for kids. Even adults get a little wet in the waters. For children likely to splash or fall as they play, a full change of clothes and a bag for the wet ones are worth stashing in the lockers. Another option is to wear a swimsuit under regular clothes, or make use of the rental shorts provided.

3)    Have your phone on a strap. All you can take inside is your cell phone or camera: everything else goes in the lockers. Many people drop their phone in the Soft Black Hole, so a shoulder strap lets you respond quickly to catch your kids without losing anything.

As the name “Planets” suggests, the expansive museum is connected by dark passageways that create a universe of interconnected but distinct experiences.

First, you’ll walk up the dimly lit pale blue slope that leads to the Water Area.

Waterfall of Light Particles at the Top of an Incline

At the end of the walkway, you encounter "Waterfall of Light Particles at the Top of an Incline." By the clever use of light, a waterfall of sparkling particles is created for you to ascend.

Just as you might purify yourself with water before praying at a Japanese shrine, here your feet are washed by the flowing water before heading deeper the mysterious universe. The refreshing scent of the spray will draw not only your body but also your mind into the world of art.

Soft Black Hole - Your Body Becomes a Space that Influences Another Body

The next piece is the "Soft Black Hole": a darkened space with floor and walls covered with soft cushions that absorb each visitor, just like their cosmological namesake.

Your bodyweight changes the space as you experience it, and your feet are sucked in with each step as you walk through. The difficulty of passing through is even comical, and the sinking caused by the movements of others constantly changes the space, tangling you up in unexpected ways.

Children seem to adapt more quickly than adults to the soft floor, adapting flexible and moving swiftly through the space. One of the charms of the Soft Black Hole is how it makes us more aware of our own bodies: something most of us usually pay little attention to.

The Infinite Crystal Universe

"The Infinite Crystal Universe" is one of teamLab’s iconic works. Like a pointillist painting, which creates art from a dense arrangement of dots, this space creates a three-dimensional artwork from a vastness of pinpoint lights.

The effect is an infinite world of vibrant sparking light sculptures — breathtakingly beautiful.

Photo tip: if you want to capture great photos (and who doesn’t?) be sure to have the app ready for this one. Using the app inside the space, you can actively participate in the ever-changing artwork.

By choosing one of the shapes that appear in the app, and throwing a star into it, the lights around you take shape and create a unique space.

The suspended lights change dynamically, depending on who throws the star and where they are. Sparkling shapes appear in the air near the person who activates them, letting you take unique photos that put you at the center of the action!

This artwork is forever changing, continually created and updated from moment to moment by those inside. When someone else uses the app, the changes flow from a different place than your creation, even if you chose the same shape. Make good use of the app to transform the space and capture an unforgettable image!

Photo tip: if the artwork is busy with a lot of visitors you might have less time to enjoy your creation before the next wave washes over it. A weekday visit is highly recommended.

In one corner of "The Infinite Crystal Universe," you can find a hidden spot that’s perfect for snapping pics without any photobombers — a small space with a mirrored wall that feels screened off from the rest.

Photo tip: strike a big pose or leap up to cast a bold silhouette and make the most of the space — your social media will light up as much as the sea of LEDs that surround you.

Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity

"Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity" is one of Planets’ signature artworks. Projections of colorful carp swim across the waters flooding a room that seems impossibly huge. The fish transform as they collide with each visitor wading through, exploding into seasonal blossoms like sakura (cherry blossoms) or sunflowers. The result is another immersive artwork that is always original, ever-changing with each season and interaction.

After a while, the swimming carp make faster and faster circles around a visitor, and the whole space starts to shine.

Photo tip: the darkness of the space makes it hard to snap portraits or profiles, but if you time your photo at the brightest moments, you might get a good one.

Expanding Three-dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors

Out of the water but still in the area is the "Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence." Freely floating spheres fill the space, aglow with their own colorful light that changes in answer to your touch. The color shift is echoed by a matching sound, and spreads out across the nearby spheres to make waves of color that splash against the effects created by others. See your influence blend with your neighbors’ and experience the joyful sharing of art that breaks down boundaries.

Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers

Immersed in "Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers" you’ll see the whole life cycle of flying flowers unfold all around: from birth to bloom to blowing petals scattered across space. And this room really does feel like you’re floating in space. Sit or lie on the mirrored floor, and the animated dome around you becomes a vast universe of flowers with you floating in its center.

It’s another spot where the app enhances and personalizes the art. Choose a butterfly from your screen and throw it in, then watch your ethereal avatar dance gracefully across space.

Photo tip: another dark space, it’s not easy to get good photos of the fast-moving flowers with a phone here. Try shooting video and see what results you get!

Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers

The newest artwork in Planets, “Ephemeral Solidified Light,” was added in 2023. The ingenious application of water and light creates the impression of floating physical photons you’ll want to reach out and touch.

The Garden Area is a later addition to teamLab Planets that opened in July 2021. It consists of two more interactive artworks that each incorporate actual plants instead of digital ones: the “Floating Flower Garden” and the "Resonating Moss Garden of Microcosm."

"Floating Flower Garden" is a space filled with over 13,000 orchids that bloom in mid-air! As you approach, the flowers gradually begin to float, drawing you deeper into the garden. As you move in, guided by the flowers, the orchids behind you will suddenly descend, and you find yourself enveloped by blossoms in all directions. Immersed in a world of floating flowers, you become as one with the orchids of the garden.

Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One

This one is a bright space with plenty of natural light, so it's conducive to taking beautiful photos. Make good use of the mirrored floor for fantastic photos of yourself surrounded by flowers!

Photo tip: near the entrance is another missable room, behind a door that looks like a wall. Step inside, and you enter a space surrounded by mirrored walls, floor, and ceiling. It has quite a different atmosphere from the main space, and you can take mysterious symmetrical photos with the mirrors.

Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms - Solidified Light Color, Dusk to Dawn

Giving an entirely different tone, "The Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms" is an undulating, moss-covered garden filled with silver egg-like objects. When swayed by people or the wind, these peculiar shapes emit a tone that resonates through the garden and spreads to the surrounding objects.

In daytime, the silver surface of each ovoid reflects the space around it. But after dark, each one glows with its own colorful light that changes in answer to your touch and responds to the other objects around it.

After traversing the museum at your appointed time and enjoying the Water Area and Garden Area to your heart’s content, relax in the Public Area with food and drink amid even more artistry.

If you’re in need of nourishment, why not try out “Vegan Ramen UZU Tokyo”?

This eatery is an offshoot of the renowned original restaurant, Vegan Ramen UZU Kyoto, which was listed as a “Bib Gourmand” recommendation in the Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024.

The vegan ramen contains no animal products of any kind: no meat, no fish, not even the pervasive “dashi” stock. The home-made noodles are made with whole wheat organic flour from Aya Town in Miyazaki. The soup gets its depth from Rausu kelp, shiitake mushrooms, and other umami-rich vegetables. It has such a deep, rich flavor that it's hard to believe it's vegan!

Vegan Ramen UZU Tokyo also offers sweet snacks such as vegan ice cream, and vegan & gluten-free donuts.

One Stroke Bench

Vegan Ramen UZU Tokyo is essentially a take-out shop, but the Public Area has some sweet seating options. Check out the many levels of the winding “One Stroke Bench.” Or, sit at the mirrored “Table of Fire and Sky” that reflects the burning pillar of "Universe of Fire Particles Falling from the Sky." Open the “Distributed Fire” app near this artwork and see its flame light up your screen — in fact you can even take it home with you and spread the fire not just across Japan, but around the world.

Reversible Rotation - Non-Objective Space

Those who want to dine indoors can also step into teamLab's installation "Reversible Rotation - Non-Objective Space." This is an artwork that transcends the physical boundaries of the tables and chairs it’s projected on. teamLab’s signature "Spatial Calligraphy" is written on every surface, flowing throughout the entire space.

Boundaries become blurred as the calligraphy is reflected on tables, chairs, and mirrors all around, giving an impression of oneness with the surroundings. This beautiful effect makes you feel again like you are in outer space, surrounded by planets and the Milky Way.

The vegan ramen gets its richness, and a touch of sweetness, from an oat milk base enhanced by several kinds of miso. An infusion of ginger and garlic, white sesame paste, homemade tea salt, and Japanese sansho pepper liven it up, while vibrant vegetable toppings complete the dish.

Only available at the Tokyo branch of Vegan Ramen UZU!

Q: How long do I need for teamLab Planets Tokyo?

A: According to data from Google Maps, people typically spend up to 2 hours at teamLab Planets. If you like to move fast, you can see everything in an hour. Those with the time to soak it all in might stay for 3–4 hours while taking photos and enjoying every expression of each artwork.

Q: What should I wear at teamLab Planets Tokyo?

A: Wear clothes that are easy to raise above knee level for the Water Area, and suitable for mirrored flooring. Shoes and stocking should be easy to remove at the unisex locker room.

Q: Should I visit teamLab Planets or Borderless?

A: There are similarities to some artworks in Planets and Borderless, but the experience is quite different at each. Visit teamLab Planets if you want to peacefully work your way through each artwork one-by-one, immersing in each “planet” at your own pace, with controlled crowds. Visit Borderless if you want to lose yourself in a labyrinth of artworks that flow into one another, and don’t mind a bit more crowding and chaos. Avoid Planets if you don’t like the idea of wading barefoot through the same (sanitized) water as others. Choose Planets if you’d like a linear experience where you won’t get lost or burn more than a couple of hours. Planets is also most convenient to combine with a trip to Toyosu Fish Market.

Q: Is teamLab Planets closing?

A: Planets was originally scheduled to close in autumn 2020, but the exhibition period was extended more than once, and it’s now slated to stay open ‘til the end of 2027!

Now you know all about teamLab Planets, dive into another guide and keep learning about some of Tokyo’s top attractions!

·    Tokyo Tower Guide
·    Tokyo Joypolis Guide
·    Samurai Restaurant Guide
·    Sanrio Puroland Guide
·    Toyosu Fish Market Guide
·    The Best Aquariums in Tokyo 

And if you’re still planning your trip, these area guides should help you decide where to spend your time:

·    Tokyo Itinerary for First-Timers
·    Tokyo’s Top Instagrammable Spots 
·    The Best Things to do in Odaiba
·    What to do in Shinjuku, Tokyo’s Liveliest Hub 
·    Things to Do in Roppongi, Tokyo’s Glitzy Nightlife District

And finally, don’t forget to book your travel essentials before arriving in Japan!