Is it worth it? Visiting teamLab Borderless – Tokyo, Japan

January 2025

Is it worth it? Visiting teamLab Borderless – Tokyo, Japan

I was pretty convinced before our first trip to Japan that the teamLab museums were a bit of a gimmick full of Instagram photos for all the influencers. I was happy to say I was wrong and we had a great time. After being pleasantly surprised by our experience at the TeamLab Planets experience on our first trip to Toyko, I was happy to see that the sister location of teamLab Borderless had reopened in its new space. We had time to visit on our short stay in Tokyo and I wanted to see if it lived up to the teamLab hype. 

The renovated teamLab Borderless reopened in February 2024 in Azabudai Hills, which is quite a nice area of Tokyo. For as large as it is, I could not believe it was located inside of a giant multi-purpose mall. While it is recommended to purchase your tickets in advance, we were able to purchase tickets when we arrived. Prices vary depending on the day and time of the day visiting but generally you can expect to pay around 3500 yen or 25 USD. Similar to the experience at teamLab Planets, the use of lockers is included in the ticket price and bags are not allowed into the exhibits. 

The concept behind teamLab Borderless is that the artwork is just that – borderless. There is no map and you are encouraged to explore and go where the art takes you as it moves into various rooms. Since the art is continuous, even stay stationary in one room for an extended period of time will result in observing many different things. And in some cases, you and your presence can influence the art as well. 

Wandering without a map is a bit challenging as you have to keep track of what you have seen and where you have been in order to ensure you do not miss anything. In fact, we were ready to leave and I am glad I cross-checked the internet and found entire sections we had missed. But you will not find that information at the museum itself so keep this in mind if you want to be a completionist, which I would strongly recommend. Since it is very much a choose your own adventure, everyone’s experience may be different as the artwork is constantly changing and you are constantly moving which is very cool but you may have a bit of FOMO if you want to make sure you see everything. I did search online for a map when I thought we were done and I found a drawn diagram on Reddit that showed we missed quite a few exhibits so I was happy I looked!

I am fairly confident we saw each room but I will have to apologize in advance for the names of the rooms and descriptions as the rooms are not labeled and they are not listed anywhere. These are listed in the order in which we discovered them. Additionally, there is artwork that flows between rooms so I will attempt to capture what we saw as well but know your experience may be completely different and that is the entire point of teamLab Borderless. During our visit, the Light Vortex exhibit was closed.

Exhibit 1: Room of Flowers

This is the first room you walk into when entering teamLab Borderless so you can’t miss it. It is a series of walls that have projections of flowers. Some of the flowers are interactive when you touch them as they explode into smaller flowers. Artwork from neighboring exhibits bleeds into this section so it gives you a preview of what is to come as well.

Exhibit 2: The Bamboo and Flower Meadow Room

The next room we found started as what felt like a mirror maze but transformed into bamboo rods that had what looked like lily pads on top that as you progressed through the exhibit lowered down to great a meadow. As you walk through the pads, various flowers display and move throughout. Just as we were about to leave, the projections changed to tiny fish that swam across the pads to create a very cool effect. I am sure we missed other projections so make sure to spend ample time in each exhibit.

Exhibit 3: The Oasis Room

Also known as the hill, this giant room has literal floor to ceiling projections and an abstract geometric hill in the center. We observed several different artwork displays during our time here. What was cool about this room is that most of the artwork was very interactive and responsive to people that were against the wall. First was a waterfall effect followed by falling flowers, birds flying across, calligraphy symbols, and more.

Exhibit 4: The Bubble Universe

Bubble Universe is definitely one of the premiere exhibits at teamLab Borderless and seems to be the equivalent of the Floating Flower Garden of orchids in teamLab Planets. This room has large bubbles some of which are stationary and others are in motion, and then change colors over time. Unlike the other rooms, this is a timed experience so you have to wait for your group to be let in and each group has probably five minutes in the space. The staff definitely pushed us along faster than the permitted time but we were able to get back in line to go through again. It is such a pretty display so make sure you find this room during your journey of discovery.

Exhibit 5: Universe of Fire Particles Dissolving

I only found this wildly specific name because I discovered a sign which I had not noticed for any of the other rooms. There were so few people here and I will say, it was hard to understand what we were supposed to be looking at. The description stated it is a depiction of flames that gradually dissolve but the effect was hard to make out. It has mist that the light projects off of so I think the effect relies on the moisture so perhaps it is inconsistent.

Exhibit 6: Infinite Crystal Universe

This room is actually a duplicate of the one in teamLab Planets showing giant LED string lights with a mirror maze cross over. The lights dance to music by changing color and speed. The lights also create dimensional objects and the cool thing is the perspective changes depending on where you are in the room.

Exhibit 8: Microcosmoses

This room was like a scene from Inside-Out! The room is full of spheres along a track that change colors but the way the spheres move through the space looked like how the memories in Inside Out are animated. This is a super cool room that we almost missed so make sure to keep looking around for this room.

Exhibit 7: Sketch Ocean

This was such a fun concept! There is a room where you can sketch pretty much anything you want – most people picked ocean critters – and then teamLabs takes the sketches takes the projections and turns them into displays in the ocean. It is so cool to watch people wait for their drawing to appear and try and find it. This is a great room for kids but we watched people of all ages participate.

Exhibit 8: Cubes

This room was full of very large cubes that had different angles – in the dark it may be easy to knock into a corner so be careful. We did not spend much time in this room as it was unclear what we were supposed to do to interact with it.

Other Smaller Rooms

There are several smaller rooms that have interactive elements as well – a room with flowers that when touched, reveal animals, an area with calligraphy, and so much more.

The Corridors 

Even between the rooms, the corridors are full of displays. From butterflies, marching animals, birds flying across, animals made of flowers, waves of the ocean, and more that all have interactive elements. These also bleed into all the surrounding rooms as well and adds to the artwork being completely alive at teamLab Borderless.

The Teahouse 

Technically an exhibit but you have to pay extra for this one. We were going to give it a go but it required each person to make a purchase so while Kevin found something of interest, I did not and was not able to spend an overpriced amount of money on a beverage I did not want to see what was inside the Teahouse.

TeamLab Planets vs TeamLab Borderless 

Having trouble deciding which to visit on your trip to Tokyo? I am happy that over time we got to experience both teamLab exhibits but I do think it is a bit overkill to see both in one trip, especially when there is so much to do in Tokyo. 

Though TeamLab created both, these museums offer contrasting experiences.

• TeamLab Planets is themed around gardens and water, offering a highly interactive journey where visitors follow a linear route and walk barefoot through exhibits featuring real blooming orchids. 
• TeamLab Borderless is larger, with more projections and exhibits. It encourages exploration without a set route, signs, or maps, allowing visitors to wander and discover independently. It also doesn’t require walking through water or removing shoes.

That all being said – which is the best experience for your Tokyo visit?

• Traveling with Kids: Families with kids, especially young kids, will have a better time at Borderless. Planets has a water component that requires shoes to be removed and visitors to walk through water in certain corridors and exhibits. This is way to risky for kids in my opinion and Borderless has the Sketch Ocean section with is directly targeting kids in a great way. Plus, Borderless will allow kids of all ages to interact with art in an easier way. 
• Short on Time: Only have a small window during your jam-packed Tokyo trip but still want to experience one of the teamLab experiences? Then Planets will be a better fit for your trip. It is a small exhibit that has a more cohesive experience than Borderless so you will not be wandering aimlessly hoping you saw everything. Planets is a linear experience and it is smaller so if you are short on time, Planets is the way to go. 
• Easiest to Get to: Getting to Planets is not difficult but requires a bit of planning due to the location it is so if you want something a bit for straightforward and right off of the train loop in Tokyo, go to Borderless.
• Not into germs or don’t love being barefoot: Then skip Planets as you are required to be barefoot for the entire experience. This also requires walking through water at certain points which for most people is typically calf height. 
• Completionist: Go to Planets since it has a map and you can ensure you see everything. It is a tad frustrating to be paying for an experience at Borderless and once you leave, realize you may have missed complete sections of the exhibit.

I hope that helps make your decision if you are struggling to do so. Both are fantastic experiences so you really cannot go wrong.

Continue reading all the details of our trip – here!

To see our full itinerary – here!

Read our experience at teamLab Planets – here!

Read what to expect in Japan – here!

My complete packing list for Japan – here!

See all blog posts for Japan – here!