Is teamLab Borderless Worth It in Tokyo? Essential Tips for Visiting

Is teamLab Borderless worth it? While their incredible digital art museums are some of the most sought-after by foreign visitors to Japan, teamLab experiences have become so popular that trying to secure tickets and crowds can lead to disappointment!

I did have second thoughts about going to teamLab Borderless because I worried it would just be full of influencers trying to strike a pose. However, my curiosity got the better of me so I bit the bullet and went – and was surprised at the outcome.

This quick guide to visiting teamLab Borderless in Tokyo will help you “blend in” by being better prepared for what to expect, and help you avoid crowds where possible to make the visit worth it for you. Read on for more!

Is teamLab Borderless worth it in Tokyo?

While it appears on top of most visitor’s Tokyo itineraries, whether something is worth it comes down to individual preferences.

With that said, as an invisible tourist: Something is not worth it for me if I have to spend hours queuing up, am squashed amongst other people stepping on my feet and am made to feel claustrophobic. I would rather spend my time elsewhere. Does this sound like you, too?

I was concerned this would be the case at teamLab Borderless Tokyo… But you guys, for me the teamLab Borderless exhibition was absolutely worth it – on a few conditions, though.

If these conditions were not met I’d have a difficult time saying whether it was worth it or not. So these are my essential tips to help you ensure teamLab Borderless will be worth it for you, too!

Tips for making a teamLab Borderless visit worth it for you

I visited teamLab Borderless when it was in Odaiba, but these tips still apply to the Azabudai Hills location near Tokyo Tower today.

Here’s what I recommend doing to make the visit worth it for you:

Book your teamLab Borderless tickets up to 8 weeks in advance

To avoid disappointment, don’t wait to book your tickets. As soon as you know the dates of your Tokyo trip, lock in a date and time that suits you.

TIP: Read my 5-6 day Tokyo itinerary to see how to incorporate teamLab into your visit!

Even one month before, tickets are likely to sell out as they are limited. I booked mine 8 weeks almost to the day in advance and had no issues.

To avoid some issues using foreign credit cards on the official teamLab website, you can book through Klook. I personally use them to book many tickets in Japan.

Do get there early (or go late)

Be smart about your visit and either get there first thing, or late in the afternoon/evening to avoid most of the crowds. Take advantage of the longer hours, it closes at 21:00 (last entry is 20:00).

The exhibition opens at 09:00. In saying that, I arrived at 45 minutes before opening and had only about 20 people in front of me. About 20 minutes before opening we were allowed through the doors, then in groups of about 20 people were able to proceed into the exhibition after watching a short introductory video.

I was in the second group and there were hardly any people inside, allowing me to get many photos without people or crowds in them.

When I left the exhibition about 2.5 hours later, the queue to get in was around two hours long and wrapped around the corner. Queuers can be exposed to the elements, so people were lining up for ages in the rain. Avoid this!

No large bags, umbrellas or backpacks are allowed

On entry, there is a locker room filled with lockers and umbrella stands so you will need to leave your things there during your visit.

You’ll need a 100 yen coin to secure the locker, and the key can be worn as a bracelet. The deposit is returned once you leave. Umbrellas require a number combination to lock and unlock.

No food is permitted inside but there are vending machines in dedicated rest areas where you can grab a drink or snack.

Don’t miss En Tea House

Allow some time to enjoy a traditional bowl of cold brew green tea for JPY 600 in the teahouse located upstairs. This is a fun and unique idea.

There are also other tea options, and matcha ice cream to enjoy here.

At your table, the tea bowl will be transformed into an interactive artwork each time you take a sip. Flowers will bloom as long as there is tea! It’s a really cool experience. 

Allow around 3 hours to explore the exhibition

I was travelling solo so I could wander around at my own pace. In saying that, because there is no map at Borderless (it is a “borderless” exhibition after all) it took longer than I thought!

I found I kept returning to the same rooms a few times as all light projections on the walls and inside the rooms change around every 20 minutes. This made it easy to confuse what I had already seen and what I hadn’t. I believe teamLab Planets is more structured, however.

Know in advance the rooms you don’t want to miss

It may be a good idea to have images of the rooms you want to visit already saved on your phone. As mentioned earlier, it can be tricky to find some of the rooms at Borderless because there is no floor map!

I did have to ask the staff where I could find some rooms and En Tea House. Having a photo on my phone helped to show them what I was looking for and saved me some time.

Make sure you wear enclosed shoes

Some of the flooring is uneven and one section is an open net, so sandals are not permitted. You will be denied entry into some areas unless you have the correct shoes.

One area is named The Nest, which has a large net suspended across a room. Lie on the net and be immersed in a musical and light projection with a bird soaring across the walls and ceiling! This was one of my favourite rooms, the music gave me goosebumps.

TIP: Make sure you don’t have anything that could fall out of your pockets though, because anything that drops down there will be gone for good! Unfortunately pregnant women cannot enter this one.

At Planets, there is a section where visitors can wade through lukewarm water with playful fish light projections. Personally I’m not so keen on that so haven’t visited Planets.

Wear white clothing if you can

It’s like a neon party! For cool photos and to see the lights dancing on your clothes, white or light colours are best.

And ladies, you may want to wear shorts or pants because some floors are mirrors. You won’t want people being able to see up your skirt!

How to get to the new teamLab Borderless Tokyo 

Once located in Odaiba near Tokyo Bay, the old exhibition space closed in August 2022 to make way for the new and improved exhibition hall in the MORI Building Digital Art Museum near Tokyo Tower, Minato. This reopened in Azabudai Hills in February 2024.

Just pop in “Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza” or “teamLab Borderless” into Google Maps and it will help you navigate there.

Closest stations to teamLab Borderless

• 2 mins walk from Kamiyacho Station on the Hibiya Metro line
• 11 mins walk from Roppongi-Itchome Station on the Namboku Metro line
• TIP: Read my guide to Japan train symbols in Google Maps to learn the meanings!

Other teamLab Japan experiences & beyond

If you enjoy teamLab experiences, they aren’t just in Tokyo! Here are some of their lesser-known and fascinating experiences throughout Japan which attract smaller crowds than teamLab Borderless vs teamLab Planets:

• Small, lesser-known rooms in Tokyo’s Samsung Galaxy Building in Harajuku, level 4 – it’s free!
• teamLab Planets, Tokyo Prefecture 
• teamLab Botanical Garden, Osaka Prefecture 
• teamLab Hidden Traces of Rice Terraces, Ibaraki Prefecture  
• teamLab Forest, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu 
• teamLab Ruins and Heritage: Rinkan Spa & Tea Ceremony, Takeo Onsen, Saga Prefecture, Kyushu 
• teamLab Future Park, Okinawa Prefecture 
• And there is teamLab in Singapore, too! Read all about it in my Singapore itinerary.

And this concludes my guide to whether teamLab Borderless Tokyo is worth it! Provided the conditions are met such as securing tickets for an early morning or late evening visit, and knowing what to expect in advance, I’m sure you’ll be ale to “blend in” a little better and avoid the crowds.

Don’t forget to even try visiting one of the lesser-known teamLab experiences outside of Tokyo, too!

What are your thoughts? Has this helped you decide whether teamLabs are worth it for you? Let me know in the comments below.

While you’re here, be sure to check out some of my other articles for Tokyo:

• Honest advice for where to stay in Tokyo for first-time and repeat visitors
• Shibuya Sky: Tickets and tips for the perfect experience above Tokyo
• Unreal things to do in Shibuya, day and night
• 20+ Scrumptious food tours in Tokyo you’ll love (tried-and-tested)
• How to eat your way through old town Tokyo in Yanaka Ginza
• Enjoy a Tokyo tea ceremony with a 5th generation tea master
• Learn traditional experiences from a geisha in Tokyo
• Make your own replica food souvenir in Tokyo
• (Almost) secret Tokyo hidden gems you haven’t heard of
• Iconic streets in Tokyo you need to see to believe

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Until next time,

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