Best Living Japan – Tokyo Expat Family Guide Tokyo with Kids Guide for Globally Minded Families 
teamLab Planets TOKYO (Toyosu) and teamLab Borderless (Odaiba) “experiences” both opened last summer (2018) and are running at least for the next two years. Both installations are the brain children of teamLab and provide a 360 degree immerse light and environment experience. Although both are created by the same company and only 2 kilometers apart in location, the two are very different experiences. If you can not attend both over the next two years, hopefully you can review below to determine which one is best for your family. If you can only attend one with kids, I would choose Borderless in Odaiba, but both are great fun if you have to chose based on availability of tickets. Reserved tickets are needed for both. Have fun!
teamLab Planets TOKYO (Toyosu) and teamLab Borderless (Odaiba) – What’s the Difference?
Planets (Toyosu) | Borderless (Odaiba) | |
Sensory | Surfaces and textures with light. * Both exhibits have a crystal light room, inflated ball room and floating light flowers | Light and music play space * Both exhibits have a crystal light room, inflated ball room and floating light flowers |
Physical | First few mins walking up a waterfall ramp and climbing through the soft padded room are the most physical parts | 1st floor is flat with different light rooms and a slide, 2nd floor is the “future playground” with lots of climbing, sliding and bouncing for kids |
Coolest Elements | Water as part of the show (waterfall ramp and pond room with knee hight water and swimming light Koi) | The kids will love the flower slide on the 1st floor and playground elements on the 2nd floor |
Kid Engagement | They will love the sensory impact of the water | The playground on the 2nd floor is a child thriller |
Time Spent in Exhibit | Without rushing you can complete the experience in 30-60 mins. We were surprised how quickly it ended. | You could spend a few hours. Make sure you save enough time and energy for the 2nd floor – future playground. You will need to queue up for 10-20 mins for some of the activities. |
Wait Time | Wait time on regular ticket is 30-45 mins; priority ticket wait is typically 10 mins | Waits from zero to up to one hour – some of the wait is covered |
Convenience | 1 minute on foot from Shin-Toyosu Station (Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Waterfront Line Yurikamome Line); 10 minutes on foot from Toyosu Station (Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line); formal restaurant on site | 5 min walk from Tokyo Teleport Station (Rinkai Line) and Aomi Station (Yurikamome Line), Paid Parking available onsite: TIMES Venus Fort Parking 24 hours and TIMES Palette Town Parking 24 hours; Located in the Palette time shopping center so plenty of shopping and eating locations |
Cost | Adults (18 and over); Regular 2,800 – 3,200 JPY, Priority 5,000 – 6,000 JPY Junior (12-17); Regular 2,000 – 2,700 JPY, Priority 4,300 – 4,100 JPY Child (between 4-11); Regular 1,500 – 2,000 JPY, Priority 3,200 – 3,800 JPY | Adults (15+ years); 3,200 JPY Child (4-14); 1,000 JPY |
Open Hours | Weekday 10:00 – 25:00, Sat, Sun & National Holiday 9:00 – 25:00 | Mon–Thu 10:00–19:00 Fri – Sun 10:00–21:00 |
Note | Take shoes that can be easily removed and wear shorts. You will need to remove your shoes in the lobby and was tough through high water for kids 3-4 years old, knees for 6-7 year old | Wear sneakers, not sandals or heels. You will need to borrow shoes before you go into the playground if you don’t have firmly affixed shoes |
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If you are heading over to Odaiba or Toyosu check out some of our other favorite family locations.
Tokyo Earthquake Center (Ariake near Toyosu)
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Official PR
MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM – teamLab Borderless
teamLab Borderless is a group of artworks that form one borderless world. Artworks move out of the rooms freely, form connections and relationships with people, communicate with other works, influence and sometimes intermingle with each other.
Create new experiences with others, immerse yourself in borderless art, and explore the world with your body. In a vast complex, three-dimensional 10,000 square meter space, 520 computers and 470 projectors create a completely new world, the likes of which have never been seen before.
teamLab Planets Tokyo
teamLab has been producing artworks with the Body Immersive concept for many years. teamLab
Planets is a massive Body Immersive space consisting of a collection of installations in which the entire body becomes immersed, and the boundaries between the viewer and the work become more abstract. Body Immersive works immerse the body entirely through the use of digital technology, which allows for the artwork to be separated from the canvas that mediates it. This allows for continuous dynamic behaviour, visual phenomena, and the ability to transform the canvas. By doing so, the boundaries between the body and the work become ambiguous, which may become the starting point for people to think about their relationship with the world. As the the artwork changes, due to your existence and that of others in the work, people dissolve into the artwork world and the relationship between people changes.
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teamLab Planets TOKYO (Toyosu) and teamLab Borderless (Odaiba) – What’s the Difference?
teamLab Borderless (Odaiba) Details
Term: June 21, 2018 – permanent
Address: MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless Odaiba Palette Town, 1-3-8 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Business Hours: Closed 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each Month.
Mon–Thu 10:00–19:00 (21:00**), Fri & Holiday Eve 10:00–21:00 (22:00**), Sat 10:00–21:00 (22:00**)
Sun & Holiday 10:00–19:00 (20:00**) **During Jun 21 – Aug 31 museum is open longer hours.
*Last entry 1 hour before the museum closing time.
*Hours may vary depending on the season.
*Access: 5 min walk from Tokyo Teleport Station (Rinkai Line) and Aomi Station (Yurikamome Line), Paid Public Parking available onsite: TIMES Venus Fort Parking 24 hours and TIMES Palette Town Parking 24 hours
Ticket Purchase: Highly advise to buy tickets before hand – if the website says no tickets there are no tickets. Do not waste your time going hoping to buy tickets at the door. Entrance Pass. Buy tickets online here.
- Adults – 15 and over, 3,200 JPY
- Child – between 4-14, 1,000 JPY
Website: https://borderless.teamlab.art
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teamLab Planets Tokyo (Toyosu) Details
Term: July 7, 2018 – Fall 2020
Address: teamLab Planets TOKYO, Toyosu 6-1-16, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Business Hours: Weekday 10:00 – 25:00, Sat, Sun & National Holiday 9:00 – 25:00 ※Last admission 24:00
Access: No public parking nearby. 1 minute on foot from Shin-Toyosu Station (Tokyo Waterfront New Transit Waterfront Line Yurikamome Line), 10 minutes on foot from Toyosu Station (Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line)
Ticket Purchase: Highly advise to buy tickets before hand – if the website says no tickets there are no tickets. Do not waste your time going hoping to buy tickets at the door. Entrance Pass. Buy tickets online here.
There are four types of tickets and pricing – Regular Weekday, Regular Weekends, Priority Weekday, Priority Weekends.
- Adults – 18 and over; Regular 2,800 – 3,200 JPY, Priority 5,000 – 6,000 JPY
- Junior 12-17; Regular 2,000 – 2,700 JPY, Priority 4,300 – 4,100 JPY
- Child – between 4-11; Regular 1,500 – 2,000 JPY, Priority 3,200 – 3,800 JPY
Website: teamlabplanets.dmm.com/en/
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teamLab Planets TOKYO (Toyosu) and teamLab Borderless (Odaiba) – What’s the Difference?
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Great article!! I can’t decide!! Which one do you think would be better for my 2 teenagers???
Hands down Borderless. There`s more to see and you can spend a couple hours there. Plus it`s located next to Toyota MegaWeb (look at new and old cars and even drive a few around the track) and a short walk to Venus Fort for food and shopping. Here is our Odaiba with Kids Guide in case you decide to spend the day in the area. Have fun!
https://bestlivingjapan.com/tokyo-one-day-itinerary-odaiba-with-kids/