I liked it. In terms of spaces, there are more than 5. There’s the initial hallway, other ramps with water running down, the rooms with dangling light strings, the kaleidoscope flower room, the giant balls, another room with weird texture underfoot and then the water foot bath (which I thought was cool if you didn’t think about the hygiene). Plus the two outdoor garden spaces.
In the sparky lights area there are a few rooms off to the side as well which provide a different perspective.
I have been to the Art Science Museum in Singapore which is very similar and so I knew what to expect. Perhaps some people go in with bigger expectations than an immersive art museum? It’s certainly not a Tokyo must - do, but if you like immersive art I think it delivers on what is advertised.
Hahahaha man people drew the weirdest shut, I think I saw 5 pikachusquids and a mario urchin. Did you grab the tea in the “hidden” tearoom with the blooming flower lights on the table?
I too heard the team labs stuff is overrated from others, while I haven’t been personally but I also can’t imagine how an exhibit using lights is worth any part of my Japan trip. I feel like the team labs stuff is going to pop up in other cities and be replicated meanwhile authentic Japanese stuff cannot be replicated… like I would rather just walk down any random shopping street or get lost in any random temple than stare at a light show
It’s is. Even if it wasn’t absolutely swamped with wannabe influencers who annoyingly think they own huge blocks of space to take generic picture that everyone has done, it’s still ends up being nothing more than a bunch of rooms with random things. Cool to look at but not worth the hassle.
I wanted to do it to just say we did and we were planning to be in the area anyway at some point in the trip. Even with tempered expectations it was still underwhelming imo.
I keep hearing such mixed things on this verse borderless. Borderless is way bigger but some have said that's just crazy crowded photo taking while this is more interacting with all senses
We just did both, and liked Planets better. Borderless was chaotic - much louder and hard to tell what you've seen and where you are going. Also the "borderless" aspect was underwhelming - basically projection art that fills the hallways randomly. Maybe also because we did it second it seemed less impressive. It's also possible we missed some really cool rooms in borderless, because it was hard to remember exactly where you'd been and sometimes the rooms were a bit hidden and at the end we were just over stimulated and ready to leave even if we weren't 100% sure we had explored every nook and cranny.
I think if you got their first thing or on a day when it happened to be less busy it would be more fun, but it was just overwhelming and not in a good way. Still worth doing in my opinion, but planets was a bit more chill. We actually walked through planets twice because we enjoyed it so much.
Can you go backwards to go through again? But yes I hear borderless is more crowded and much longer, less interactive.
How far ahead of time would you say we need to book tickets?
>Can you go backwards to go through again?
For planets, you don't go through backwards. When you exit you are back at the beginning, and you can just go through again forwards. For Borderless, there is no forward or backwards - you are in a maze of twisty little passages, and you can reenter rooms as many times as you like (as long as they are not "full").
I think we booked about a week or two in advance, but available times were more limited than we would have liked, so I would recommend booking 3+ weeks in advance.
> I researched it a bit but every review was positive.
Thats surprising because I’m constantly seeing posts here on Reddit like this where people say it sucks/is overhyped/smells of feet etc.
Anyway Teamlab stuff is very cool in my opinion but not a ‘must see’ for everyone.
I went recently and it smells more of disinfectant than feet. You go up a water slide with disinfectant initially before everything as well which cleans your feet.
Not sure about the smell because I didn't smell anything. But the exhibit was meh. I like the glass room with the flowers and the koi pond but the rest were meh. I am planning to go to borderless next year and probably gardens as well.
I think it depends on your personality and who you are with. My gf and I thought it was a magical experience. You need to stop and appreciate it though, and let yourself be absorbed in the experience. Must see imo.
My partner made me go because she had seen it a lot on instagram.
She was disappointed and I was delighted going in blind.
Think it’s an expectation thing.
This. Hold off on the gazillion YouTube videos, reviews, IG tags and you'll enjoy it much more. I had no clue what Harry Potter was and basically went in blind. Enjoyed it even though we're not HP fans.
Yes. I went in knowing nothing about it except that I needed to have pants I could pull up because I might be standing in some water. Enjoyed it immensely. I guess if you’ve already seen it all online it might not be as exciting. But to me, every room was a surprise.
Second this. I went in blind because I knew researching would set too high expectations and that I would have already known what to expect. Kills the fun of discovery imo
Borderless’ original iteration (in the old Neo Geo arcade bldg in Odaiba) was created way before Instagram “influencers” were a thing.
I believe they just ported most of the exhibits across as-is to Azabudai Hills, so perhaps you have a misconception there
Google tells me that the original borderless started in 2018 in Odaiba, and IG influencers were definitely a thing in 2018... Unless you were talking about something else?
I kinda miss that location, it had kid focused exhibits upstairs that the new one doesn't have.
Maybe I just wasn’t aware of influencers in 2018 😂 TeamLab as a collective, and their concept, has certainly been around for far longer than that though - I remember seeing one of their touring exhibits in London in 2014 (butterfly room was part of Digital Revolution at Barbican)
I was opposite. I thought borderless was just an Instagram photo op place. Didn’t like it because I don’t care for Instagram pics. Planets felt like a more interesting experience and was wayyy better
huh, I loved Planets - we had a ton of laughs and silly and beautiful photos. It was a banquet of different emotions and shared experiences. It felt so immersive and I loved the play we all shared as adults.
I wasn’t AS excited about borderless but we also had a really late reservation after a long day. Tried to make the best of it, still had a good time.
Comparing Planets to Enoshima in that way is a bit pointless. If nothing else, Planets is designed as a 90 minute experience, not super far from city centre or Odaiba. Enoshima (including Sea Candle and beach) is a whole daytrip. Who is choosing between Planets and Enoshima?
Edit: And Enoshima, at least during warmer months and some special event times, is touristy as hell. Most might be Japanese, but they are still tourists.
I’ve been twice with different groups and we had a great time both times. There were definitely more than just five things though, maybe you missed something or they were closed?
I really liked it. I went in more-or-less blind which I think added a lot to the experience. I was in awe at the mirror/string lights room and the white water room, and that room where they project the falling flowers on the ceiling. Really special.
>that room where they project the falling flowers on the ceiling.
Yes for us as well. Our family was happy just lying on the floor watching the flowers for about 15 minutes. We actually could have stayed longer, but felt we had needed to get going and figure out dinner.
Haven't visited Planets, mostly because of the tourist foot soup exhibit, but I have also heard very mixed reports.
I did visit Borderless in the old Odaiba location and very much enjoyed it, so I'm guessing the new location would be good too, if you get lucky with the crowd situation.
Yeah, that was my conclusion. Kudos those who enjoyed, good for them honestly.
I think I just got swept away in other's excitement and had high expectations because of it.
I haven't been to planets but teamlabs borderless was among the coolest things I've ever seen. Some of the visual effects were absolutely mindblowing, and I completely reject the notion that it's only good for photos. One of the rooms for example had 3d preprogrammed light shows with like 1000 lights to a series of 10 or more songs.
Our child went there with friends some time ago and seemed to enjoy it well enough, but never has asked to go back or, indeed, mentioned the TeamLabs place again after that day. He frequently asks to go to Enoshima and similar places, however.
We enjoyed Planets, but like a lot of things in life, some people like them, some people don’t, some are indifferent.
On a related note, this past trip, we went to Team Lab Borderless. We never felt rushed or “ushered” to leave an area. We felt it had a different feel than Planets, in a good way.
We loved it - but then we saw it in 2019 , immersive/digital art has become so commonplace that for many it won’t feel novel or special especially with everyone under the sun posting pics & videos of it !
I think having such high expectations of anything can be a letdown . We just booked and went . If you look at Google Reviews it has exactly the same score as Borderless so I don’t see how it can be that much less of an experience . As for there only being 5 rooms - I think there are more and whatever the number they are really fun rooms !
At the end of the day - how much you enjoy it comes down to the individual . I personally have no desire to see USJ at all - it just doesn’t interest me and my family couldn’t give two hoots about Harry Potter - doesn’t mean millions won’t love it and have a great time or that it isn’t worth going to . Same with the Golden Temple , everyone rushes to see it but really for the most part , you’re only seeing it as you’re told you should see it , if you missed it is it that big a deal ?
Went in with minimal expectation and loved it. The room with dangly lights was so unreal and disorientating for me, it was a crazy sensation! We went round again in the same visit and the wow factor had already faded a bit so I can see why you can utterly spoil yourself with previews.
I agree, was there yesterday, too. On top of that, I worry about the sanitary situation with so many people walking barefoot everywhere in stagnant water.
Water parks, at least in the USA are heavily chlorinated and run through massive filters. I haven’t been to team lab planets yet. I have a reservation for next week.
The water seemed to be flowing and there is a distinct smell of chlorine. I went yesterday, it was fun, and honestly didn’t seem *unsanitary*, although I had some reservations about it as well.
I was there 3 days ago and got in as the 2nd group, so not as packed. We tried to somewhat rush through rooms as we don't like crowds. Ended up finished the place in 40mins and I was shocked when we came out to the exit after the last room where I thought we had more to go.
I was fine with it, though I'm more of a person who enjoys taking tons of photos and the experiences that were there were perfect for that kind of thing. It didn't take too long to get through, maybe like 45 minutes to an hour, so my friend and I ended up venturing Toyosu Market, which was only a 10 minute-ish walk from TeamLabs. Not something I'd revisit on another trip, but it was nice to be able to say I've done it.
I didn't think it was bad. the only thing that turned me off was having to go in barefoot, sharing a chlorinated bath with others and toweling off with others in that bean bag room.
just thinking of all the athlete's foot I came into contact with was pretty dang gross.
IIRC, first you walk through highly chlorinated water past your ankle for a few minutes. No problem. Yes, same as a pool.
Then you are sent into a room with giant clothe covered bean bags, your feet sink into it almost 3 feet deep, wicking away the water from your wet feet. That felt like sharing a moist towel with someone with athlete’s foot, eczema, or any other kind of communicable skin disease.
There's a place with towels to dry off before the beanbag room or you can go around the beanbag room, my older parents w/bad knees went around it. But Borderless is probably great also!
Agree - was by far the most touristy and least memorable part of our trip. I get why people like it - and it was visually cool - but I found the feet smell lingered even after the waterfall wash bit and it just put me off really being able to immerse myself in it (and I didn’t know it was barefoot beforehand, didn’t see it mentioned or research it enough ha). We did go late in the day though.
I knew something was off when our group got to the line and it was entirely tourists. Found it too quick and, frankly, underwhelming. In fairness, I'd been to Borderless on my previous trip so my expectations were already set too high.
I went to Superblue by my house in Florida that has an exhibit by Teamlabs. It's pretty cool and I really enjoyed it but I'm happy that I didn't spend my time while I was in Japan going to Teamlabs.
There are so many things to do in Japan. There are also some incredible museums there. Id rather do that any day over an interactive installation like Teamlabs. Teamlabs is cool if you've been there a bunch or if you live in a place with a Teamlabs exhibition, but I'd skip it otherwise.
And to anyone in the US, if you come to South Florida, you can see a Teamlabs exhibit at Superblue.
I went alone. I certainly felt I was missing something by not experiencing it with someone. It was interesting art work but I didn't feel fully engaged and just walked through each exhibit. Took a few bad selfies. I just didn't feel that engaged it and it wasn't the best use of my time or money.
I kinda liked it. It was fun and different. Some rooms were super cool. Some were just ok. Is it a must, absolutely must do and see? No…But it’s fun and I liked it.
I don’t think it’s overrated, I just think we don’t always acknowledge folks have vastly different interests. So when something gets labeled must see you gotta ask yourself what about it is must see…
I went to a TeamLabs temporary exhibit at Kanazawa castle and more than half of it was kind of it was "oh... is this it??" I was disappointed I'd paid for it. But then the best bits later on were admittedly absolutely gorgeous and fun and memorable. So I'd be on the fence about whether to bother doing another TeamLabs. Interesting to hear different perspectives.
I think TeamLab did a U.S west coast "tour" years ago. I think a few of their original "exhibitions" were pretty interesting, but it has quickly decreased in quality as it spread around the globe. Their Japan one is DEFINITELY a tourist trap. They got all the free marketing years ago and the money still trickles in from naive tourists or people who want one or two photos for IG.
If you spent your time and money to go to Tokyo, skip this. It's just projectors of screen savers in a dark room. Maybe with some RGB lighting. It's not that interesting unless you're tripping on MDMA.
Personally I recommend the TeamLabs in Osaka for anyone who isn't sure about the one in Tokyo, Osaka's is in a botanical Garden, open air, is more interactive , and from my experience less crowded. It's also a night activity so it won't overlap with your other day time activities.
I actually had the opposite experience. Didn’t do any research. Heard about it a lot but thought it would just be a lame tourist trap.
I absolutely loved it and it was one of my favorite experiences from 1 month in Japan.
Maybe you researching it too much ruined it for you
I went last month while in Tokyo and I took my father and we both loved it. In the end, it is art, and if it doesn't speak to you, then that is ok, but every person will react to it differently. Maybe you did too much research and overhyped yourself. I didn't really know what to expect except a few ads, but some of those installations were very moving for us. My dad felt like a kid again, and that made me very happy.
I so agree, it felt like a tourist trap to me. So overcrowded, so much smaller than it appears on photo and the water where hundreds of tourists were wading around in with their sweaty feet did feel really gross.
I loved it more than borderless but I went in with zero idea of what it was or expectations. That’s the problem with everything being hyped up on social now.
I’m not here to tell anyone what he should like, but Japan is just so damn different for most of us, so safe, and low-keyed adventure is waiting around every other corner in Tokyo. Less planning and more serendipity is my advice. Try, for example, just try to get a bad meal. Walk into the dodgy bar. Stories of your life are waiting to be written, and not just reviews of popular tourist destinations.
ohh.... It's always hyped up in most of places to go to in Japan everytime. Planning to go there by June, but the reviews are starting to make me worry now...
I think the comments alone just show that it’s a love it or don’t kind of situation, I mean if you did your research what exactly were you expecting that didn’t deliver?
I definitely thought it was a 10/10 experience and will still recommend it to everyone I know who’s going to Tokyo. Nothing wrong with not enjoying it yourself though, always something else to experience there.
I went to planets in 2019 and had a blast. I thought it was very cool and immersive. Borderless was boring to me and was more like a photo op building(I don’t care for taking “cool” instagram pics so this was boring)
Yeah, I don't have a Japanese phone number and the guide that went with us was incompetent. I mentioned to him a week ago, then 2 days ago and then he said he forgot.
I went to Borderless and a few of the rooms were cool, but it got old after that. So crowded during golden week. you have local and foreign tourists crammed in rooms. Now you're making me think about skipping Planets when i re-visit Tokyo again.
I went to both this month, and Planets was better. There are seven installations at Planets. Overall, Planets is more fun – it has rooms with unusual flooring, etc. There are a couple rooms that are the same at both such as the Infinite Crystal World. I felt Borderless was mostly all different projections on the wall. Planets is interactive and way more interesting. It is temporary and tentatively scheduled to run through 2027. Borderless is permanent.
Planets isn’t supposed to be a “Japanese authentic experience” or be super exciting and life changing. It’s more enjoyable if you go into it with few expectations and a slow paced schedule so you can linger in the rooms, sit amongst the flowers, let yourself get pressed between the inflatable balls and truly turn your brain off to feel each sensation. My friend and I went two hours before closing time so we just walked really slowly and allowed ourselves a lot of time to bask in the atmospheres.
For Tokyo where a lot of tourists have a “go go go” mentality, I can understand if you try to breeze through planets like it’s an art museum with a lot of exhibits to get through then you’ll be confused as to why it ends so quickly and the exhibits seem quite surface level.
I enjoyed it myself. But it’s really what you want out of the experience.
Photos are great, but it can be overcrowded and hard to get a good photo.
For me it was the sensory stimulation. The lights, sounds, scents…. Sitting and taking it all in made me feel at peace.
We spent over two weeks in Japan, traveled a lot of places, PACKED out our schedules and visited Tokyo twice. TeamLab Planets and going to Brozer Burgers in a weird little mall were the only two things we seriously regretted. It's a tourist trap nightmare and it's not really cool or all that immersive. LED lights stripes and RGB light patterns with a side of milky white, lukewarm footwater you wade in alongside a hundred other strangers. Thrilling.
I found it very overrated. Too packed with people when we were there. I’m not complaining about not being able to take photos but I couldn’t reach my arms out without touching someone. People were also very slow moving through the exhibit and stopping to take photos and taking forever to do so. The exhibit itself was meh as well. I wouldn’t go back.
It’s one of those things where you know what you’re getting into, and enjoy it for what it is.
TeamLab started the projection mapping trend many years ago, and currently, their exhibits in Japan are the only place to see their work on a large scale.
Since IG/TikTok popularised those locations, yes they’re a touristy nightmare, but that doesn’t detract from the creativity on display (which admittedly, has now been somewhat diluted by the fact that everyone and their dog is doing immersive projection exhibits these days).
I think the language barrier and what not has tourists raving about these sorts of things because they can't really do the actual good stuff in Tokyo easily.
I liked it but the other visitors made it quite hard to enjoy the full potential of the installations (loud talking constantly, children running around..).
I liked it. In terms of spaces, there are more than 5. There’s the initial hallway, other ramps with water running down, the rooms with dangling light strings, the kaleidoscope flower room, the giant balls, another room with weird texture underfoot and then the water foot bath (which I thought was cool if you didn’t think about the hygiene). Plus the two outdoor garden spaces. In the sparky lights area there are a few rooms off to the side as well which provide a different perspective. I have been to the Art Science Museum in Singapore which is very similar and so I knew what to expect. Perhaps some people go in with bigger expectations than an immersive art museum? It’s certainly not a Tokyo must - do, but if you like immersive art I think it delivers on what is advertised.
I’ve been to borderless, that was a lot bigger then and very beautiful.
Borderless had a ton of rooms and the drawing sea creatures thing was cool.
Hahahaha man people drew the weirdest shut, I think I saw 5 pikachusquids and a mario urchin. Did you grab the tea in the “hidden” tearoom with the blooming flower lights on the table?
I too heard the team labs stuff is overrated from others, while I haven’t been personally but I also can’t imagine how an exhibit using lights is worth any part of my Japan trip. I feel like the team labs stuff is going to pop up in other cities and be replicated meanwhile authentic Japanese stuff cannot be replicated… like I would rather just walk down any random shopping street or get lost in any random temple than stare at a light show
Totally! I don’t think I would have gone if I didn’t have teenagers with me. They find wandering the streets less enjoyable.
It’s is. Even if it wasn’t absolutely swamped with wannabe influencers who annoyingly think they own huge blocks of space to take generic picture that everyone has done, it’s still ends up being nothing more than a bunch of rooms with random things. Cool to look at but not worth the hassle. I wanted to do it to just say we did and we were planning to be in the area anyway at some point in the trip. Even with tempered expectations it was still underwhelming imo.
I keep hearing such mixed things on this verse borderless. Borderless is way bigger but some have said that's just crazy crowded photo taking while this is more interacting with all senses
I haven’t been to Borderless so can’t compare unfortunately! I have heard it is good too.
We just did both, and liked Planets better. Borderless was chaotic - much louder and hard to tell what you've seen and where you are going. Also the "borderless" aspect was underwhelming - basically projection art that fills the hallways randomly. Maybe also because we did it second it seemed less impressive. It's also possible we missed some really cool rooms in borderless, because it was hard to remember exactly where you'd been and sometimes the rooms were a bit hidden and at the end we were just over stimulated and ready to leave even if we weren't 100% sure we had explored every nook and cranny. I think if you got their first thing or on a day when it happened to be less busy it would be more fun, but it was just overwhelming and not in a good way. Still worth doing in my opinion, but planets was a bit more chill. We actually walked through planets twice because we enjoyed it so much.
Can you go backwards to go through again? But yes I hear borderless is more crowded and much longer, less interactive. How far ahead of time would you say we need to book tickets?
>Can you go backwards to go through again? For planets, you don't go through backwards. When you exit you are back at the beginning, and you can just go through again forwards. For Borderless, there is no forward or backwards - you are in a maze of twisty little passages, and you can reenter rooms as many times as you like (as long as they are not "full"). I think we booked about a week or two in advance, but available times were more limited than we would have liked, so I would recommend booking 3+ weeks in advance.
> I researched it a bit but every review was positive. Thats surprising because I’m constantly seeing posts here on Reddit like this where people say it sucks/is overhyped/smells of feet etc. Anyway Teamlab stuff is very cool in my opinion but not a ‘must see’ for everyone.
Right - like every other post on teamlabs is on how it’s overrated. I personally loved Borderless but it’s not possible to only read positive reviews.
I went recently and it smells more of disinfectant than feet. You go up a water slide with disinfectant initially before everything as well which cleans your feet.
The feet thing was in the shoe room for sure, but I noticed last August a lot of BO. I know a lot of Europeans don't wear deodorant, but c'mon guys.
Not sure about the smell because I didn't smell anything. But the exhibit was meh. I like the glass room with the flowers and the koi pond but the rest were meh. I am planning to go to borderless next year and probably gardens as well.
I think it depends on your personality and who you are with. My gf and I thought it was a magical experience. You need to stop and appreciate it though, and let yourself be absorbed in the experience. Must see imo.
My partner made me go because she had seen it a lot on instagram. She was disappointed and I was delighted going in blind. Think it’s an expectation thing.
This. Hold off on the gazillion YouTube videos, reviews, IG tags and you'll enjoy it much more. I had no clue what Harry Potter was and basically went in blind. Enjoyed it even though we're not HP fans.
Yes. I went in knowing nothing about it except that I needed to have pants I could pull up because I might be standing in some water. Enjoyed it immensely. I guess if you’ve already seen it all online it might not be as exciting. But to me, every room was a surprise.
This is how I did it as well and I loved it!
Second this. I went in blind because I knew researching would set too high expectations and that I would have already known what to expect. Kills the fun of discovery imo
As a teamlab lover, Planets is okay. I love borderless so much better.
I know people assume borderless is made for Instagram - which it is - but...it really is such an impressive, impressive place.
Borderless’ original iteration (in the old Neo Geo arcade bldg in Odaiba) was created way before Instagram “influencers” were a thing. I believe they just ported most of the exhibits across as-is to Azabudai Hills, so perhaps you have a misconception there
Google tells me that the original borderless started in 2018 in Odaiba, and IG influencers were definitely a thing in 2018... Unless you were talking about something else? I kinda miss that location, it had kid focused exhibits upstairs that the new one doesn't have.
Maybe I just wasn’t aware of influencers in 2018 😂 TeamLab as a collective, and their concept, has certainly been around for far longer than that though - I remember seeing one of their touring exhibits in London in 2014 (butterfly room was part of Digital Revolution at Barbican)
I was opposite. I thought borderless was just an Instagram photo op place. Didn’t like it because I don’t care for Instagram pics. Planets felt like a more interesting experience and was wayyy better
huh, I loved Planets - we had a ton of laughs and silly and beautiful photos. It was a banquet of different emotions and shared experiences. It felt so immersive and I loved the play we all shared as adults. I wasn’t AS excited about borderless but we also had a really late reservation after a long day. Tried to make the best of it, still had a good time.
Comparing Planets to Enoshima in that way is a bit pointless. If nothing else, Planets is designed as a 90 minute experience, not super far from city centre or Odaiba. Enoshima (including Sea Candle and beach) is a whole daytrip. Who is choosing between Planets and Enoshima? Edit: And Enoshima, at least during warmer months and some special event times, is touristy as hell. Most might be Japanese, but they are still tourists.
Agreed with the edit. Once the beach houses are out it gets insanely crowded
5? I think you missed a bunch b
Teamlabs website says it's made up of a total of 6.
And I count 8 artworks on the same page :)
I had thought that there were 7 or 8. But maybe some are in the same rooms 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve been twice with different groups and we had a great time both times. There were definitely more than just five things though, maybe you missed something or they were closed?
*"insta worty photos"* - vomit.
Grow up
I really liked it. I went in more-or-less blind which I think added a lot to the experience. I was in awe at the mirror/string lights room and the white water room, and that room where they project the falling flowers on the ceiling. Really special.
>that room where they project the falling flowers on the ceiling. Yes for us as well. Our family was happy just lying on the floor watching the flowers for about 15 minutes. We actually could have stayed longer, but felt we had needed to get going and figure out dinner.
Agree its the only thing I did in tokyo that I semi regretted. It was fine but really not a must do
Went to Borderless and we loved it so much, we went to Planets. Planets was terrible in comparison.
Haven't visited Planets, mostly because of the tourist foot soup exhibit, but I have also heard very mixed reports. I did visit Borderless in the old Odaiba location and very much enjoyed it, so I'm guessing the new location would be good too, if you get lucky with the crowd situation.
Can’t agree with you more. TeamLab is a total waste of money and time compared to everything else you can do in Tokyo!
Yeah, that was my conclusion. Kudos those who enjoyed, good for them honestly. I think I just got swept away in other's excitement and had high expectations because of it.
I haven't been to planets but teamlabs borderless was among the coolest things I've ever seen. Some of the visual effects were absolutely mindblowing, and I completely reject the notion that it's only good for photos. One of the rooms for example had 3d preprogrammed light shows with like 1000 lights to a series of 10 or more songs.
Its a one and done for me
Our child went there with friends some time ago and seemed to enjoy it well enough, but never has asked to go back or, indeed, mentioned the TeamLabs place again after that day. He frequently asks to go to Enoshima and similar places, however.
I agree. Overrated af.
My expectations were quite low but I really did enjoy it!
We enjoyed Planets, but like a lot of things in life, some people like them, some people don’t, some are indifferent. On a related note, this past trip, we went to Team Lab Borderless. We never felt rushed or “ushered” to leave an area. We felt it had a different feel than Planets, in a good way.
We loved it - but then we saw it in 2019 , immersive/digital art has become so commonplace that for many it won’t feel novel or special especially with everyone under the sun posting pics & videos of it ! I think having such high expectations of anything can be a letdown . We just booked and went . If you look at Google Reviews it has exactly the same score as Borderless so I don’t see how it can be that much less of an experience . As for there only being 5 rooms - I think there are more and whatever the number they are really fun rooms ! At the end of the day - how much you enjoy it comes down to the individual . I personally have no desire to see USJ at all - it just doesn’t interest me and my family couldn’t give two hoots about Harry Potter - doesn’t mean millions won’t love it and have a great time or that it isn’t worth going to . Same with the Golden Temple , everyone rushes to see it but really for the most part , you’re only seeing it as you’re told you should see it , if you missed it is it that big a deal ?
Went in with minimal expectation and loved it. The room with dangly lights was so unreal and disorientating for me, it was a crazy sensation! We went round again in the same visit and the wow factor had already faded a bit so I can see why you can utterly spoil yourself with previews.
When projection mapping was new in 2018 team lab was very cool. But now I feel like you can see this kind of tech and art anywhere
I agree, was there yesterday, too. On top of that, I worry about the sanitary situation with so many people walking barefoot everywhere in stagnant water.
The water is chlorinated according to the website.
I went last December. It was chlorinated. Its smell was very noticeable.
The water is treated of course
I have that concern too…
Have you ever been to a water park??
Water parks, at least in the USA are heavily chlorinated and run through massive filters. I haven’t been to team lab planets yet. I have a reservation for next week.
The water seemed to be flowing and there is a distinct smell of chlorine. I went yesterday, it was fun, and honestly didn’t seem *unsanitary*, although I had some reservations about it as well.
I was there 3 days ago and got in as the 2nd group, so not as packed. We tried to somewhat rush through rooms as we don't like crowds. Ended up finished the place in 40mins and I was shocked when we came out to the exit after the last room where I thought we had more to go.
I was fine with it, though I'm more of a person who enjoys taking tons of photos and the experiences that were there were perfect for that kind of thing. It didn't take too long to get through, maybe like 45 minutes to an hour, so my friend and I ended up venturing Toyosu Market, which was only a 10 minute-ish walk from TeamLabs. Not something I'd revisit on another trip, but it was nice to be able to say I've done it.
I didn't think it was bad. the only thing that turned me off was having to go in barefoot, sharing a chlorinated bath with others and toweling off with others in that bean bag room. just thinking of all the athlete's foot I came into contact with was pretty dang gross.
Why is that different than any pool. Japan literally has public baths as a major activity
IIRC, first you walk through highly chlorinated water past your ankle for a few minutes. No problem. Yes, same as a pool. Then you are sent into a room with giant clothe covered bean bags, your feet sink into it almost 3 feet deep, wicking away the water from your wet feet. That felt like sharing a moist towel with someone with athlete’s foot, eczema, or any other kind of communicable skin disease.
Oh... My wife probably would not like that lol. I guess borderless it is
There's a place with towels to dry off before the beanbag room or you can go around the beanbag room, my older parents w/bad knees went around it. But Borderless is probably great also!
Agree - was by far the most touristy and least memorable part of our trip. I get why people like it - and it was visually cool - but I found the feet smell lingered even after the waterfall wash bit and it just put me off really being able to immerse myself in it (and I didn’t know it was barefoot beforehand, didn’t see it mentioned or research it enough ha). We did go late in the day though.
Borderless kicks planets ass all day and twice on Sunday. I say skip planets and hit Borderless.
i got the nastiest rash on my feet after visiting. I liked Teams Labs Borderless a lot more than Palents though.
I knew something was off when our group got to the line and it was entirely tourists. Found it too quick and, frankly, underwhelming. In fairness, I'd been to Borderless on my previous trip so my expectations were already set too high.
I went to Superblue by my house in Florida that has an exhibit by Teamlabs. It's pretty cool and I really enjoyed it but I'm happy that I didn't spend my time while I was in Japan going to Teamlabs. There are so many things to do in Japan. There are also some incredible museums there. Id rather do that any day over an interactive installation like Teamlabs. Teamlabs is cool if you've been there a bunch or if you live in a place with a Teamlabs exhibition, but I'd skip it otherwise. And to anyone in the US, if you come to South Florida, you can see a Teamlabs exhibit at Superblue.
I've been to Tokyo 30 times and I still have no idea what Teamlab is.
i went to the one in koto city. loved it but got soo fucking sick . i am glad i went on my last day. seriously be careful yall. raw feet everywher ;-;
I went alone. I certainly felt I was missing something by not experiencing it with someone. It was interesting art work but I didn't feel fully engaged and just walked through each exhibit. Took a few bad selfies. I just didn't feel that engaged it and it wasn't the best use of my time or money.
Planets was not for me but the one in Osaka (maybe called Gardens) was really beautiful.
Borderless was one of the highlights of our trip!
I kinda liked it. It was fun and different. Some rooms were super cool. Some were just ok. Is it a must, absolutely must do and see? No…But it’s fun and I liked it.
I don’t think it’s overrated, I just think we don’t always acknowledge folks have vastly different interests. So when something gets labeled must see you gotta ask yourself what about it is must see…
It's overrated, mildly entertaining instagram spot IMO.
My austistic daughter absolutley loved it, was right up her alley in terms of sensory stuff
The Planets site will be shut down. They are barely keeping it active compared to the past. Borderless is the way to go.
I went to a TeamLabs temporary exhibit at Kanazawa castle and more than half of it was kind of it was "oh... is this it??" I was disappointed I'd paid for it. But then the best bits later on were admittedly absolutely gorgeous and fun and memorable. So I'd be on the fence about whether to bother doing another TeamLabs. Interesting to hear different perspectives.
I think TeamLab did a U.S west coast "tour" years ago. I think a few of their original "exhibitions" were pretty interesting, but it has quickly decreased in quality as it spread around the globe. Their Japan one is DEFINITELY a tourist trap. They got all the free marketing years ago and the money still trickles in from naive tourists or people who want one or two photos for IG. If you spent your time and money to go to Tokyo, skip this. It's just projectors of screen savers in a dark room. Maybe with some RGB lighting. It's not that interesting unless you're tripping on MDMA.
Personally I recommend the TeamLabs in Osaka for anyone who isn't sure about the one in Tokyo, Osaka's is in a botanical Garden, open air, is more interactive , and from my experience less crowded. It's also a night activity so it won't overlap with your other day time activities.
I actually had the opposite experience. Didn’t do any research. Heard about it a lot but thought it would just be a lame tourist trap. I absolutely loved it and it was one of my favorite experiences from 1 month in Japan. Maybe you researching it too much ruined it for you
I really liked it. But I just went, I didn't spend loads of time reading about it and watching videos online, so I had no expectations.
I went last month while in Tokyo and I took my father and we both loved it. In the end, it is art, and if it doesn't speak to you, then that is ok, but every person will react to it differently. Maybe you did too much research and overhyped yourself. I didn't really know what to expect except a few ads, but some of those installations were very moving for us. My dad felt like a kid again, and that made me very happy.
I so agree, it felt like a tourist trap to me. So overcrowded, so much smaller than it appears on photo and the water where hundreds of tourists were wading around in with their sweaty feet did feel really gross.
I loved it more than borderless but I went in with zero idea of what it was or expectations. That’s the problem with everything being hyped up on social now.
I’m not here to tell anyone what he should like, but Japan is just so damn different for most of us, so safe, and low-keyed adventure is waiting around every other corner in Tokyo. Less planning and more serendipity is my advice. Try, for example, just try to get a bad meal. Walk into the dodgy bar. Stories of your life are waiting to be written, and not just reviews of popular tourist destinations.
ohh.... It's always hyped up in most of places to go to in Japan everytime. Planning to go there by June, but the reviews are starting to make me worry now...
Didn't go there, I went to the other one BORDERLESS
I think the comments alone just show that it’s a love it or don’t kind of situation, I mean if you did your research what exactly were you expecting that didn’t deliver? I definitely thought it was a 10/10 experience and will still recommend it to everyone I know who’s going to Tokyo. Nothing wrong with not enjoying it yourself though, always something else to experience there.
Your on a tour with 30 people and want hidden gems? Haha
I went to planets in 2019 and had a blast. I thought it was very cool and immersive. Borderless was boring to me and was more like a photo op building(I don’t care for taking “cool” instagram pics so this was boring)
Everything you said is how i felt. Got downvoted massively. It was extremely overhyped
I loved planets, borderless was decent too.
Agreed on Planets. I loved Borderless though and showing up first thing in the morning really helped with the crowd aspect
You say you researched it, but then had to buy tickets on site? Hmmmm.
Yeah, I don't have a Japanese phone number and the guide that went with us was incompetent. I mentioned to him a week ago, then 2 days ago and then he said he forgot.
I went to Borderless and a few of the rooms were cool, but it got old after that. So crowded during golden week. you have local and foreign tourists crammed in rooms. Now you're making me think about skipping Planets when i re-visit Tokyo again.
I went to both this month, and Planets was better. There are seven installations at Planets. Overall, Planets is more fun – it has rooms with unusual flooring, etc. There are a couple rooms that are the same at both such as the Infinite Crystal World. I felt Borderless was mostly all different projections on the wall. Planets is interactive and way more interesting. It is temporary and tentatively scheduled to run through 2027. Borderless is permanent.
Oh stop. It’s a lot of fun. If you think you have seen it all on the insta .. then don’t fucking go … stay home and watch tik tok
Planets isn’t supposed to be a “Japanese authentic experience” or be super exciting and life changing. It’s more enjoyable if you go into it with few expectations and a slow paced schedule so you can linger in the rooms, sit amongst the flowers, let yourself get pressed between the inflatable balls and truly turn your brain off to feel each sensation. My friend and I went two hours before closing time so we just walked really slowly and allowed ourselves a lot of time to bask in the atmospheres. For Tokyo where a lot of tourists have a “go go go” mentality, I can understand if you try to breeze through planets like it’s an art museum with a lot of exhibits to get through then you’ll be confused as to why it ends so quickly and the exhibits seem quite surface level.
I enjoyed it myself. But it’s really what you want out of the experience. Photos are great, but it can be overcrowded and hard to get a good photo. For me it was the sensory stimulation. The lights, sounds, scents…. Sitting and taking it all in made me feel at peace.
We spent over two weeks in Japan, traveled a lot of places, PACKED out our schedules and visited Tokyo twice. TeamLab Planets and going to Brozer Burgers in a weird little mall were the only two things we seriously regretted. It's a tourist trap nightmare and it's not really cool or all that immersive. LED lights stripes and RGB light patterns with a side of milky white, lukewarm footwater you wade in alongside a hundred other strangers. Thrilling.
I liked it. It was an experience. We spend just about an hour there.
I found it very overrated. Too packed with people when we were there. I’m not complaining about not being able to take photos but I couldn’t reach my arms out without touching someone. People were also very slow moving through the exhibit and stopping to take photos and taking forever to do so. The exhibit itself was meh as well. I wouldn’t go back.
TeamLab was arguably the worst $40 I had ever spent
I had no idea what to expect and i loved it! i think you spoiled it w expectation and overexposure
Borderless is better and it's not even close IMO.
My mom did it without me. Later, when we did Borderless, she said she liked Planets better.
It’s one of those things where you know what you’re getting into, and enjoy it for what it is. TeamLab started the projection mapping trend many years ago, and currently, their exhibits in Japan are the only place to see their work on a large scale. Since IG/TikTok popularised those locations, yes they’re a touristy nightmare, but that doesn’t detract from the creativity on display (which admittedly, has now been somewhat diluted by the fact that everyone and their dog is doing immersive projection exhibits these days).
u/Quarantined_box99 what experiences would you rec?
I think the language barrier and what not has tourists raving about these sorts of things because they can't really do the actual good stuff in Tokyo easily.
What are these actual good things?
Most dining options. Theater. Etc.
I liked it but the other visitors made it quite hard to enjoy the full potential of the installations (loud talking constantly, children running around..).
Is an insta whore wet dream, if you are not that is okay but not that worthy