Walking Through Water, Lights and Flowers at teamLab Planets Tokyo

Arriving at teamLab Planets TOKYO

I had one of the first entries, at 9am and hoped this would mean a quieter experience. However even that early, there was a large queue outside.

teamLab Planets is one of Tokyo’s most popular attractions, so I’d definitely recommend booking your tickets in advance. The queue looked big at first, but visitors were taken inside in large groups after a short safety demonstration, so it moved quicker than I expected.

Lockers, Shoes, and What to Wear at teamLab Planets

Before entering the main experience, everyone stops at the locker room,. Shoes are not allowed inside teamLab Planets, and once you begging walking through the exhibits, it quickly becomes obvious why.

There is plenty of locker space for shoes, bags and coats, so I’d recommend travelling as light as possible through the experience. I ended up leaving my main camera behind, a decision I made in part because I stupidly forgot to put a memory card in it. I blame the lack of sleep. At that point, it was basically dead weight anyway.

In the end, I was glad I didn’t bring too much with me. teamLab Planets involves walking through water, dark rooms, soft floors and uneven surfaces. So the less you carry, the easier it is to enjoy the experience. Thankfully teamLab were gracious enough to send me a few photos, so there’s a mix of mine and there’s on here.

I’d also recommend wearing trousers that you can easily roll up or shorts, as some sections involve walking through water. Avoid long trousers, long skirts or anything that might drag on the floor, as the water can come up to your mid calf or knees.

Walking Through Water

The first section took me into a dark hallway filled with water. The water flowed gently down a slope, illuminated by lights on either side, all of which led to a waterfall of light at the top.

This was only the beginning of the experience, but I have to admit it was one of my favourite parts. It felt calming, strange and completely different from anything I had done before. It immediately made teamLab Planets feel less like another one of those digital art exhibits and more like a world you were physically stepping into.

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

When I visited, one of the next rooms was titled Soft Black Hole – Your Body Becomes a Space that Influences Another Body. This was a dark room with soft black floors and walls that made every step feel unstable, almost as if the room was trying to pull you in. 

It was a fun and disorientating experience, although this particular installation has since closed. That’s worth keeping in mind when visiting teamLab Planets, as some spaces and artworks can change over time.

The Main Exhibits

Each room at teamLab Planets feels completely different from the last. I’ve visited a few immersive art exhibitions in the UK and abroad, but none felt quite as complete or ambitious as this.

What makes teamLab Planets stand out is that it engages more than just your sight. You walk through water, feel the floor shift beneath you, move through light, and interact with spaces that are forever changing around you.

Some rooms are calm and dreamlike, while others can feel a little dizzying or disorientating. It’s definitely not an experience you want to rush. The best way to enjoy it is to slow down, take your time, and let each room unfold around you.

The Water Area

Some of the most memorable rooms involve walking through water whilst artwork is drawn across the surface around you. I didn’t expect this though, so was initially confused when I stepped into a corridor filled with grey, murky water.

When I visited, I waded through the corridor of water and stepped into a room where I was surrounded by colourful fish. Swimming and circling around people as they walked through the room.

It was far more impressive than I expected. The way the installations reacted to the space made it feel like the artwork was alive, rather than simply being displayed around you. It was the perfect first major activity in Tokyo and immediately set the tone for the rest of my Japan Trip.

The Infinite Crystal Universe

One of the most visually impressive artworks was The Infinite Crystal Universe. This space is filled with mirrors and hanging strands of LED lights, creating the illusion of an endless world of colour and movement.

It’s one of the most popular photo spots inside teamLab Planets, and it’s easy to see why. Every direction seems to stretch on forever, and the lights constantly shift around you, making the whole space feel alive.

Athletics Forest

If you prefer a more active and interactive experience, Athletic Forest is one of the most fun areas at teamLab Planets.

This section feels more like a digital playground than a traditional art gallery, with obstacle courses, slides and interactive artworks created for both children and adults.

Some of the artworks respond as you move across them. There were balls you could balance on that changed colour when stepped on, along with artworks that allowed you to create sounds and music through touch and movement.

It might not have the same peaceful atmosphere as the water spaces or gardens, but it adds a completely different energy to the experience.

Sketch Umwelt World

One of the most charming artworks in this area was Graffiti Nature. You choose a drawing  template, colour it with crayons, and then watch your artwork come to life inside the space.

There were several templates to choose from, including planes, dolphins, hawks and other animals. I chose a dolphin, coloured it in, and then handed it to a member of staff, who scanned it into the system.

A few moments later, my dolphin appeared swimming across the floor and up onto the walls. I’ve seen similar ideas at other immersive exhibitions before, including a Van Gogh pop-up in London, but felt much more impressive.

Even as an adult, there was something genuinely magical about seeing a simple drawing suddenly become part of the artwork around me.

Catching and Collecting Extinct Forest

Catching and Collecting Extinct Forest was one of the most unique parts of teamLab Planets. It feels like stepping into a digital forest, with animals moving across the walls and reacting to the people around them. 

Using your smartphone, you can catch and collect different animals as they move through space. They don’t just feel like simple visuals on a loop either. If you get too close or touch them, they can run away.

Once you capture the animal, information about it is stored on your phone. When you’re ready, you can release it back into the wild and watch it return to the walls.

It’s a really clever way to combine art, interaction and education. The exhibit includes animals, as well as species that have gone extinct, making it a fun way to get people engaging with nature.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience the app properly as I had issues with the Wi-Fi. If I had known beforehand, I would have downloaded everything in advance. So my biggest tip here is simple: download the teamLab app before you visit.

The Gardens

The Garden area was my final section at teamLab Planets, and although it was smaller than the other areas, it included one of the most beautiful spaces of the whole experience.

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

The Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One was easily one of my favourite spaces. Thousands of real flowers hang from the ceiling, slowly moving up and down as you walk through the space.

With mirrored floors beneath you, the flowers seem to stretch endlessly in every direction. It’s peaceful, surreal and incredibly photogenic, and it would have made the perfect grand finale to my visit.

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

The final artwork visited was the Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms – Solidified Light Color, Dusk to Dawn. This outdoor-style space is filled with moss and large mirrored egg-shaped sculptures that wobble and resonate with sound when touched. 

It was interesting, and I liked how different it felt from the rest of the experience, but personally, I wish the order had been switched. The Floating Flower Garden felt like a much stronger ending, while the Moss Garden was more subtle and didn’t quite have the same wow moment.

Final Moments at teamLab Planets

After the Moss Garden, my time at teamLab Planets came to an end, I found a small coffee stand and grabbed a quick drink. I had also skipped breakfast and by that point was absolutely starving, so an ice cream somehow became my first proper food of the day.

From there, we headed towards Shinjuku, where we had some free time to explore before joining a food tour later that evening. As a first activity in Tokyo, teamLab Planets was a brilliant way to kick off the trip. It was weird, beautiful, disorientating and completely different from anything else I had planned in Japan.

Is teamLab Planets worth visiting?

Yes, I definitely think teamLab Planets is worth visiting, especially if this is your first trip to Tokyo or you enjoy immersive art experiences.

I’ve been to a few digital art exhibitions before, but teamLab Planets felt much more complete. The combination of water, mirrors, lights, flowers and interactive spaces made it feel less like a museum and more like stepping inside the artwork itself.

It is popular, and some areas can get busy, but I still found it to be one of the most memorable experiences from my time in Tokyo. If you’re planning a Japan itinerary and want something unique, photogenic and completely different from a traditional sightseeing stop, teamLab Planets is absolutely worth adding to your plans.