Disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you book through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Every price and rule below comes from teamLab’s official websites and official ticket stores (English and Japanese), checked on October 9, 2026.

Dollar amounts are approximate at $1 ≈ ¥158 (October 2026). You pay in yen.

teamLab Planets vs Borderless With Kids

Tokyo has two big teamLab museums, and parents planning a trip usually ask the same thing: which one should we do with kids?

The short version: Planets is easier with a toddler, and Borderless is better for kids who like to explore and can handle a long, dark, map-free wander. Both are timed-entry, both let under-4s in free, and both are good rainy-day backups. They differ on water, strollers, food rules and how long you can stay.

Quick answer

The two museums in one paragraph each

teamLab Planets TOKYO is in Toyosu, a minute’s walk from Shin-Toyosu Station on the Yurikamome line. You take your shoes off at the start and walk through a fixed route of huge rooms, some of them filled with water. It also has an Athletics Forest area with jumping, climbing and sliding artworks, plus a Future Park where kids color a creature on paper and watch it come alive on the wall. Planets is scheduled to close at the end of 2027.

teamLab Borderless is in the basement of Azabudai Hills, 2 minutes from Kamiyacho Station (Hibiya line). It calls itself “a museum without a map.” There’s no set route: artworks spill from room to room and you wander. It also has a Future Park with Sketch Ocean, where the fish kids draw swim across a digital sea, and the EN Tea House (one drink order per person).

Tickets and prices

Both use date-based pricing, and the adult price also changes by entry time. Child prices don’t change.

Planets tickets

The official ticket store’s calendar showed adult tickets from ¥4,800 (≈$30) for October and early November, from ¥4,200–¥4,400 (≈$27–$28) in late November, and from ¥3,800 (≈$24) in early December. Tickets are not sold on site. January tickets go on sale in late October.

Tickets bought on the official store can be moved to another date or time up to three times, until 2 hours before your slot. There are no refunds.

Borderless tickets

That ¥3,400 is the floor. On the official ticket site, adult prices for October and mid-November dates were ¥4,800–¥5,600 (≈$30–$35). Early December was ¥3,800–¥5,000 (≈$24–$32). Morning slots cost the most and evening slots the least. On October 14, an 8:30 a.m. entry was ¥5,600 and an 8:30 p.m. entry ¥4,800.

Buying at the door costs ¥200 more, if anything is left. On the dates I checked, the 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. slots were the first to sell out.

Where to buy

Borderless states that its only official sellers are its own ticket site and Klook. Planets’ official site also refers to Klook tickets alongside its own (for example, in its parking-discount rules). If you already use Klook for other parts of your trip, both are there. Check Klook’s own change and cancellation terms, which can differ from the official store’s.

Family of four: what it costs

Example: 2 adults, a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old, on an October weekday.

Doing both in October comes to roughly ¥22,200–¥23,800 (≈$141–$151). In early December, either one starts at about ¥9,100 (≈$58) for the same family.

Water, clothes and mirrors (Planets)

This is the part parents most need to know before Planets.

• Everyone goes barefoot. You take off shoes, socks and tights in the locker area.
• The water can reach an adult’s knees. On a small child, that’s well above the waist.
• Dress kids in clothes that can get wet, or bring a full change. Staff won’t let you into the next room in dripping clothes; towels are available to rent.
• Rolled-up pants beat skirts. Some floors are mirrors. Free rental shorts (sizes XS to 6L) and wraps are available; return them on the way out.
• The koi-pond artwork isn’t open to anyone with an inseam under 40 cm, unless a parent carries them or wears them in a carrier.
• The water is chlorinated and filtered, and it’s not for swimming.

Borderless has no wading, but it also has mirrored floors. Wrap skirts are available near those artworks.

Strollers, carriers and lockers

Planets: strollers and lockers

• No strollers inside. Park it outside the building and lock it with the wire lock provided.
• Front baby carriers are allowed.
• Free lockers after the entrance gate, 23 × 34 × 37 cm. That’s daypack size, not suitcase size. Larger bags get wire-locked in the stroller area.
• Diaper tables are in the restrooms. For nursing or a rest, ask staff for the first-aid room.
• Detour routes let families skip rooms a child finds scary. Ask any staff member.
• One adult per three children, counting free under-4s. Two parents with four kids is fine; one parent with four isn’t.

Borderless: strollers and lockers

• No strollers inside. They go in the luggage room.
• No child harnesses, for safety reasons.
• Free lockers. Items over 50 cm can’t go in.
• No nursing room inside. Use the ones in Azabudai Hills. There are two rest areas inside the museum.
• One adult per five children (elementary age and under, free kids included).

Dark rooms, crowds and how long you’ll stay

Both museums are dark in places, with bright, flashing light in others. Borderless also warns about uneven floors and low ceilings and asks parents to keep a close eye on small children. Planets asks you to never let go of your child’s hand.

Borderless has no time limit. Stay all day if your kids are happy. That’s the main reason it suits older kids: there’s always another room.

Planets has a route. The time on your ticket is your entry time, not a time limit. But staff may ask people who stay long in one room to move on when it’s busy. Planets also warns that entry can take 30 to 60 minutes at busy times, so the queue counts toward your toddler’s patience.

Neither venue gives an official visit length.

No re-entry at either. Use the restroom and have a snack before you go in. Borderless doesn’t allow any food inside, candy and gum included; capped drinks are fine.

Which one for which kid?

Choose Planets if:

• your child is under 4 (water, a set route, a first-aid room for nursing, and detours if a room is too much)
• you have a short window: one route, then out
• your kids love water play and you can dress for it

Choose Borderless if:

• your kids are roughly 5 or older and like to explore
• you want to stay as long as you like
• you’d rather not deal with wet clothes, or it’s cold out
• an evening slot fits your day: it’s often the cheapest time

Doing both? Many families do. If you only have time for one with a toddler, the Reddit advice matches the official rules: Planets is the easier pick.

Combining with nearby sights

Planets (Toyosu):

• Toyosu Market is one stop away at Shijo-mae Station, about a 5-minute walk from Planets. Market days and visiting hours vary, so check the market’s own calendar.
• Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu is a shopping mall nearby. On weekdays, show your same-day Planets ticket there for an hour of free parking.
• A paid shuttle bus runs between GINZA SIX and Planets. teamLab warns that the public bus (To-05-2) from Tokyo Station, Ginza and Tsukiji is very crowded, so the Yurikamome line or the shuttle is the calmer choice with a stroller.

Borderless (Azabudai Hills):

• You’re inside Azabudai Hills, so food, restrooms and nursing rooms are right there for before and after.
• Kamiyacho Station connects underground, so on a rainy day you barely go outside.

From the airports, Borderless is about 40 minutes from Haneda by train (Keikyu, then the Hibiya line). If you’re going straight from a flight, my Narita and Haneda arrival guide has the options, and luggage forwarding keeps suitcases out of the lockers, which only take daypacks.

Two simple half-day plans

Toddler morning at Planets. Planets opens at 8:00 a.m., earlier than most Tokyo sights, which suits kids who wake up with jet lag. Take the Yurikamome line to Shin-Toyosu, park the stroller, change kids into shorts in the locker area, and go through the water rooms while everyone is fresh. Afterward, dry off and walk to Toyosu Market or LaLaport Toyosu for lunch and a nap in the stroller.

Evening at Borderless with older kids. Book a late-afternoon or evening slot: it’s usually the cheapest time, and there’s no time limit, so kids can keep exploring until they’re done. Eat in Azabudai Hills first, since no food is allowed inside. The station connects underground, which makes the trip back to the hotel easy on a cold or rainy night.

FAQ from parents

“Planets or Borderless with a 4-year-old?” Planets. It’s less of a maze, there’s a water area kids love, and there are detours for rooms that feel too intense. That matches what Tokyo-savvy parents said on Reddit.

“Do we need to book ahead?” Yes. Planets doesn’t sell tickets on site at all. Borderless sometimes does (¥200 extra), but popular morning slots sell out. Book a specific time online before you go.

“Is it a good rainy-day plan?” Mostly. Borderless is indoors and underground-connected to the station. Planets has an open-air garden section, and its moss garden artwork closes in heavy rain or typhoon-level wind.

“Our baby will probably sleep through it. Is it worth it?” One Reddit parent went to Borderless for the baby and ended up loving it themselves, then did Planets too. Under-4s are free, so it costs nothing extra to bring them. Use a carrier, because strollers stay outside.

“Can grandparents or a pregnant parent come?” Yes, but both museums keep pregnant visitors out of some areas for safety, and both have dark, uneven spots. Ask staff about routes when you arrive.

Before you go: teamLab with kids checklist

1. Pick the museum by your youngest child’s age (Planets under 4, either for 5+).
2. Book a timed ticket on the official store or Klook. At Borderless, evening slots cost less.
3. Check closing days: Planets closes November 5 and December 3; Borderless closes October 20, November 24 and December 8.
4. Dress for water at Planets: shorts or roll-up pants, no skirts, and a full change of clothes for each child.
5. Bring a carrier for under-2s. Strollers stay outside at both.
6. Pack light. Lockers fit a daypack, not a suitcase.
7. Feed everyone first. No re-entry, and no food inside.
8. Count adults: 1 per 3 kids at Planets, 1 per 5 at Borderless.

Prices, closing days and rules were checked on teamLab’s official sites and official ticket stores on October 9, 2026. Prices change by date and entry time, so check the Planets and Borderless pages for your day.