Tokyo will gain another key tourism attraction, with the opening of teamLab Borderless at recently-constructed multi-use complex Azabudai Hills, on February 9.
The popular museum, self-defined as “a world of artworks without boundaries”, has been relocated to its new, permanent central Tokyo location from Odaiba, near Tokyo Bay, where it was operational from 2018 to 2022.
The space in Mori Building’s Digital Art Museum will house three new installations designed to offer visitors interactive and immersive experiences: Bubble Universe – Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light; Flowers and People; and Black Waves. Each has been created by teamLab, the art collective behind teamLab’s attractions globally.
The group of artworks “will evolve, moving into more spaces, connecting in more complex ways, eternally changing and creating one borderless world”, said a spokesperson for teamLab Borderless. “As people immerse their body in this borderless art, they wander, explore and discover.”
Interest has been high among international tourists since tickets went on sale on January 16, with many eager to secure their attendance given the popularly of teamLab attractions in recent years. Tickets are priced at 3,800 yen (US$26) per person.
In 2023, around 2.5 million people from 198 countries, including Japan, visited teamLab Planets, in Tokyo’s Toyosu district, with international travellers accounting for 70 per cent of the total, according to data from Honichi Lab. Due to the attraction’s popularity, it will remain open until 2027, an extension of four years.
Property management firm Mori Building, creator of host building Azabudai Hills, has expressed hope that teamLab Borderless will “stimulate visitors’ senses and foster culture”.
“As the importance placed on wellness grows, culture and art are becoming increasingly crucial elements that enrich people’s lives – Mori Building aims to create a museum-like city where art and culture come together,” said a company spokesperson.
