Discover teamLab in Kyoto

The Kyoto teamLab museum is the largest teamLab installation in Japan, with 50+ different works from the beloved art collective, including brand new works, as well as some of their most popular immersive art installations, similar to those in teamLab Planets TOKYO and teamLab Borderless. Officially called “teamLab Biovortex Kyoto,” the dark interior of this multi-floor immersive art museum feels like a delightful labyrinth, built for blissful wandering, allowing visitors to simply stumble upon one unique experiential artwork after another. There’s not really a map, and that’s by design – this is the kind of destination where it’s fun to feel a little lost.

So what should you be looking for? More than half a million visitors visited teamLab Biovortex Kyoto in the five months after its grand opening in October 2025 – here’s a glimpse at why you might want to join them.

teamLab Biovortex Kyoto Highlights

As a “Biovortex,” this art museum encourages you to explore your own sense of perception and what it means to exist in each space, allowing you to lose yourself in spells of darkness before shocking your senses with lights, sounds, scents, and other sensations. Artworks move, change, and seem to evolve like living creatures. The experience is all over the place in the best possible way, but in order to set each scene – calm and contemplative, active and playful, or somewhat mind-bending – there are a few zones that separate the physical space.

“Underground”

A classic teamLab space, the underground floor is reminiscent of Tokyo’s teamLab Borderless, as flowers cover the walls, streams of light follow your path on the floor, and dark doorways act as portals to other worlds of art. Busy travelers who only have time to visit one teamLab museum may be pleased to see the iconic string lights of “Infinite Crystal World” here, as well as the floral menagerie of “Nirvana: Fleeting Flowers” and one of teamLab’s mirrored spaces full of hanging lamps, “Forest of Resonating Lamps.”

The Japankuru team is always charmed by the interactive magic of “What a Loving, and Beautiful World.”

If you’re looking for something new, you need to see “Morphing Continuum” – although “see” might not be the right word to describe how you experience this installation. The art itself is created using a special environment, manipulating the energy in the space to sweep mountains of shining spheres into moving sculptures, ever-changing, with each sphere constantly interacting with other spheres as well as the people in the room. Be prepared to get bopped in the face by a few balloons. Be prepared to like it. Being in the space is a sensory overload, with so many moving parts, and multiple patterns of movement. Some people might find it overwhelming, but if you can let yourself enjoy the experience, it’s beautiful.

Travel Tip: If a specific exhibit looks crowded or has a long line, just come back later. People come in waves, and it’s easier to enjoy these enclosed spaces (and take nice pictures) with fewer people around.

New Experiences in “Sculpture and Painting”

Head upstairs, and you’ll find the “Sculpture and Painting” floor, where the spaces are more distinct, separated by black corridors. The standout works on this floor are new for Kyoto, and they require extra gear, too!

Put on a mask (provided for free), and consider purchasing (or bringing along) a poncho for “Massless Amorphous Sculpture,” because things are about to get sticky. The sculptural elements in this room are made of foamy chunks of soap bubbles, which form masses in corners, float overhead, and clump together to form statuesque shapes, weightless in the air above. Visitors can gently play with the foam, and may find themselves ducking to avoid “sculptures” that are about to float right into their head, so it can feel a little messy – fortunately, there’s a clean-up room where you can give your hands a good rinse at the end.

The other “Sculpture and Painting” floor highlight is “Transient Abstract Life and Return,” which is split in three. After passing the colorful moving pools of the first section, you can walk on a glass platform above a beautifully roiling floor of metallic liquid. On the other side, you can slip on a pair of tall rubber boots to step right into the liquid, and watch as the golden solution traces your path through the small room. It feels a little like stepping foot into a fantasy flick.

“Megaliths”

The “Megaliths” floor combines the jutting structures of teamLab’s glowing “Megaliths in the Open Universe with real plant life (“Eternal Existence in the Sun and Rain”) to create one central area, designed to feel somehow ancient and futuristic at the same time, but the floor also has a number of pieces hidden in corners or down dark hallways.

Look for the tiny “Massless Sun and Surface of the Sky” to give yourself the experience of holding a minuscule sun in the palm of your hand, then walk through “Living Crystallized Light” to better understand what it must feel like to be Zeus, causing bolts of lightning with each heavy footstep.

Athletics Forest (& Future Park)

If you’re visiting with hyperactive kids, or you can relate to hyperactive kids yourself, the Athletics Forest answers the question “what if the teamLab art collective were to create a playground?” There are hills and valleys to scrabble around on, covered with skittering salamanders and fluttering butterflies, as well as artworks like jungle gyms and trampoline races.

It makes sense to spend your time on whatever calls out to you in this space, but the Japankuru team can particularly recommend “Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House,” where you’ll find yourself giggling as you bounce between bumps covering the floor and walls.

We also loved a work that teamLab describes as “a slide where fruit grows,” officially titled “Sliding through the Fruit Field.”

The Athletics Forest shares a floor with the Future Park, a creativity corner largely filled with the kind of small-scale interactive artwork that you might find in a fun children’s museum. Visitors young and old alike are generally delighted by “Sketch Ocean” (as well as the similar “Graffiti Nature and Beating Earth” in the Athletics Forest), where you can color in the creature of your choice, scan it, and see your own drawing come to life as it swims across the wall (or slithers across the ground). If you’re pleased with your design, you can actually have it printed onto a magnet, tote bag, or other item at the “Sketch Factory” on the way out.

Plan Your Visit to teamLab Biovortex Kyoto

How Do I Get There?

Hand it to the teamLab team – the location of their Kyoto museum was clearly chosen with a thought for the many travelers adding it to their busy plans. The building is just down the street from Kyoto Station, about 7 minutes away on foot, and easily walkable even with a suitcase. (You’ll find places to lock up suitcases big and small in the locker room.)

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How Do I Get Tickets?

All of teamLab’s museums use timed entry systems, and popular times often sell out days ahead of time, especially on weekends and holidays. Tickets go on sale about two months ahead of time, so we recommend snapping up your desired slot as soon as you know when that is! Day-of tickets are sometimes available, but there’s really no guarantee. If you’re not entirely sure when you want to visit, the best method is to purchase your tickets from the official website – in general, tickets can’t be canceled/changed, but tickets bought via the official ticketing site may allow date changes within limits.

Travel Tip: Got a flexible schedule? Ticket prices are dynamic and vary depending on the date and time. Look for a less popular time slot to save a few yen!

How Much Time Do I Need for teamLab in Kyoto?

If you find yourself wondering where to fit teamLab’s newest large-scale installation into your Kyoto travel itinerary, we recommend giving yourself plenty of time to explore. The art is spread across a 10,000+ m2 footprint, and it’s no fun to rush through it all. We recommend scheduling 2 hours at the very least – the Japankuru team easily spend 4, just moving through all the different areas.

Final Tips for Adding teamLab Biovortex Kyoto to Your Trip

Immersive, maze-like, and always ready to reward curiosity – teamLab Biovortex Kyoto is a massive place with so much to experience, so give yourself time to wander and lean into the surprises around every dark corridor. From balloon-swirling sensory artworks to low-key coloring time in the Athletics Forest and Future Park, it’s a standout stop for first-timers and long-time teamLab fans alike. Book your ticket early, aim for a quieter slot if you want better photos, and plan for at least two hours – though four won’t feel like too much once you’re inside!

▶︎ Find more tips for your Kyoto travel itinerary here!

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