Visitor Numbers at Digital Art Venues and Immersive Exhibitions: Official Figures from teamLab, ARTE MUSEUM and Touring Shows

How many people visit digital art venues and immersive exhibitions that envelop spaces in video and light? On February 12, 2026, teamLab announced that its two Tokyo venues drew about 4.2 million visitors in 2025. In the art publication The Art Newspaper’s survey of 2025 attendance, these two venues appeared in the same table as the Tokyo National Museum and others. This article sorts out visitor numbers for venues and exhibitions published in 2025–2026, along with who announced them, the periods covered and how they were counted. We do not rank figures that come from different sources or use different counting methods.

Visitor numbers are one indicator of the place such venues occupy in tourism and in the city. teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills says about 70% of its visitors are international tourists, and teamLab Biovortex Kyoto about 44%. National statistics, on the other hand, publish only aggregate figures, so figures for individual venues depend on announcements by each company or organizer. How these venues are treated in national statistics is covered in our article on the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ opinion survey and museum statistics.

The Art Newspaper’s attendance survey: teamLab’s two venues and Japanese museums

Each year, The Art Newspaper compiles the previous year’s attendance at art museums around the world. The 2025 edition was published on March 31, 2026 as “The world’s 100 most visited art museums in 2025.” All figures were supplied by the museums themselves. Museums that did not provide data in line with the paper’s criteria, or could not be reached, are not included in the table, and the paper describes the rankings as being for convenience.

Museums with multiple buildings are listed separately by building. The paper notes that figures for China’s state-run museums are not published in time for the survey. Extracting the Japanese venues from the top-150 table in the paper’s April 2026 issue (No. 388) gives the following (2025 attendance; change from 2024 in parentheses).

• Tokyo National Museum: 2,576,118 (up 6%)

• teamLab Planets TOKYO (teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM): 2,516,719 (up 3%)

• Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum: 1,715,830 (down 14%)

• teamLab Borderless: MORI Building (MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless): 1,691,075 (up 18%)

• The National Museum of Western Art: 1,648,112 (up 21%)

• The National Art Center, Tokyo: 1,322,716 (down 25%)

• Yokohama Museum of Art: 815,931 (no comparison with 2024 given)

• Nara National Museum: 799,830 (up 47%)

In the table’s rankings, the Tokyo National Museum placed 23rd, teamLab Planets TOKYO 24th and teamLab Borderless: MORI Building 42nd. The top spot went to the Louvre in Paris, with 9,046,000 visitors. In closing the article, the paper observes that while 2024 had been the year of immersive exhibitions, 2025 appeared to bring a full return of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.

Attendance at permanent venues: teamLab, ARTE MUSEUM, Lumières and more

Permanent venues often announce annual figures or cumulative milestones. The main announcements in 2025–2026 are as follows. Each venue’s admission and dates are summarized in our guide to teamLab venues and elsewhere.

• teamLab’s two Tokyo venues: According to teamLab’s announcement (February 12, 2026), 2025 attendance was about 2.51 million at teamLab Planets and about 1.69 million at teamLab Borderless, for a total of about 4.2 million, based on ticket-purchaser data from each venue’s official website (January 1 – December 31, 2025). PLANETS Inc. announced on October 17, 2025 that cumulative attendance at Planets had passed 10 million, based on ticket-purchaser data from the official website from its opening on July 7, 2018 to October 12, 2025.

• teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills): teamLab announced on August 3, 2026 that visitors had passed 4 million on July 31, about two years and five months after the venue reopened at its new location. About 70% are said to be international tourists from more than 185 countries and regions. A note cites ticket-purchaser data from the official website (survey period: February 9, 2024 – June 30, 2026).

• teamLab Biovortex Kyoto: The venue’s limited liability partnership announced on October 6, 2026 that more than 1.3 million people from 167 countries and regions had visited in its first year, based on ticket-purchaser data from the official website (October 7, 2025 – October 4, 2026). About 44% were international tourists, and the average stay was more than 2 hours 30 minutes.

• ARTE MUSEUM: South Korea’s d’strict, which runs it, said in announcements on June 22 and September 29, 2026 that cumulative attendance worldwide had passed 12 million. Its venues are in eight cities around the world, including Jeju, New York and Dubai. The date and method of the count were not given. The venue the company calls its first in Japan is scheduled to open in Chita, Aichi Prefecture, on November 18.

• Lumières: TV Asahi announced on September 25, 2025 that cumulative attendance for the Culturespaces series stood at more than 21.5 million (nine venues in five countries), without stating the date or method. The 10th venue, “Rêve des Lumières powered by EPSON,” opened at TOKYO DREAM PARK in Ariake, Tokyo, on June 12, 2026. On July 12, TV Asahi announced that cumulative attendance at TOKYO DREAM PARK as a whole, which opened on March 27, had passed 1 million. It did not give a figure for Rêve des Lumières alone.

• Immersive Journey: CinemaLeap Inc. announced on October 19, 2026 that cumulative domestic attendance at its large-scale VR experience venues, Immersive Journey, had passed 350,000 since the first opened in Yokohama in December 2024. Its September 17 announcement had said “more than 300,000,” without giving the period, a breakdown by venue or the counting method.

Overseas, the operator of Sphere, the spherical venue in Las Vegas, announced on September 25, 2026 that ticket sales for its film experience “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” had passed 4 million. In May 2024, Meow Wolf in the US said its exhibitions had drawn close to 10 million visitors.

Some announcements give no figures at all. On December 25, 2025, Katana Inc. announced that Immersive Fort Tokyo in Odaiba would close on February 28, 2026. Neither that announcement nor the closing message posted on the venue’s official website gave attendance figures. Venue openings and closures are compiled in our timeline of immersive venues in Japan.

Attendance at touring exhibitions and Expo pavilions: announcements at closing and at milestones

For exhibitions with a fixed run, figures are sometimes given at closing or in later announcements. On September 14, 2026, the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation announced that “Galaxy Express 999 THE GALAXY EXPERIENCE” at the Kadokawa Culture Museum would be extended to November 23, but gave no attendance figures. The main examples in which figures were given are as follows.

• NAKED meets Gaudí: In the company profile included in NAKED, INC.’s press materials of September 10, 2026, the exhibition is said to have drawn 330,000 visitors. No dates, venues or counting method are given.

• null² (Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai): Sustainable Pavilion 2025 Inc. announced on October 9, 2026 that a cumulative total of about 530,000 people experienced “null²” during the Expo. The venue’s official website gives the figure as 540,000. On October 14, the company opened the permanent venue “null²ⁿ” on the 5th floor of Yokohama Landmark Plaza.

• Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai as a whole: Council materials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (June 2026) put attendance over the 184 days from April 13 to October 13, 2025 at about 29.02 million. Excluding entries with accreditation (AD) passes, the figure is about 25.58 million; the figures are based on Expo IDs.

Differences in counting: ticket-purchaser data, cumulative headcounts and figures supplied by museums

The figures so far are consistent in neither counting method nor period. teamLab’s venues cite ticket-purchaser data from their official websites. null²’s roughly 530,000 is a cumulative headcount, while the roughly 29.02 million for the Expo as a whole is based on Expo IDs. The Art Newspaper’s table uses figures supplied by each museum, and the paper’s notes do not explain how each museum counts.

The periods covered fall into calendar years (teamLab’s 2025 figures, The Art Newspaper’s survey), cumulative totals since opening (Planets, Borderless, ARTE MUSEUM, Lumières) and exhibition runs (touring exhibitions, the Expo). The announcements by ARTE MUSEUM, Lumières, Immersive Journey and NAKED do not state how the figures were tallied.

The national Social Education Survey has museums enter their total admissions as “the number of people who entered during the fiscal year, counted per person,” and adds participants in courses and lectures to arrive at the number of users. Because it is divided by fiscal year, its periods also differ from those in venue announcements. Given these differences, this article does not compare and rank figures from different sources. Comparisons are possible only between figures from the same survey using the same criteria, such as within The Art Newspaper’s table. We have sorted out figures for light events in the same way in our article on the attendance and economic impact of light events.

Editor’s perspective

Venues choose both the timing and the form of their attendance announcements. teamLab releases annual figures and cumulative milestones, and touring exhibitions give figures at closing or in later announcements. On the other hand, there are cases like Immersive Fort Tokyo, which closed without giving figures. Only a few sources, such as The Art Newspaper’s table, in which each museum responds according to the paper’s criteria, line venues up within the same survey.

Announcements that go as far as giving the share of international tourists or length of stay provide material for discussion in connection with tourism policy. Most of them, however, rely on each venue’s own criteria, such as ticket-purchaser data. To avoid mistaken comparisons, anyone citing these figures should state the source, the period covered and the counting method alongside them.

Data sources and methodology

• The Art Newspaper, “The world’s 100 most visited art museums in 2025” (March 31, 2026), and the top-150 table in the paper’s April 2026 issue (No. 388): covers 2025 (calendar year). Figures supplied by each museum. Museums that did not provide data in line with the criteria or could not be reached are not included. Rankings are for convenience. Museums with multiple buildings are listed by building.

• teamLab (February 12, 2026): 2025 attendance at the two Tokyo venues. Ticket-purchaser data from the official websites, January 1 – December 31, 2025.

• PLANETS Inc. (October 17, 2025): cumulative attendance at teamLab Planets since opening. Ticket-purchaser data from the official website, July 7, 2018 – October 12, 2025.

• teamLab (August 3, 2026): cumulative 4 million at teamLab Borderless (July 31, 2026). The note cites ticket-purchaser data from the official website, survey period February 9, 2024 – June 30, 2026.

• teamLab Biovortex Kyoto Limited Liability Partnership (October 6, 2026): more than 1.3 million in the first year. Ticket-purchaser data from the official website, October 7, 2025 – October 4, 2026.

• d’strict (June 22 and September 29, 2026): cumulative worldwide attendance at ARTE MUSEUM of more than 12 million (venues in eight cities worldwide). No date or method stated.

• TV Asahi Corporation (September 25, 2025, and July 12, 2026): cumulative attendance for the Lumières series of more than 21.5 million (no date or method stated); cumulative 1 million for TOKYO DREAM PARK as a whole (from its opening on March 27, 2026 to July 12; no method stated).

• CinemaLeap Inc. (September 17 and October 19, 2026): more than 300,000 domestically for Immersive Journey (September 17), and a domestic cumulative total of over 350,000 since the Yokohama opening in December 2024 (October 19). No method stated.

• NAKED, INC. (September 10, 2026): 330,000 for NAKED meets Gaudí (in the company profile). No dates or method stated.

• Sustainable Pavilion 2025 Inc. (October 9, 2026) and the venue’s official website: for null², the press materials give a cumulative total of “about 530,000” people who experienced it during the Expo, while the official website says 540,000 people encountered it in Osaka.

• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry council materials, “Summary of the Results and Outcomes of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai (Draft)” (June 2026): Expo attendance of about 29.02 million (including entries with AD passes) and about 25.58 million (excluding them). Based on Expo IDs. The Expo ran from April 13 to October 13, 2025.

• Katana Inc. (December 25, 2025) and the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation (September 14, 2026): announcements of the closure and of the extended run, respectively. No attendance figures given.

• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, “Fiscal 2024 Social Education Survey Manual [Museum Survey]”: used to confirm how total admissions are entered.

Frequently asked questions

What are visitor numbers for venues and exhibitions based on?

It differs by announcement. teamLab’s venues base their figures on ticket-purchaser data from their official websites; null²’s roughly 530,000 is a cumulative headcount; and the roughly 29.02 million for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai is based on Expo IDs. The announcements by ARTE MUSEUM, Lumières, Immersive Journey and NAKED do not say how they counted.

Can venues be compared using The Art Newspaper’s rankings?

The figures in the same table were supplied by each museum according to the paper’s criteria. However, the paper describes the rankings as being for convenience and does not note how each museum counts. Museums that did not provide data in line with the criteria are not in the table, so venues in it cannot be compared with those that are not.

Are there venues that do not publish visitor numbers?

Within what we checked for this article, neither the closure announcement for Immersive Fort Tokyo nor its closing message gave attendance figures. For Rêve des Lumières, too, TV Asahi’s announcement gave the figure for TOKYO DREAM PARK as a whole and not for the venue alone.

Articles organized by each stage of planning are gathered in our guide for those planning projection mapping and light events.

How touring exhibitions are organized and what venues need are covered in our guide to attracting and hosting touring immersive exhibitions.

*Top image: “WAVE” at ARTE MUSEUM JEJU (from d’strict’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements and public materials from each agency and organizer (as of October 22, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team

A note from the publisher

*Disclosure: Among the events covered in this article, the Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition and the Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition are planned and produced by HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE (About us).

Attendance at the Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition and the Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition

• Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition: HITOHATA, INC. announced on September 23, 2026 that cumulative attendance for the series had reached more than 700,000 across 11 cities in Japan and abroad. The only venue-specific figure given was 150,000 for Paris (March 19 – August 23, 2026), and no counting method was stated.

• Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition: HITOHATA, INC. announced on October 15, 2026 that cumulative attendance at its three venues had passed 300,000: more than 120,000 in Nagoya (July 19 – September 23, 2025), more than 110,000 in Tokyo (March 27 – June 28, 2026) and more than 80,000 in Kagoshima (July 3 – August 31, 2026). No counting method was stated.

Sources: HITOHATA, INC.’s announcements (August 28, September 23 and October 15, 2026).

HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE, plans, directs, produces and operates projection mapping at National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, World Heritage Sites and urban landmarks, as well as immersive exhibitions. Planning for events intended to draw visitors and benefit the local area is also within the scope of its consultations. Inquiries, including those at the stage before a budget is set, are accepted through HITOHATA, INC.’s contact form (which has an option for local government and public projects). The company’s past work is introduced on HITOHATA, INC.’s project portfolio page.