[Timeline] Immersive Museums and Digital Art Venues in Japan, from the Odaiba Opening to 2027

Digital art venues and immersive exhibitions that envelop a space in images, sound and light have spread to cities and regions across Japan over the past decade or so. In Odaiba, Tokyo, teamLab Borderless opened in June 2018, closed in August 2022 and moved to Azabudai Hills in February 2024. In 2026, a Lumières venue opened in Ariake, and Immersive Fort Tokyo in Odaiba closed. Based on official announcements by each venue and organizer, this article sets out, year by year, the openings, closures and relocations of permanent and long-term venues, along with the main immersive exhibitions that toured the country.

These venues are places for art and, at the same time, tourist destinations. At Azabudai, teamLab Borderless passed 4 million visitors on July 31, 2026, about 70% of them international visitors (teamLab announcement). More than 1.3 million people visited teamLab Biovortex Kyoto in its first year, about 44% of them from overseas (announcement by the operating partnership). Meanwhile, teamLab Planets in Toyosu is scheduled to close at the end of 2027, and venues continue to come and go.

Besides permanent and long-term venues, the timeline includes exhibitions that toured several cities. Dates and names follow each official announcement; where the exact date could not be confirmed, we give only the month or season.

Timeline: Digital art and immersive venues in Japan (2015–2027)

2015

• March 21: teamLab Gallery Matama Beach (Bungotakada, Oita Prefecture) opens as a permanent gallery

2017

• April 1: The restaurant “MoonFlower Sagaya Ginza, Art by teamLab” (Ginza, Tokyo), featuring teamLab works, opens

2018

• June 21: teamLab Borderless (MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM, Odaiba, Tokyo) opens. It welcomed about 2.3 million visitors in its first year (organizer’s figure)

• July 7: teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM (Toyosu, Tokyo) opens. It welcomed more than 1.25 million visitors in its first year (organizer’s figure)

2020

• July 21: teamLab Forest Fukuoka – SBI SECURITIES (Fukuoka) opens

2021

• November 10: teamLab Ruins and Heritage: Rinkan Spa & Tea Ceremony (Mifuneyama Rakuen, Takeo, Saga Prefecture) begins. A permanent exhibition combining sauna and art

2022

• July 29: teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka (Nagai Botanical Garden, Osaka) opens. A permanent exhibition set in the botanical garden at night

• August 31: teamLab Borderless in Odaiba closes

2023

• December 15: teamLab Future Park Okinawa (T Galleria Okinawa, Naha) opens as a permanent exhibition

2024

• February 9: teamLab Borderless relocates to Azabudai Hills (Minato City, Tokyo) and opens as “MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless”

• March: Immersive Fort Tokyo (Odaiba, Tokyo) opens. According to Katana Inc., it made temporary use of the former VenusFort site and was operated as one of Japan’s largest immersive entertainment facilities

• July 10: Immersive Museum’s “Impressionism and Ukiyo-e” opens at Bellesalle Shinjuku Minamiguchi (Tokyo) (through October 29)

• October 5: teamLab: Field of Wind, Rain and Sun (Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture) begins. A permanent exhibition set in a field created by demolishing part of a factory site, and in a café within it

• December: The large-scale VR experience facility “Immersive Journey” opens in Yokohama (CinemaLeap Inc. announcement)

2025

• January 22: teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM expands its floor area by about 1.5 times and unveils more than 20 new works (PLANETS announcement)

• April 26: “Immersive Digital Art Theater: Ukiyo-e RE:BORN” begins at the Kadokawa Culture Museum (Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture) (through March 16, 2026). It uses 33 high-brightness projectors

• May 31: “Immersive Museum OSAKA” opens in Osaka (through September 5, except June 24 – July 3)

• October 7: teamLab Biovortex Kyoto (Minami Ward, Kyoto) opens, with more than 50 groups of works across a total floor area of about 10,000 m²

• Winter: THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA by TOYOTA GROUP (Yamashita Pier Shed No. 4, Yokohama) opens. One of the first programs listed on its official website, “Vienna Fin-de-Siècle Art: The Golden Age of Beauty,” runs from December 20 to June 28, 2026

2026

• January: “Immersive Journey Nagoya” opens (CinemaLeap announcement)

• February 28: Immersive Fort Tokyo closes. Katana Inc. explained that it had judged the facility to be too large

• April 25: “Galaxy Express 999 THE GALAXY EXPERIENCE” begins at the Kadokawa Culture Museum (through November 23). It uses 32 4K laser projectors

• June 12: “RÊVE DES LUMIÈRES powered by EPSON” (8th floor of TOKYO DREAM PARK, Ariake, Tokyo) opens. It is the 10th venue in the Lumières series run by France’s Culturespaces

• October 24: “Impressionist Monet and Ukiyo-e: The Japanese Beauty That Captivated Monet” begins at THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA (through March 31, 2027)

• November 18: “Arte Museum Nagoya” (Chita, Aichi Prefecture) is scheduled to open. It is the ninth ARTE MUSEUM run by South Korea’s d’strict, and the first in Japan

• Late December: “Immersive Journey Osaka” (Hilton Plaza East 8F, Nishi-Umeda, Osaka) is scheduled to open (CinemaLeap announcement)

2027

• Early in the year: The experiential art center “Superblue Kyoto” (Minami Ward, Kyoto, next to teamLab Biovortex Kyoto) is scheduled to open

• March: Immersive Journey is scheduled to open in Hiroshima (CinemaLeap announcement, October 19, 2026)

• End of the year: teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM is scheduled to close

2028 and beyond

• January 2032: “teamLab TOKYO (tentative name)” is scheduled to open on Block 1-7 of the Ariake North district in the Rinkai Fukutoshin waterfront sub-center, run by a business partnership in which teamLab Inc. serves as the representative member. Block 1-6 follows from July 2033, and each is to operate for 10 years (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Port and Harbor announcement)

Major venues and exhibitions by visitor numbers

Below are the visitor numbers published by each venue or organizer. All are organizers’ figures, and the counting periods and methods differ.

• teamLab Borderless (Odaiba): about 2.3 million in its first year

• teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM: more than 1.25 million from 106 countries and regions in its first year

• teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills): passed 4 million on July 31, 2026; about 70% were international visitors from more than 185 countries and regions

• teamLab Biovortex Kyoto: more than 1.3 million from 167 countries and regions in its first year; about 44% were international visitors

Editor’s perspective: Going permanent, relocating and arriving from overseas

Two trends emerge from the timeline. The first is the turnover between time-limited and permanent venues. In Odaiba, teamLab Borderless closed and reopened at Azabudai Hills about a year and a half later. Immersive Fort Tokyo, which made temporary use of the former VenusFort site, closed after about two years. teamLab Planets in Toyosu is also slated to run only until the end of 2027, while “teamLab TOKYO (tentative name)” in Ariake is planned to operate for 10 years.

The second is the arrival of venues that grew up overseas. RÊVE DES LUMIÈRES opened in Ariake in June 2026, and Arte Museum Nagoya opens in Chita, Aichi Prefecture, in November. Superblue Kyoto follows in Kyoto in early 2027. Trends abroad are summarized in our article on immersive digital art venues overseas. Even as the number of venues grows, Immersive Fort Tokyo closed after reconsidering its scale. How to balance scale with keeping programs fresh will be a key question going forward.

Frequently asked questions

When did teamLab Borderless in Odaiba close, and where did it move?

It opened on June 21, 2018, and closed on August 31, 2022. It relocated to Azabudai Hills and reopened on Friday, February 9, 2024 (teamLab official website). teamLab venues in Japan are introduced in our guide to teamLab venues.

How long will teamLab Planets remain open?

According to teamLab’s official website, it is scheduled to remain open until the end of 2027.

Why did Immersive Fort Tokyo close?

On December 25, 2025, Katana Inc. announced that it would close on Saturday, February 28, 2026. It explained that it had judged the facility to be too large. In its second year, the facility had changed its format to center on deeper experiences.

*Information as of October 21, 2026. Please check the official websites for the latest information.

*Top image: “MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless,” Azabudai Hills, Tokyo © teamLab (from teamLab Inc.’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements and public materials from each institution and organizer (as of October 21, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team

A note from the publisher

*Disclosure: Of the items featured in this article, the “Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition,” the “Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition,” “KUNIYOSHI IMMERSIVE ART” and the “Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Museum GINZA” are planned and produced by HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE (About us).

The history of the Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition and the Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition

• July 2023: The “Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition NAGOYA” opens at the Kanayama Minami Building Museum Wing. It was the first venue of the series, whose history is compiled in our feature on the series

• 2024–2026: The exhibition tours Kagoshima, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka, Aomori and Hiroshima, and is also held overseas in Milan, Taipei, Kaohsiung and Paris. The “Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition” toured from Nagoya in 2025 to Tokyo and Kagoshima

• 2025–2026: “KUNIYOSHI IMMERSIVE ART” is shown at “Ukiyo-e Super Creator: Utagawa Kuniyoshi” at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art and the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art

• November 6, 2026 – January 11, 2027: The “Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition GIFU” is scheduled to be held at the Gifu City Museum of History

• Spring 2027: The “Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Museum GINZA” (Ginza, Tokyo) is scheduled to open. The plan is outlined in our article on the permanent venue in Ginza

The Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition has drawn a cumulative total of more than 700,000 visitors in 11 cities in Japan and abroad (including 150,000 in Paris), and the Yokai Immersive Art Exhibition more than 300,000 (more than 120,000 in Nagoya, more than 110,000 in Tokyo and more than 80,000 in Kagoshima). All figures are from the organizers.