teamLab Biovortex Kyoto’s First Year: About 44% of Visitors from Overseas; Teahouse Opens November 20

“teamLab Biovortex Kyoto,” teamLab’s permanent museum in Minami-ku, Kyoto, marked its first anniversary on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. According to ticket purchaser data released on October 6 by the museum’s limited liability partnership, more than 1.3 million people from 167 countries and regions visited in the year, of whom about 44% were international visitors. On Friday, November 20, the teahouse “Ittekian” will open inside the museum’s artwork “Sea of Solidified Light.”

The first year in ticket purchaser data

The figures cover data on people who bought tickets between October 7, 2025 and October 4, 2026. Visitors exceeded 1.3 million, of whom about 44% were international visitors. The press release says that visitors from far away accounted for about half, citing the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany as examples.

About 25% of international visitors bought their tickets 30 or more days before their visit. The average length of stay in the museum exceeded 2 hours and 30 minutes. In a message for the first anniversary, Kyoto Mayor Koji Matsui noted that the number of visitors passed 1 million in July 2026. Visitor numbers at other digital art venues in Japan, and how they are counted, are compared in our article on visitor numbers.

The teahouse “Ittekian” opens November 20; prices and booking not yet announced

On October 16, the partnership announced that the teahouse “Ittekian” would open on Friday, November 20. It is located inside the museum’s artwork “Sea of Solidified Light.” According to the press release, when a guest whisks a bowl of tea, an artwork is born, and that tea interacts with the tea and light around it, building up a temporal structure across the entire space.

From the same day, the work “Tea in Spontaneous Order” will also be unveiled. In this work, the whisked tea begins to glow with its own rhythm and sound tones; the work page on the official website dates it from 2021 and credits Hideaki Takahashi with the sound.

The teahouse’s prices, opening hours, number of seats, and whether and how reservations are required are not stated either in the October 16 press release or on the teahouse page of the official website (as of October 23). Nor is it indicated whether there is a charge separate from museum admission, so check the official website before visiting.

Superblue Kyoto on the adjacent city-owned land, scheduled to open in early 2027

Next to the museum, a new facility by NTT Urban Development was completed in September 2026. The project is named the “Kyoto Station Southeast Area Site A Project (tentative name)” and is one of the initiatives under the “Kyoto Station Southeast Area Revitalization Policy” set by Kyoto City, creating a hub for creation and communication that generates new value on city-owned land. The building is a two-story steel-frame (S) structure with a total floor area of 1,382.05 square meters, designed by Plantec Inc. and built by Sanko Sangyo Co., Ltd.

Superblue Kyoto, an experiential art center, will occupy the first floor, showing large-scale immersive works that are changed periodically. Superblue opened its first venue, “Superblue Miami,” in Miami, Florida, in May 2021, and NTT Urban Development’s press release names James Turrell, Es Devlin and teamLab as artists whose works are shown there.

The second floor will be the gallery “QUESTION BP,” operated by Kyoshin Branding Partners, whose parent is the Kyoto Shinkin Bank (Community Bank Kyoshin), and it will serve to introduce regional products. The opening is expected in early 2027, but the content is at the planning stage and may change (see our article on the plans for Superblue Kyoto).

Opening hours and closing days

The museum is open from 9:00 to 21:00, with last admission at 19:30. Upcoming closing days are Tuesday, November 17, Thursday, November 19 and Tuesday, December 15, and hours and closing days are subject to change. Tickets can be purchased from the official website. With a total floor area of about 10,000 square meters, the museum holds more than 50 works under the concept “Universe of Existence, Universe of Perception.” teamLab venues across Japan are summarized in our venue guide.

Facility overview

Name: teamLab Biovortex Kyoto - Taisei Corporation
Opened: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Address: 21-5 Higashikujo Higashi-Iwamotocho, Minami-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture
Hours: 9:00–21:00 (last admission 19:30)
Closed: Tuesday, November 17, Thursday, November 19 and Tuesday, December 15, 2026 (subject to change)
Size: Total floor area of about 10,000 square meters, more than 50 works
Teahouse: Teahouse in a Sea of Light Ittekian (opens Friday, November 20, 2026; prices, hours and booking method not yet announced)
Official website: https://www.teamlab.art/jp/e/kyoto/

*Information as of October 23, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: teamLab, Teahouse in a Sea of Light Ittekian © teamLab (from a press release by the teamLab Biovortex Kyoto Limited Liability Partnership)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on materials released by the teamLab Biovortex Kyoto Limited Liability Partnership (October 6 and 16, 2026) and NTT Urban Development (September 18, 2026) and information on the official website (as of October 23, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team