20 best things to do in Tokyo that isn't super generic

20. Visit a digital art museum

Reviewed by eCommerce Travel Writer Stephanie Yip

If a digital art museum wasn’t on your list of things to do, think again. This international art collective’s museum, called teamLab Planets, in Toyosu welcomed a third area in January 2025, extending its delivery of immersive and sensory experiences to include a neon playground for young and old.

Entering the exhibition space was truly transformative. We began by placing our items in a locker and rolling up our pants to walk through water before traversing a desert of sensory crash pads, disappearing inside infinity rooms filled with crystals of light, bouncing off human-sized beach balls, and attempting to catch koi as they swam on the surface of a warm wading pool.

A second area took us through a mirrored room filled with thousands of dangling orchids, each reacting to our movements, curling up and away as we got near. Another door saw us enter a mossy garden filled with ovoids that change colour at sunrise and sunset and sang a note when pushed, like an interactive piano.

The third and newest area is Forest, which came packed with a smattering of fun and colourful activities that had my kid smiling from ear to ear (and jumping here, there and everywhere).

It’s here you can jump on mazes of coloured balls, walk beams of neon stairs, bounce on trampolines as you “grow” planets to put into the universe, fall down slides of fruit, navigate stepping stone paths, manipulate physical objects in a Lemmings-style game, explore a forest of extinct creatures, and put crayon to paper as you colour your own dolphin, butterfly, hawk or airplane and send it flying through the artwork.

Throughout the museum, interactivity is encouraged. Not just physically, but through your smartphone where you can tinker with the lights, pilot your drawing through the artworks and catch, release and learn about extinct creatures wandering right in front of your eyes.

teamLabs Planets is hands down one of my favourite things to do in Tokyo, offering a captivatingly beautiful experience for everyone. Carve at least half a day out to explore and lose yourself to your senses. You won’t regret it. Pictures: Stephanie Yip

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