Toyosu Market + teamLab Planets in Winter: A One-Day Itinerary (2026–27)

On a winter trading day, watch the Toyosu tuna auction in the dark, warm up in the Senkyaku Banrai footbath or the Manyo Club morning bath, then book teamLab Planets for a mid-to-late afternoon slot so you walk out into the outdoor Moss Garden just after dark. Tokyo’s sunset falls at about 4:30 p.m. in December, and the egg-shaped ovoids in the garden glow after it. Most itineraries put teamLab straight after the auction. In winter that is the weaker choice: the morning slots cost the most, and you arrive having been awake since 4:30 a.m.

The short answer:

• Book a teamLab slot that ends at dusk. Adult tickets on the official store start at ¥3,800 and are priced by date and time. A 60-day check of the store in October 2026 found ¥3,800 to ¥5,600, averaging about ¥5,400 before 11:00 and about ¥4,800 from 18:00. A 15:00 to 16:00 entry in December puts you in the Moss Garden as it lights up.
• Cold feet are a small problem. teamLab says the knee-deep water “is adjusted according to the season”, and rental shorts and towels are free. The bigger winter problems are a bulky coat (the free lockers are 23 × 34 × 37 cm) and the 4:30 a.m. alarm.
• Check both calendars. teamLab Planets is closed on Thursday 5 November 2026, Thursday 3 December 2026 and Thursday 14 January 2027, and opens 8:00 to 20:00 from 31 December to 2 January. Toyosu Market closes on Sundays, holidays, many Wednesdays and from 31 December to 4 January. On those days, run the no-auction plan below; Senkyaku Banrai opens every day.

teamLab sells timed tickets online only, with nothing at the door, and the cheaper evening slots go first over Christmas and New Year. The Toyosu Tuna Auction & Tsukiji Market Gourmet Adventure (4.9/5 from 488 reviews, from $114) covers the dawn half if you would like a guide for the auction. For the art half, the teamLab Planets entry ticket on GetYourGuide (4.6/5 from more than 15,000 reviews, from about $25) draws on the same timed allocation as the official store. It is non-refundable, so pick your slot before you pay.

Which winter plan fits your day

Plans A and B share the dusk slot. Plan A adds the auction and a nap; Plan B skips the early start and costs less. Plan D is the one to use with small children, because it keeps the day short and indoors.

Toyosu sits beside teamLab Planets, Senkyaku Banrai, Toyosu Gururi Park and LaLaport Toyosu, with Odaiba and the Rainbow Bridge a few stops along the Yurikamome and the Tsukiji Outer Market across the river. Guided Tokyo food tours, bay cruises and other experiences are below:

Plan A: auction day

Use this on a trading weekday: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or a Wednesday the market calendar marks as open.

Our winter auction guide covers the walkway, the deck and the cold in detail.

The swap we recommend: skip the morning teamLab slot. After the 9:00 footbath, go back to your hotel and sleep. Return for a 15:00 to 15:30 entry, which averaged about ¥5,100 in the October check, against about ¥5,400 for the morning. You leave through the glowing Moss Garden at about 17:00, then head to the Christmas Market or back to the footbath for the night view. One tour reviewer paired the auction with a 10:00 teamLab slot and said it worked well, so the morning version is possible; it is just more tiring and more expensive.

Plan B: late start, no auction

This plan works on any day Senkyaku Banrai and teamLab are open, Sundays included.

The cheapest version: book the 18:00 to 20:30 window at teamLab (from about ¥3,800 to ¥4,800) and move lunch and the park earlier.

Plan C: Sundays, closed days and New Year

On Sundays, national holidays, closed Wednesdays and from 31 December to 4 January, the wholesale market and nearly all of its restaurants are closed. Senkyaku Banrai, the Manyo Club, the footbath, teamLab, LaLaport and Odaiba stay open. Our Sunday guide has the details.

• Run Plan B, with Tsukiji in place of the market. About a third of Tsukiji Outer Market shops trade on Sundays and holidays, mostly the restaurants. Have brunch there, then take the Yurakucho Line from Shintomicho to Toyosu. Our Toyosu vs Tsukiji in winter guide compares the two mornings.
• Watch the dates when both sides change. On Thursday 3 December 2026 and Thursday 14 January 2027 teamLab is closed while the market is open, so run Plan A without teamLab and add Odaiba.
• New Year. teamLab opens 8:00 to 20:00 (last entry 19:00) from 31 December to 2 January while the market is shut, so it becomes the anchor of the day. The first auction of 2027 is on Tuesday 5 January; our New Year guide covers the closures and the first sale.

If you would rather not plan a closed day yourself, the teamLab Planets & Toyosu Fish Market Guided Tour (4.3/5 from 14 reviews, from about $133) runs about 3 hours with a guide and the teamLab ticket. It has few reviews and no auction, and one reviewer found the market “empty” on an afternoon departure, so treat it as a convenience for afternoons, not as a market experience.

Plan D: kids, rain or a very cold day

Our rainy-day guide lists every covered option around the market.

teamLab Planets in winter

Is the water cold?

The official wording is that the water “can rise up to knee height for adults” and that “the water temperature is adjusted according to the season so that the customer feels comfortable.” teamLab gives no temperature and does not use the word heated. Visitors describe it as warm. Chlorine is checked hourly.

You are barefoot throughout; socks and tights come off in the locker room. Towels are handed out at each water-room exit. The Moss Garden (“Solidified Light Color, Dusk to Dawn”) and the Open-Air area are outdoors. A winter visitor reports that staff suggest putting socks back on, or offer slippers, before you step outside.

What to wear, and the locker size

The lockers are free but small: 23 × 34 × 37 cm. A long down coat plus a daypack may not fit, and large luggage has to be wire-locked in the stroller area. Bring layers that pack small and leave suitcases at the hotel or in a station locker.

Free rental shorts come in sizes XS to 6L. They are a better choice than a skirt, because several rooms have mirror floors.

Which time slot to book

The official store prices adult tickets from ¥3,800, and the price moves with the date and the time. japan-japan.com recorded every slot on the store between 7 October and 5 December 2026:

• Time of day matters most. Weekday and weekend prices averaged almost the same (about ¥5,170 each).
• Late-autumn dates are cheaper. 16 to 20 November ran ¥4,400 to ¥5,200, 21 to 30 November ¥4,200 to ¥5,000, and 1 to 5 December ¥3,800 to ¥5,000. The ¥3,800 floor appeared only in evening slots.
• January to March 2027 prices were not yet on sale at the time of the check. Expect higher prices over Christmas, New Year and the Lunar New Year weekend (6 February 2027); that is our expectation from demand, not a published figure.

How far ahead to book. teamLab publishes no sale window. Third-party guides report release about two to three months ahead, with busy weekends selling out about three weeks out. For a winter weekday, one to two weeks ahead is usually enough. For Christmas week, 31 December to 3 January and the Lunar New Year week, book as soon as you have dates.

Arriving late. The official help page calls the 30 minutes after your slot “entry preparing time” and says you “may have to wait 30 to 60 minutes” at busy times. If you miss your slot, you can still enter the same day until last admission.

Closed days and New Year hours

Hours and closures are from teamLab’s official Planets page, checked on 3 November 2026. teamLab Planets opened on 7 July 2018 and was due to close at the end of 2023; its operator, PLANETS Co., Ltd., extended it to the end of 2027 “due to the popularity of the museum”, so winter 2026–27 is its second-to-last winter. Tokyo Cheapo reports a separate teamLab venue planned for Ariake in 2032.

Official store or GetYourGuide

Both sell the same timed slots. The official DMM store lets you change a ticket up to three times until two hours before entry, with no refunds. The GetYourGuide ticket is non-refundable, but it comes with English support, one checkout and an app voucher. It saves effort rather than money, and neither sells at the door.

Visit length, crowds and photos

• Allow 2 to 3 hours, or 3 to 4 hours with the Athletics Forest and a bowl of ramen. One travel blog, Never Ending Voyage, spent 3.5 hours from opening, lunch included.
• The quietest times are the first two and last two hours on weekdays, and the busiest is noon to early afternoon, according to Tokyo Cheapo. Guinness World Records counted 2,504,264 visitors between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, a record for a museum devoted to a single art group. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s TOKYO UPDATES (21 January 2026) says overseas visitors make up 70% of them, so international holiday weeks are noticeably busier.
• The January 2025 expansion added the Water, Garden, Athletics Forest and Open-Air areas and made the museum about 1.5 times bigger. A 2025 visitor reports that the gardens can now only be reached from inside the museum. The Moss Garden used to be free to view; treat it as ticketed.
• New in 2026: “Existence in the Flow Creates Vortices” has been expanded, and “Body of Waves”, a soft floor sculpture, is on the official list. The flowers in the koi and flower works change through the year, with a winter version and cherry blossom from March.
• Photos. Personal photography is fine; commercial shoots need permission. teamLab’s general FAQ bans tripods and selfie sticks of 30 cm or more at its other venues, and resellers repeat this for Planets, so leave the tripod at home.

Accessibility

Wheelchair users can take alternative corridors that bypass the water rooms and uneven floors, so they miss part of the museum; teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills is the fully accessible alternative. Strollers are not allowed inside. The museum also has dark rooms, flashing light and mirror rooms.

Vegan Ramen UZU

The miso ramen (“Vegan UZU style”) is ¥2,000. Eating inside the “Black Emptiness” art room is a ¥3,000 set with a drink. Vegan ice cream is ¥800 to ¥900, muffins ¥950 and hot teas ¥550. A Tabelog reviewer paid ¥2,200 for a yuzu-miso bowl in September 2026, so check the menu on the day. Only teamLab visitors can eat here, and the seating is outdoors under cover, so it is chilly in January.

Getting between Toyosu Market, teamLab, LaLaport and Odaiba

Everything here is walkable, and the Yurikamome hops take one or two minutes.

• Yurikamome one-day pass: ¥820 adult, ¥410 child, valid for the calendar day; a 24-hour ticket costs ¥900, and single fares run ¥190 to ¥390. The pass pays off once you add Odaiba: Shimbashi → Shin-Toyosu → Daiba → Shimbashi costs about ¥1,050 in single fares. The JR Pass is not valid on this line.
• The first Yurikamome from Shimbashi leaves at about 5:45, too late for most auction plans. Our pre-dawn transport guide covers taxis and staying nearby.
• Rainbow Bridge promenade: Yurikamome’s official page gives winter hours of 10:00 to 18:00 from November to March, with last entry 30 minutes before closing, so you cannot walk it after dark. It is also closed on the third Monday of every month. The bridge is lit from about sunset to midnight, in a warm-white winter version from November to March.

Where to eat along the way

The winter dishes to look for are nabe hot pots, oden, oysters, crab and kanburi, which is also in season at Toyosu. Our guides to what to eat at Toyosu in winter and winter sushi go counter by counter.

Sunset, night views and winter lights

Daylight in Tokyo (approximate; check the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan tables for your date):

In December and January you watch the auction (about 5:30 to 6:30) in full darkness, and the sun comes up while you eat breakfast.

Views. From the tip of Toyosu Gururi Park (free, open 24 hours) you can see Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree. On clear winter evenings Mt Fuji can appear behind the bridge at sunset, and winter has the clearest air of the year. The free 8F footbath at Senkyaku Banrai faces the bay and Rainbow Bridge.

Winter lights, 2026–27:

• Tokyo Christmas Market, Shin-Toyosu: reported for 20 November to 25 December 2026 at 6-4 Toyosu, about 2 minutes from Shin-Toyosu Station, from 11:00 to 21:30 (16:00 on the opening day). Reported entry is ¥1,000 on weekdays, ¥1,500 at weekends and ¥2,000 on 24 and 25 December, with advance tickets on KKday and a mug sold only at the venue. This is the market’s first year next to teamLab; a second venue runs at Shiba Park from 4 to 25 December. Reports disagree on which venue has the 14 m Christmas pyramid, so do not plan around it at Shin-Toyosu. These details come from travel sites, not the organiser, so confirm them before you go.
• LaLaport Toyosu “Twinkly Winter Coast”: last season ran 1 December 2025 to 1 February 2026, 16:00 to 23:00 on the seaside deck, with the tree up until 25 December. The 2026–27 dates were not announced at the time of writing; a similar early-December start is likely.
• Odaiba: the Decks Tokyo Beach “YAKEI” deck is lit all year. Last winter’s Decks seaside-terrace display ran 14 November 2025 to 27 February 2026. “Light Walk Odaiba” (Yume-no-Ohashi Bridge and Ariake, launched in 2025) had no 2026–27 dates at the time of writing.
• Gundam: the Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba is gone. Its official site says the display ended on 31 August 2026, after a farewell ceremony on 29 August, and no successor has been confirmed. The Gundam Base shop in DiverCity remains. Any tour or guide selling the statue as a winter 2026–27 highlight is out of date.

Winter practicalities

• Indoors or out: about 80% of the day is indoors. The outdoor parts are the walk into the market (the observation walkway itself is enclosed), the Moss Garden and Open-Air area, the UZU seating, Gururi Park and the Christmas Market.
• Wind: Toyosu and Odaiba sit on exposed reclaimed land, and Gururi Park at dusk feels several degrees colder than central Tokyo. Bring a hat and gloves.
• The wet-feet sequence: cold morning, warm footbath, barefoot museum in season-adjusted water, then dry socks before the Moss Garden. Pack a spare pair of socks and a small towel.
• What to wear and pack:
  • A thermal base layer.
  • Joggers or leggings that roll above the knee, or use the free shorts.
  • Slip-on shoes.
  • A packable down jacket that fits a 23 × 34 × 37 cm locker.
  • Hand warmers (kairo).
  • A power bank.
  • An IC card or a Yurikamome pass.
• Rain plan: teamLab (the Moss Garden stays open in light rain and closes in heavy rain or typhoon-strength wind), Senkyaku Banrai’s covered Edo street, the Manyo Club, LaLaport Toyosu and the Odaiba malls are all indoors or covered.

What the day costs

Per adult, for one day:

Taxi fares and restaurant prices are estimates and move with the season; teamLab prices are from the October 2026 store check.

Tours that cover part of the day

The $114 auction tour finishes in Tsukiji in the morning, which leaves the afternoon free for the dusk teamLab slot. The private tour suits families and couples who want the pace set around them, at about $50 more per person. The guided teamLab afternoon has only 14 reviews, includes no auction and has no meals, so book it only if you want the planning done for you. Ratings and prices were read on GetYourGuide on 3 November 2026 and change often.

Mistakes to avoid

• Booking teamLab for 8:00 before the auction. On trading days the auction runs 5:30 to 6:30 and you need to be on the walkway by 5:00. teamLab before the market only works on no-auction days.
• Booking the opening slot straight after the auction. You pay the most and you are at your most tired.
• Taking a combined tour in the afternoon and finding the market empty. The wholesale floors are quiet by midday.
• Confusing Planets with Borderless. They are different venues, in Toyosu and at Azabudai Hills, and reviewers regularly mix them up.
• Expecting to buy tickets at the door. None are sold on site.
• Wearing a skirt, tight jeans or a big coat. Use the free shorts and bring a coat that fits the locker.
• Forgetting the closures: teamLab on Thursday 5 November, 3 December and 14 January; the market on Sundays, holidays, many Wednesdays and from 31 December to 4 January.
• Going to Odaiba for the Gundam. The statue was removed at the end of August 2026.
• Planning to walk Rainbow Bridge at sunset. The promenade closes at 18:00 in winter (last entry 17:30), and in December it is dark by about 16:45.

If you have only a morning, our half-day teamLab and Toyosu itinerary has shorter plans, the installations and the walk between the two.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do teamLab before the tuna auction?

Not on a trading day. teamLab opens at 8:00 and the auction runs from about 5:30 to 6:30, so the market has to come first. teamLab first only works on days with no auction, and then you would be at Toyosu with nothing to watch.

Is the teamLab water cold in winter?

teamLab says the water temperature “is adjusted according to the season” so visitors feel comfortable, and visitors describe it as warm. It rises to knee height for adults. Bring dry socks for the outdoor Moss Garden.

How long do I need at teamLab Planets?

Two to three hours, or three to four with the Athletics Forest and lunch at Vegan Ramen UZU.

Is teamLab Planets open on Sundays and at New Year?

Yes. It opens every day except announced closures (Thursday 5 November 2026, Thursday 3 December 2026 and Thursday 14 January 2027), from 8:00 to 22:00, and from 8:00 to 20:00 between 31 December and 2 January.

When is teamLab Planets cheapest?

Evening slots from 18:00 were the cheapest in the October 2026 store check, averaging about ¥4,800 against about ¥5,400 before 11:00. The ¥3,800 floor showed up only in evening slots in late November and early December.

Can I see the Moss Garden without a ticket?

Not any more. Since the January 2025 expansion, visitors report that the gardens can only be reached from inside the museum.

Is the teamLab and Toyosu guided tour worth booking?

Only if you want the planning done for you. It has 4.3/5 from 14 reviews, costs about $133, includes no auction and runs in the afternoon, when the market floors are quiet. A $25 teamLab ticket plus a morning auction tour, or the free walkway, covers more for less.

How far is teamLab from Toyosu Market?

About 7 to 15 minutes on foot from Shijo-mae, depending on which market building you leave from, or one Yurikamome stop to Shin-Toyosu, which is a minute from the entrance.

Is the Gundam statue still in Odaiba?

No. The Unicorn Gundam display ended on 31 August 2026 and no replacement has been announced. The Gundam Base shop in DiverCity is still open.

Is teamLab Planets closing?

Yes, at the end of 2027. Its operator extended it from the original end-of-2023 date, so winter 2026–27 is its second-to-last winter.

Bottom line

Pick a trading weekday, watch the auction in the dark, warm up in the Manyo Club or the free footbath, sleep through the early afternoon and book teamLab for about 15:00 so the Moss Garden is lit as you leave. On a Sunday or over New Year, keep the afternoon and swap the market for Senkyaku Banrai or Tsukiji. Check both calendars before you buy a non-refundable ticket, because teamLab and the market close on different days.