The night outdoor art exhibition teamLab: Hama-rikyu Gardens will be held at Hama-rikyu Gardens in Tokyo from Wednesday, November 25, to Thursday, December 24, 2026.
Hama-rikyu Gardens is a leading daimyo garden of the Edo period, with a tidal pond that draws in seawater from Tokyo Bay and changes character with the rise and fall of the tide. It is designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and Special Historic Site of Japan under the name 旧浜離宮庭園 (Former Hama-rikyu Gardens). Over about 400 years, the site has been used while changing roles, from a falconry ground to a villa of the shogun's family, an imperial detached palace, and a garden for the people.
In this exhibition, the garden, with its long history, becomes the artwork space as it is. Influenced by wind, rain, and the shifting forest, it is transformed by the presence of the people living today.
The exhibition is held as a special program of ARTE TOKYO (東京国際文化芸術祭), organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (東京都) and the 東京国際文化芸術祭実行委員会, with 杉山央 of 新領域株式会社 as producer.
Tickets are on sale on the official ticket site: https://hamarikyu.tickets.teamlab.art/
Highlight Video: teamLab: Hama-rikyu Gardens, Tokyo © teamLab. Previous exhibition footage. Shot in real space. No AI or CGI.
Featured Artworks (Selection)
Pillars of Constant Flux
teamLab, Pillar of Constant Flux, 2026–, from the series Pillars that Dance with the Wind, 2023– © teamLab
Composite image. Not an actual exhibition photo.
The work is strongly affected by environmental conditions such as wind, rain, and humidity, and its movement and height change greatly. Even so, as long as the environment that gives rise to its existence is maintained and the flow continues, its existence is sustained while its form keeps changing.
It keeps moving, supple, soft, and fragile.
Autonomous Resonating Life
teamLab, Autonomous Resonating Life, 2017– © teamLab
Photo from a previous exhibition. Shot in real space. No AI or CGI.
When pushed by a person or a wild animal, or knocked over by strong rain or wind, each Ovoid rights itself, shining brightly and sounding a tone. The surrounding Ovoids respond one after another, carrying the light and tones onward.
The light and tones of the Ovoids also spread to the nearby artwork Resonating Trees and continue on. The artwork space is transformed by people's behavior, the environment, and the surrounding artworks, making people and the environment part of the work.
Resonating Microcosms - Solidified Light
teamLab, Resonating Microcosms - Solidified Light, 2022–, from the series teamLabBall, 2009– © teamLab
Photo from a previous exhibition. Shot in real space. No AI or CGI.
When pushed over by a person, each Ovoid rights itself, shining brightly and sounding a tone. The surrounding Ovoids respond one after another, continuing the same light and tones. The artwork space is transformed by people's behavior, making people and the environment part of the work.
The patterns of color that appear inside exist as infinite possibilities until they are seen. At the moment they are viewed, they are fixed as a single form from that person's viewpoint. The form then keeps changing in response to the viewer's moving body, the wavering of the sculpture itself, and the surrounding environment.
Resonating Trees
Resonating Trees (teamLab, 2014–) is an artwork in which each tree shines brightly and sounds a tone when people or wild animals approach. The surrounding trees respond one after another, continuing the light and tones.
The trees also respond to the nearby artwork Autonomous Resonating Life, continuing the light and tones. When light rushes in from deep among the trees, it means that a person or a wild animal is over there. The artwork space is transformed by the behavior of bodies, other people, and wild animals, and by the surrounding artworks, making people and the environment part of the work.
Spherical Crystallized Light
teamLab, Spherical Crystallized Light, 2024, from the series Bubble Universe: Spherical Crystallized Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light - One Stroke, 2023 © teamLab
Photo from a previous exhibition. Shot in real space. No AI or CGI.
What are you looking at? And is it an existence?
At the center of a transparent sphere is a sphere of light. But this sphere of light does not exist.
There is no glass or other material on the surface of the sphere of light; it is made of light alone. In the physical world, however, light does not solidify, and light never forms a spherical mass. In other words, this sphere of light does not exist.
This sphere does not exist in the physical world. It is a sculpture that exists in the cognitive world, a "Cognitive Sculpture."
Its materials are light, body, and cognition. Its form is created by the dynamic body and cognition of the person experiencing it, and it appears and exists only in that person's own cognitive world. When it exists in cognition, it is an existence.
It questions cognition and existence anew, and opens up the possibility of a new kind of existence, different from material existence.
Concept of teamLab: Hama-rikyu Gardens
Hama-rikyu Gardens is a leading daimyo garden of the Edo period (1603–1868), with a tidal pond that draws in seawater from Tokyo Bay and changes character with the rise and fall of the tide. It was originally a reed-filled coastal wetland where the Tokugawa shogun family released hawks to hunt waterfowl. From around 1654, the land was reclaimed, and the "Kofu Hama-yashiki" was later built there. From the time of the sixth shogun (1709–1712), it was called "Ohama-goten" and was used for about 160 years. In the Meiji era it became an imperial detached palace, and although many of its buildings were lost to the earthquake and the war, it was opened to the people in 1946 as an onshi garden (恩賜庭園).
Over about 400 years, the site has been used while changing roles, from a falconry ground to a villa of the shogun's family, an imperial detached palace, and a garden for the people. In this exhibition, the garden, with its long history, becomes the artwork space as it is, and is transformed by the presence of the people living today, influenced by wind, rain, and the shifting forest.
As visitors wander through the garden's forest and walk where accumulated time and the present overlap, nature and people, and long spans of time and the present, continue on without boundaries.
Message From the Producer
The producer of the Hama-rikyu art project, 杉山央 of 新領域株式会社, shared the following message.
The garden has built up a long history as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and Special Historic Site of Japan. The producer says it is a great honor to hold teamLab: Hama-rikyu Gardens in this irreplaceable place together with teamLab, which is active on the world stage.
While valuing above all the history of the garden inherited from the Edo period and respect for nature, the project creates, through art, an experience unique to Hama-rikyu at night, different from the daytime. The producer hopes to share scenery that can be found only in this place with many people in Japan and abroad.
Event Details
teamLab: Hama-rikyu Gardens
Dates: Wednesday, November 25, 2026 – Thursday, December 24, 2026
Venue: Hama-rikyu Gardens (1-1 Hamarikyu-teien, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
Organizers: Tokyo Metropolitan Government (東京都) and the 東京国際文化芸術祭実行委員会
Producer: 杉山央 (新領域株式会社)
Grant: 令和8年度 日本博による地域固有文化コンテンツ創出補助事業 (FY2026 Japan Cultural Expo subsidy program for creating region-specific cultural content)
Official website: https://www.teamlab.art/jp/e/hamarikyu/
ARTE TOKYO official website: https://artetokyo.jp/
Hours: 6:00 PM – 9:15 PM (last entry 8:30 PM)
- Opening times may shift earlier or later so the artworks can be viewed in optimal conditions.
- Depending on weather and other conditions, some artworks may not be displayed.
Ticket Prices
Adult: ¥2,500
Junior/senior high school student: ¥1,500
Elementary school student: ¥900
Preschooler: Free
Persons with disabilities: ¥1,250
Advance date-and-time reservations are required.
Tickets are not sold on-site.
If tickets are not sold out, they can also be purchased on the day through the official ticket site: https://hamarikyu.tickets.teamlab.art/
