The Akasaka Palace is a guest house for foreign heads of state, prime ministers, and other distinguished guests. And it is open to the public so as not to interfere with the reception.
The Akasaka Palace, established in 1909 as the Crown Prince’s Palace, is the only neo-baroque-style building in Japan.
It represents the culmination of all the efforts of the Japanese architectural, artistic, and craft industries at that time, and the arrival point of full-fledged modern Western-style architecture in the Meiji period.
When we see the Akasaka Palace from the main front gate, we forget that we are in Japan. The gate, the main entrance, and the building look very European!
The interior of the Akasaka Palace is also European classical style, and we can see the gorgeous salon and rooms with brilliant chandeliers, colorful wall paints, exquisite furniture.
To visit the Akasaka Palace, we have to select a tour course and make a reservation through their site.
- Visit Main building and gardens only
- Visit Main building and gardens and Japanese style annex with Japanese or English guide
- Visit Main building and gardens and Japanese style annex with a guide and feeding carps
No. 3, the feeding carps tour is held from August to October. A guide will show us around the rooms of the Japanese-style annex, and we will also be able to experience the feeding of the Japanese carps from the edge of the annex.
The pond is currently home to about 130 Japanese common carp of three different colors: red, white and black, red and white, and yellowish golden. Some of them were born and raised in this facility.
It’s spectacular to see more than 100 carp gathering for food.Carp tend to gather in groups, and the patterns made by the fish beautifully decorate the pond like a strip of fabric.
Tours are offered twice a day (starting at 10:20 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.), except on Wednesdays and days closed to the public.
The participation fee is 3,000 yen for adults, 2,500 yen for university students, and 1,200 yen for junior and senior high school students. Unfortunately, under 12 y.o. cannot participate.
At the Akasaka Palace, we can experience both European culture and Japanese traditional culture. So if you would like to know the other side of Japan, check this venue.
The reservation site is here:
https://form.geihinkan.go.jp/entry/P01?lang=en&place=akasaka