Akasaka Palace

Akasaka is a Tokyo neighborhood that balances corporate towers with quiet residential streets and some of the city's strongest dining, from Michelin-starred kaiseki to neighborhood izakayas. The State Guest House, a neo-baroque building modeled on Versailles, serves as Japan's official venue for receiving foreign heads of state. Hie Shrine sits on a nearby wooded hillside, connected to the street below by a dramatic tunnel of vermillion torii gates. The TBS television studios bring media energy to the area, while the Akasaka Sacas complex adds shopping and seasonal events. It is the kind of neighborhood that rewards walking without a fixed agenda.