Akasaka Palace is like Tokyo’s answer to Versailles: a sprawling, 15,000-sq-meter pile where the country’s royal nobs of old liked to kick their feet up.

 

Well, now the likes of you and us are allowed in, thanks to the Japanese government’s decision to open it to the public for 150 days a year instead of the usual 10, starting from the beginning of Apr through Aug.

 

Joining it is the more classically Japanese Kyoto State Guest House, now open for visitors through till the end of this year.

 

It’s all part of the government’s plan to boost visitor numbers to 30 million a year before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Kampai!