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Hikawa Gardens is a six-story, 17-unit luxury apartment building located in Akasaka, one of Tokyo’s premier residential neighborhoods. The apartments range in size from 1,200 to 1,800 square feet.


The vision for Hikawa Gardens was to build a distinct housing alternative for Western expatriate executives that combined elements of Western and Japanese living. The site’s location next to the Hikawa Shrine, which is beautifully landscaped in traditional Japanese style, reinforced our decision to harmoniously connect the building to its surroundings and provide every unit with landscaped outdoor space.


The initial challenge was acquiring the land. It was essential that Pembroke, a foreign firm, develop effective partnerships with well-connected locals who could help identify interesting opportunities. This meant expanding our staff to include bilingual on-site professionals, who were critical in working with the local ward government. Our Japanese staff worked with local officials to improve the surroundings by burying power lines, telephone lines, and data wires underground. Building in a populated residential neighborhood on a tight urban site with narrow roads also presented many challenges throughout the construction process.


The selection of a principal architect educated in both Japan and the United States proved particularly important in developing a design scheme that united the two cultures. The project’s design respects the character of the surrounding neighborhood and the Hikawa Shrine. Apartments incorporate such traditional Japanese design features as rice-paper screens and tatami-like carpet, while the building’s Western-style conveniences and amenities include an exercise room/TV lounge, trunk rooms for storage, underground parking, and a common roof deck.