Famous places down the street where I work The Japanese Embassy (101-104 Piccadilly)
Whatever the weather the rising sun is often to be seen floating above lower Piccadilly. It shines from the flag hanging out from the front of the Japanese Embassy, an imposing six-storey four-entrance building overlooking Green Park. It's home to His Excellency Mr Masaki Orita, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (presumably 'Mas' to his friends). You can also pop inside to view the Japanese art exhibited in the foyer gallery, or make enquiries at the Japan Information and Cultural Centre (maybe they can tell us why their women are so good at running marathons in high temperatures). It's the only embassy to lie on Piccadilly itself, but a number of others lie nearby.
All of which makes this area a perfect location for spying (note to lawyers: there is no implication that the upstanding people of Japan would ever stoop to espionage). MI5 used to be located just round the corner in Curzon Street, first at Leconfield House (1945-70), which was fortified with gun ports in case German paratroopers ever dropped into Mayfair, and later in Curzon Street House (1976-95), home to 2 million files on suspected subversives. A little further away lies tiny Audley Square where Soviet spies would communicate with one another by chalking numbers on the lamp-posts. Eon Productions, the film company responsible for the James Bond films, used to be based at number 3 and it was here that Sean Connery fought off stiff competition from Roger Moore, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison and even Noel Coward to land the lead role in the first 007 spy film, DrNo.
Famous places down the street where I work
Whatever the weather the rising sun is often to be seen floating above lower Piccadilly. It shines from the flag hanging out from the front of the Japanese Embassy, an imposing six-storey four-entrance building overlooking Green Park. It's home to His Excellency Mr Masaki Orita, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (presumably 'Mas' to his friends). You can also pop inside to view the Japanese art exhibited in the foyer gallery, or make enquiries at the Japan Information and Cultural Centre (maybe they can tell us why their women are so good at running marathons in high temperatures). It's the only embassy to lie on Piccadilly itself, but a number of others lie nearby.
