Melania Trump and Japanese counterpart take tour of millionaire's museum - while their husbands enjoy a round of golf

US First lady Melania Trump could be one of the few guests who are not overly awed by a marble and gold-plated Gilded Age mansion that she and her Japanese counterpart toured.

While President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe golfed at the president's nearby country club, their wives visited Whitehall, the 75-room, 100,000-square-foot waterside retreat.

It was built by oil and railroad tycoon Henry Flager, who offered it as a wedding present for his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler.

Mrs Trump arrived at the home, now the centrepiece of the Flagler Museum, from her husband’s gold-plated mansion three miles away in Mar-a-Lago.

She and Akie Abe were greeted by Flagler's great grandson William Matthews, and museum Executive Director Erin Manning, who led them through a tour of the home, which historians say cost $4 million ($110 million today) to build.

Mrs Trump wore an emerald green dress and designer heels, while Mrs Abe wore a dark dress with a floral print.

In the mansion's music room, they viewed a portrait of Mary Flagler wearing a long-pearl necklace that Manning says remains the most-expensive piece Tiffany has ever created.

Meanwhile their husbands President Trump and Prime Minister Abe enjoyed a round of golf. The avid golfers and played last year at another Trump course, in Jupiter, Florida.

They also partook in a round of "golf diplomacy" at the Kasumi Country Club when Trump visited Japan last year.

During that round, Abe at one point fell backward into a bunker. He quickly recovered and Trump didn't appear to see the fall.

Mr Trump is seeking to reassure Mr Abe of their close alliance ahead of the President’s planned talks with North Korea.

Officials suggested that Mr Trump is open to considering exempting Japan from new steel and aluminium tariffs that Mr Abe opposed and has pledged to raise the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, a top Japanese priority, in his meeting with North Korean leader Kim.

But Mr Trump later suggested there was one area where he and Mr Abe would have to agree to disagree: the Trans-Pacific trade partnership, which he pulled out of days after his inauguration but has recently said he might be open to re-joining.