Tokyo: A capital in bloom

WHERE?

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The capital of Japan and home to some 12m people, Tokyo is a uniquely 21st-century city. Located on Honshu, the largest of Japan's four islands, it positively seethes with high-tech modernity - from the bullet trains offering high-speed connections to other cities, to the proliferation of handheld gadgets that Tokyoites have embraced as part of their daily lives.

To get a sense of perspective on the city, head for the Roppongi Hills complex, a new "lifestyle development" at the heart of downtown Tokyo and a testament to Tokyo's insatiable appetite for self- reinvention. A sprawling behemoth of shops, galleries and restaurants, it's an urban planner's fairytale with offbeat, modern art sculptures splattered across a canvas of rampant consumerism.

Upon arrival, aim for the Tokyo City View (www.tokyocityview.com) and then gaze slack-jawed at the sheer scale of it all.

Standards of accommodation are generally high with all the major international chains present, plus local chains, such as Sunroute and Toyoko Inn offering good value and modern decor. Try a ryokan (Japan's answer to a B &B) for a more family atmosphere. Prices are generally hiked in spring for the frenzy that accompanies the cherry blossom season, but tend to dip during summer and midwinter when temperatures soar and plunge respectively.

At the top end, The Mandarin Oriental (00 81 3 3270 8800; www.mandarinoriental.com/tokyo) is one of the newer chic openings. It occupies the top nine floors and part of the lower atrium of the 41-storey Nihonbashi Mutsui Tower building and has doubles from ¥39,000 (£163) per night. The new Conrad Tokyo (00 81 3 6388 8000; www.Conrad Tokyo.co.jp) opened in July 2005 with stunning views over Hamarikyu Gardens and 172 deluxe rooms; doubles from ¥47,000 (£200). On a budget, Ryokan Andon (00 81 3 3873 8611; www.andon.co.jp) offers a contemporary take on a traditional ryokan with in-room DVD players and a top-floor Jacuzzi. Doubles from ¥8,190 (£35) without breakfast.

WHY?

The original BladeRunner city, nowhere else in the world encapsulates the ancient and modern quite like Tokyo. On one hand there's the neon cityscape, fast-paced and crowded with a high-octane lifestyle and a genuine buzz about it. On the other, quiet cobbled sidestreets lead away from the neon glare to secluded Shinto shrines, where devotees can grab a rare moment of quiet contemplation before continuing about their busy daily lives.

While the bright lights of the shopping and entertainment districts remain the primary attraction of big-city Tokyo life, the city's most rewarding experiences are often far simpler pleasures: admiring the chrysanthemums on a walk in the Imperial Palace East Garden, or watching children play with autumn leaves at an backstreet shrine. It's a humble reminder that, if you can scratch beneath Tokyo's brash veneer, the traditional values of Japanese society are actually still very much alive and kicking in the concrete jungle.

However, if it's the futuristic architecture of Tadao Ando that stirs your miso soup, then take the pilgrimage to Omotesando, Tokyo's answer to the Champs-Elysées. Located close to Harajuku JR station, this 1km-long, tree-lined avenue is home to the world's top fashion stores, such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci, plus home-grown labels like Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto - shops generally open daily from 11am to 8pm. It's also the place to find hip beauty parlours and place-to-be-seen, open-terrace cafés. Even if you're not keen on shopping, it's worth a visit just to catch a glimpse of the daily fashion parade of shoppers congregating on Ando's Omotesando Hills temple of consumerism (www.omotesandohills.com/eng/).

To keep up the contemporary motif, head for one of the city's ultra-cool eateries. Conveyor-belt sushi restaurants abound but the hot ticket is currently Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at Conrad Tokyo (www.conradhotels.com; lunch 11.30am to 2.30pm, dinner 5.30 to 10pm), the Michelin-starred chef's first restaurant in Asia. The new trend in dining for urban hipsters, meanwhile, is for tachinomiya (stand-up sake bars). These cheap and refreshingly informal speakeasies, generally found close to major train stations, open from mid-afternoon onwards. Try Gohiikini (00 81 3 3502 3132; 2-8-9 Shinbashi Minato-ku;) for a quick shot between shops.

WHAT?

Tokyo requires an early start - not just to pack in the sights, but also to fit in a dawn excursion to the bustling Tsukiji fish market (www.tsukiji-market.or.jp; pre-arranged group visits available). You need to be there from 6am to catch the frenzy of the tuna auctions and subsequently, a traditional breakfast at a nearby stand - raw fish, naturally.

Suitably fortified, you can then happily devote the morning to exploring Akihabara's electrical town, a geek-heaven for gadget fans whereby a whole district of Tokyo has been given over to a the latest technology at tax-free prices (www.akiba.or.jp). This is the place to snap up the latest must-have gadget among the techno-cognoscenti. After lunch head over to Roppongi Hills to catch the latest exhibition at the Mori Art Museum (00 81 3 5777 8600; www.mori.art.museum/html/eng; open daily from 10am-10pm, except Tuesdays: 10am-5pm; entrance varies with exhibitions). Located on the 52nd and 53rd floors of the Mori Building, this high-tech gallery houses one of the biggest collections of Japanese and Asian contemporary art and works in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The pièce de resistance for futurama fans is, however, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, better known as the Miraikan (00 81 3 3570 9151; www.miraikan.jst.go.jp; open 10am to 5pm Sunday to Thursday, closed Tuesdays; entrance adult/child ¥500/200, £2/85p).

Located in the burgeoning Odaiba area of Tokyo Bay, the futuristic Miraikan opened in 2001 under the watchful eye of Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri. Hands-on exhibits include making music with digital fish, making a robot and shuffling DNA.

For more details of attractions, contact the Japan National Tourist Organisation (020-7734 9638; www.seejapan.co.uk).

MEDIA CAFES

Capsule hotels, where guests rent tiny pods stacked on top of each other instead of a conventional hotel room, are nothing new - the first opened in Osaka in 1979, and now even the UK has got in on the act, with Yotel (www.yotel.com) opening the first capsule hotel in Gatwick this spring, and another to follow at Heathrow in the summer. However, in Japan the idea has been taken one stage further with the advent of a new type of hospitality: the media café.

Whereas in a capsule hotel the entertainment options are limited, in media cafés the pods are built like spaceship cockpits and are equipped with DVD and computer game options. They also have internet connections, snacks on demand, and access to a vast library of magazines and books. Reclining seats mean you can relax while you enjoy yourself - and there are also massage seats, flat seats where you can sleep, and seats for couples.

Media cafés have proliferated in Japan recently and they are now now replacing capsule hotels in the affections of many Japanese. Some have showers so you can stay the night - although strictly speaking, the pods are not designed to be hotel rooms. A five-hour overnight package only costs around ¥1,200 (£5), so media cafés have become the preferred option for people who have missed the last train home.

Ben Ross

For more information, see www.bagus-99.com

NATURE'S WAY: LOW-TECH JAPAN

Away from the chatter of pachinko parlours, the bleep of electronics emporia and the accretions of concrete on railways, roads and rivers, are the vestiges of an older and more contemplative Japan, with animist beliefs (in the form of Shinto - later absorbed by Buddhism), cleansing rituals and tranquil temples.

ONSEN

The Japanese have turned onsen, or hot springs, into an art form. Hotels vary from 200-year old inns to 21st-century structures, with the focus on bathing and food. Nude mixed bathing is rare; follow someone of your own sex and copy them. Wash before braving the communal bath and wear the little white towel on your head, not to cover your genitals. All prices are per person, including dinner and breakfast.

Aoni Onsen (00 81 172 54 8588) is set by a winding brook in an Akita mountain valley in north-east Honshu and lit by lanterns. From ¥9,075 (£38).

The 120-year-old Osawa Onsen (00 81 558 43 0121; www.osawaonsen.co.jp) sits by a glacial river, 15km west of Hanamaki (northern Honshu), with low wood buildings and baths open onto the river. Edo period rooms from ¥22,000 (£92), modern Japanese from ¥18,000 (£75).

In Kagoshima, on the island of Kyushu, women with shovels "bury" you in hot volcanic sand. Ibusuki Hakusuikan (00 81 993 22 31 31; www.hakusuikan.co.jp/en/access) costs ¥20,000 (£84). Also try Yamagawa (00 81 993 34 1141) under the volcano Kaimon-dake. Sand baths cost ¥1,000 (£4.20).

BUDDHIST RETREATS

There is a long tradition of pilgrimage in Japan and many temples cater for them. Temple lodgings are called shukubo and there are large concentrations around Mt Koya and Kyoto. Most cost around ¥10,000 (£42) per night, including vegetarian meals. Koyasan has a shukubo website (00 81 0736 56 2616; www.shukubo.jp/eng).

TIPS

Vary the pace (Japanese rarely stay more than two nights).

Book in advance: www.seejapan.co.uk/faccomm.html) has lists of shukubo in various parts of Japan

Eric Talmadge's excellent Getting Wet: Adventures in the Japanese Bath (Kodansha, £12.99) is a funny and useful guide to the world of bathing.

By Sally Rowland

'Use a Goodwill Guide. They like to show foreigners around'

Q. I am attending a conference in Osaka in late July. It struck me that my wife and our two boys (12 and eight) might enjoy joining me there after the event. But is there going to be enough to do to justify the long journey?

A. There can be few better family destinations than Japan: it is safe, clean and friendly, and easy to get around. It is utterly foreign, yet not intimidating, and doesn't have to be expensive.

Before you buy your tickets, though, there are two things to ask yourself. One, is your family up for it? When English language and signage are scarce, it helps to have a sense of humour and an aptitude for non-verbal communication. Two, are your children fussy eaters? You will need to think hard about meals if fish and rice are a no-no. "Western" food can be startlingly un-Western, so take biscuits and aim for Japanese foods that British kids will like, such as tempura (meat and veg in light batter), shabu shabu (cooked beef) or yakitori (chicken on a stick). Ramen, the ubiquitous, nutritious noodle soup, is a useful standby, or try pizza toast, which consists of thick white bread smothered in tomato sauce, with frankfurters and cheese on top.

Use the nationwide system of free Goodwill Guides. These are local volunteers who like to show foreigners around and practise their English - you simply pay any entrance fees and meals. See Arrange Your Travel/Essential Info on www.jnto.go.jp for details.

Osaka is within easy reach of some of Japan's best sights - including Kyoto. So on this trip you might want to focus on this region.

In Osaka, Sightseeing Taxis booked at Visitor Centres offer themed city tours. A car for four costs ¥12,000 (£50) for three hours, ¥16,000 (£67) for four.

On 24-25 July Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri takes place (matsuri are festivals which honour the local spirits, or kami), with river procession, floats and fireworks. A good place to start is the Umeda Sky Building just north of Osaka Station. Its 170-metre-high "Floating Garden" observation deck and mid-air restaurant are open from 10am-10pm. At the Kaiyukan Aquarium (00 81 6 6576 5501; www.kaiyukan.com), a corkscrew walkway encircles one of the world's biggest tanks. Summer holiday hours are 9.30am-10pm. Adults ¥2,000 (£8.30), 6-16 years ¥900 (£3.75).

If your children are theme-park buffs, it will mean a trip to the Tokyo suburbs (for Disneyland Tokyo, the Ghibli Museum of animation at Mitaka and Sanrio Puro Land - home to Hello Kitty). Or you could try Osaka's very un-Japanese Universal Studios Japan (00 81 6 6465 3000; www.usj.co.jp), south west of the city on the JR Yumesaki line. Day pass: adults ¥5,800 (£24), 4-11s ¥3,900 (£16).

Most children will find a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan, great fun, with mat floors, beds in cupboards, no dining chairs and separate toilet slippers. Book two nights in Ryokan Seikan-so (00 81 742 22 2670; www.jpinn.com/inn/10-6.html) in Nara, 20 minutes east of Osaka on the Kansai line. It also serves Western food. Doubles ¥8,400 (£35), family room for four ¥16,800 (£70) in total per night.

While in Nara visit Todai-ji. The wooden temple complex dates from the eighth century and houses the Great Buddha, one of the largest in the world. On 7 August the monks clean the Buddha in an annual ceremony (www.todaiji.or.jp).

From July until 30 August, the Cormorant Fishing Festival is on; book a place in a boat at the tourist office (www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en) from ¥1,100 (£4.60) at Ujigawa or Arashimaya. A bullet train trip to Hiroshima is worth it for the Peace Memorial Park; your children can add an origami paper crane to the hundreds of thousands left by Japanese schoolchildren.

Osaka Tourist Office (www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/en) runs Visitor Centres in four railway stations and at Universal City; the largest is at Shin-Osaka (00 81 6 6305 3311), open 8am-8pm, English spoken. 'Japan for Kids - The Ultimate Guide for Parents and their Children' (Origami Classroom), by Diane Wiltshire Kanagawa and Jeanne Huey Erickson, costs £8.10 from www.amazon.co.uk.