Black Eyed JapanPeas

BIG NIGHT IN: Trisha and Black Eyed Peas in Tokyo

IF only I'd bumped into the Black Eyed Peas in the hotel lobby on the way OUT for a night on the town in Tokyo instead of on the way IN.

Fabulous Fergie and hip-hop king Will.i.am could have been my saviours in one of the city's hundreds of karaoke bars.

I suppose there's a chance the chart-topping Americans would never have agreed to join my warbling band as, funnily enough, I Gotta Feeling they were more interested in clubbing!

As super cool Will.i.am told me in the lobby of the luxurious Peninsula Hotel at midnight when HE was on his way out: "We've just flown in from the UK and are checking out Tokyo as probably doing some concerts here. This city is fantastic.

We're going to chill out in one of their superb nightspots, wanna come?"

No more rockin' for me Will after my stint at karaoke, which is a Japanese way of life. People love it and hire private booths for 10 to 15 people where you are served drinks and food as you go through a playlist as thick as a phone book.

For the capital of a country steeped in history, tradition, discipline and rules, the Japanese have some surprising pastimes.

Along many Tokyo streets, you'll find garish, neon-lit buildings that contain lines of slot machines. Gambling is illegal so this is the alternative. Punters buy trays of small silver balls and sit for hours feeding them in, using a dial to try to get them into scoring slots. Win and even more balls spew out the bottom and are then swapped for prizes. It's called pachinko because of the deafening noise.

The story is that the gifts are taken round the back of an alley somewhere and sold for yen (Japanese cash).

I went on a tour of the colourful, yet slightly weird, district of Akihabara.

Originally, it was just an electrical goods district and shops are crammed full of everything from the latest computers, cameras, TVs, mobile phones to second-hand goods and electronic junk.

But it has become a big kids' playground where you can buy cartoon comic books and characters, video games and animation toys. Our guide Patrick Galbraith, who has written the book The Otaku Encyclopedia (Otaku is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests), took us into one of the "maid cafes" where young, cute waitresses in skimpy costumes play child-like games with customers. Don't worry, it's all good, clean fun, if a little bizarre!

And at manga kissaten (comics cafes), people can read about their favourite heroes, watch DVDs and surf the net.

Tokyo can make you feel as if you've just been catapulted into the future by the Tardis because everything is more ultra-modern and sophisticated than anywhere else in the world.

It's a city of gadgets. Even the loos are something else-buttons open the door, warm the seat, lift the seat, wash whatever you want and dry it!

I could have stayed in my gorgeous hi-tech bathroom at The Peninsula-Tokyo's newest landmark hotel ideally situated close to the Imperial Palace and Gardens-for hours.

OLD JAPAN: Temples and shrines are scattered around city

Tokyo boasts skyscrapers of shimmering steel and glistening glass, flash monorails, the 190mph bullet train and streets that look as if they have just been swept whatever time of day and night you walk.

The Japanese are perfectly groomed-never seen so many smart suits and designer accessories in the business and main shopping areas-and incredibly polite. You don't have to wait in shops to get served and in hotels, waiters can be snapping at your heels. It is deemed insulting to tip but my waiter's eyes lit up when I passed a few yen over.

It sounds clinical. It is, but you are always reminded of traditional Japan with the scattering of temples, shrines, galleries, gorgeous gardens and craft shops.

And less than an hour away at Kamakura's Hasedera Temple, the hustle and bustle seems a million miles away. Buddhist monks meditate for hours and the environment must work wonders because a certain calmness and serenity sweeps over you as you sit cross-legged on rush mats.

How they sit on their feet is beyond me. My blood stopped flowing in minutes and cramp set in. I had to sit in a similar position again during a traditional lunch of shojin ryori-vegetarian food linked to Buddhism-and cheated by leaning on the restaurant wall and sliding my feet under the 2ft table.

Don't miss the hollow bronze 36ft Great Buddha of Kamakura, cast in 1252, which you can walk inside. It is still standing after a tsunami and an earthquake. One of those moments when you walk round a corner and go Wow!

Also see Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamakura's most important shrine founded by Minamoto Yoriyoshi in 1063. It is dedicated to Hachiman, the patron god of the Minamoto family and of the samurai in general. A million visitors descend on New Year's Day to see the first sunrise of the year.

Japanese food is delicious although, unlike Sir Richard Branson who was celebrating 20 years of flying to Tokyo, I am not a sushi fan. Whipping raw fish off a conveyor belt is not my idea of a lovely dinner out. Give me fried prawns and stir-fried vegetables at the fabulous Gonpachi restaurant in the city.

It is one of the best in town yet trendy and cool... must take the Black Eyed Peas there next time we bump into one another!

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GETTING THERE: Virgin Atlantic offers flights from Heathrow to Narita Airport, Tokyo from £540. Premium and Upper Class with drive-through check-in are also available. Visit www.virgin-atlantic.com or call 08448 747747 for more details.

For information about The Peninsula Tokyo, visit www.peninsula.com , call 00813 6270 2288 or email reservationptk@peninsula.com If you're feeling flush you can treat yourself to a special luxury package from £300 a night.

For more information on Tokyo visit the Japan National Tourism Organisation on www.seejapan.co.uk or call 020 7398 5670.

Patrick W Galbraith's book The Otaku Encyclopedia is now on sale in the UK, priced £13.99, and can be ordered via Amazon.co.uk

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