Technology abounds in futuristic world of Japan

The Tokyo shopping centre of Ginza. Picture / Jim Eagles

My first contact with Japan's cutting-edge technology came when I went to the loo. Relax. I'll spare the sordid details. I want to tell you about the electronic toilet.

As soon as you sit down an extractor fan starts up (not that I needed it) and the seat is heated. Afterwards, instead of paper, it offers a bidet spray or even a warm water shower. A bit of a shock at first, for a novice like me, but quite pleasant and effective when you get used to it.

Some models, I discovered later, flush automatically when you get up. Others have a basin on top of the cistern which sends up a spray of water for handwashing when you pull the flush lever.

Electronics giant Matsushita is now working on a "Health Toilette" which will check the user's health indicators, such as weight, body fat, and the condition of the excreta, show the results on a liquid crystal display beside the toilet seat, and maybe even send it automatically to the doctor.

Another, less intimate sign of Japanese technological innovation was that my mobile phone didn't work. I had to put my New Zealand SIM card in a rented phone advanced enough to pick up the signal to make calls.

The taxi doors open automatically for passengers - well, the drivers push a button, actually - most have digital gsm navigators showing surrounding streets and, just to show that not everything is futuristic, the drivers usually wear white gloves.

City roads have regular electronic signboards updating traffic conditions and advising alternative routes. I even saw a robot stop-go man, complete with hard hat and flashing yellow vest, waving us past an area of roadworks.

As its fancy toilets, taxis, traffic controls and telephones indicate, even after decades of economic lethargy, Japan is still the world's second-largest economy and is at the forefront of technological change.

Wander through Tokyo shopping areas, such as the back streets of Shinjuku, better known for its financial skyscrapers and neon lights, the Dengi-gai area of Akihabara, or even the department store mecca of Ginza, and you will find all sorts of amazing gadgets being flogged off on the footpaths, from robot dogs to scarily tiny spy cameras.

From the top of the 243m Tokyo Metropolitan Building you'll see that Tokyo's cityscape looks like something from a science fiction movie, with strange new buildings rising everywhere.

But if you want to get a feel for the technological tomorrow head for the Panasonic Centre in Ariake.

It is a futuristic suburb where strangely shaped buildings sit on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay and where electronics giant Matsushita shows off its latest inventions and visions of the future.

Among the products already in use - but still amazing to me - were the latest e-book, which allows you to take 20 books on holiday in a space the size of one paperback (you can download novels off the web at 20 per cent below the paper price), a camera that automatically compensates for shaky hands like mine, and a luggage robot that follows with your baggage and growls if anyone tries to nick it while you are in the washroom.

I did ask if there was a luggage robot which gave would-be thieves an electric shock but my guide only giggled and shook her head.

But even more extraordinary is the stuff they have in their future area, including:

* An intelligent table with screens for placemats which, among other things, can check family members' diaries, sort out what night everyone is free, recommend a restaurant and book a night out.

* A wall-sized digital screen which can show movies, change the scenery, play music, show messages and - the coolest of the lot - serve as a kid's playroom, complete with a blackboard you can write on with your finger, a piano you can play by touching the notes, a moveable clock, and a bouncing electronic ball.

* A household management system allowing you to lock doors, turn on lights or air-conditioning, check security and chat to visitors via your mobile phone.

* Spookiest of all is what Panasonic calls the ubiquitous web, in which daily living will be controlled by personal internet devices, about the size of a large ring, which will shop to suit your tastes, check food quality, choose recipes tailored to health needs, select the TV programmes and music you will enjoy, drive the car, offer advice on restaurants in strange towns, etc, etc.

It seems only fitting we left the centre on the Yurikamome subway line whose trains are driverless but still manage to offer foreign passengers helpful advice in English.

It took us to the seaside resort of Odaiba, which in another possible pointer to the future has an artificial beach, where apparently people sunbathe but don't dare swim, under the benign gaze of a replica Statue of Liberty.

You can get back to town by monorail but an even more futuristic option is a space-age ferry designed by Japanese cartoonist Leiji Matsumoto based on his TV cartoon programme Galaxy Express.

The ferry looks like something from Star Wars and the commentary during the ride across Tokyo Bay and up the Sumida River is provided by characters from the cartoon who sound a fairly excitable bunch.

Unfortunately, this time there were no translations offered because, my guide explained, "the characters don't speak English". Uhuh.

The ferry trip is also a good way to see some of Tokyo's most futuristic sights, including:

* The national exhibition centre, for some reason called Tokyo Big Sight, which consists of four upside-down pyramids.

* A dozen spectacular bridges, most notably the graceful double-decker Rainbow Bridge and the space-age Chuo-ohashi Bridge, with its central tower supporting an array of pylons.

* The Fuji Television headquarters with a giant metal globe in the middle of the building.

* The bizarre Asahi brewery building featuring what is apparently supposed to be a golden flame but looks more like a giant gold turnip.

The ferry ride ends in the ancient area of Asakusa with its narrow lanes, bustling market and the venerable Senso-ji Temple.

But from that slice of old city life it's only a quick subway ride to Roppongi Hills, which many Tokyo people see as the city of the future.

It is, apparently, the result of a decision by the head of giant development company Mori Building, Minoru Mori, to transform an 11.6ha block of slums into a place where people can "work, live, mingle, play and enjoy life".

If so, he should be a happy man, because thousands of people do indeed live and work there and it also seems to be where most of the swingers in Tokyo want to hang out.

What makes Roppongi Hills different is that the offices, shops, restaurants, clubs and apartments are mostly contained in tall, slim towers, and the services - especially the roads - are underground.

All the land freed up as a result is used for open spaces, performance areas and tranquil gardens, all dotted with art works, where pedestrians can wander freely and enjoy the atmosphere.

It's a bit scary being told to meet under Maman, only to find it is a giant metal spider, formerly on display at the Rockefeller centre in New York and the Tate Modern in London, which now stands astride the main entrance.

But the artworks, fountains, ponds and gardens certainly make Roppongi a delightful place to stroll, have a coffee or eat a boxed lunch under a tree.

Perhaps most remarkable, the top floor of the main building, arguably the most valuable space of all, is given over to the marvellous Mori Art Museum, with wonderful displays of art and spectacular views across Tokyo and even, on a clear day, Mt Fuji.

It certainly looks impressive but has the huge expenditure on sculpture, gardens, fountains and so forth paid off? Michael Madigan, these days Mori's international public relations manager, but previously in charge of leasing the Roppongi Hills buildings, says his boss took a huge financial risk with the development but "it has succeeded beyond all expectations".

Commercially, it has been an incredible success. "We have a waiting list of companies wanting space here."

It has also been successful in creating a place that people want to visit. "It is a major tourist attraction in its own right for Japanese and foreigners," says Madigan.

On top of that it has acted as a catalyst for the rundown suburbs surrounding Roppongi Hills to be redeveloped and for similar developments to be started in other areas of Tokyo. "It was a visionary concept," says Madigan, "and others now share that vision."

The only flaw in the vision is that while many ordinary folk do indeed work, mingle, play and enjoy life at Roppongi Hills, only the very rich can afford to live there.

That apart, if this is the city of the future, it is an attractive prospect. It would be nice to see something similar in, say, central Auckland.

Unfortunately I can't report on the toilets at Roppongi Hills ... but I'm sure they're amazing.

* Jim Eagles travelled as guest of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.