IN THIS FEATURE Underground toy shop The looming presence of Mount Fuji You must bathe before dinner Reaching the summit

The underground car park at Nissan's HQ in Tokyo is like a secret toy shop. Here, in these dimly lit bays, you will find all manner of strange vehicles, some of which are destined for these shores, and others that will never escape the land of the rising sun. Today, a diminutive and oh-so-cool Cube shares a bay with an executive Fuga, while the tedious Tiida MPV holds a watching brief.

The car I'm here to drive sits in another corner. We've already driven the 350Z Roadster in the US but the UK version won't arrive until March. Based on the much-admired 350Z Coupe, the Roadster will cost from £26,000, some £1500 more than the hardtop. It'll be mine for the next couple of days, during which time I'll flee the clutches of Tokyo in search of a traditional Japanese Ryokan hotel, before scampering up the slopes of the famous Mount Fuji. It should be quite a trip.

Tokyo is a far less daunting city in which to drive than most European capitals. The 8.1 million workaholics who call it home live ordered, conservative lives and this is reflected in their driving. The traffic is no worse than London's and everything moves along in neat columns. And because almost everyone uses high-tech satellite navigation systems, there is none of the desperado lane-swapping that makes Madrid or Milan such a challenge.

Tokyo could never be described as beautiful

But while Tokyo is ordered, it could never be described as beautiful. Although the preponderance of Japanese characters in bright neon lends it a distinct flavour, it has little genuine character. Most of the buildings are new and high-rise, while the only interesting modern architecture appears to have been commissioned by the European fashion emporiums such as Louis Vuitton.