The NTT call charging system works as such. The basic fee for your phone bill will be ¥2,310 before you make any phone calls. The table below shows that it can get expensive to call people outside of your prefecture. For ¥10 you get the following amount of time:

NTT has many calling plans and there are a number of ways that you can save money on domestic calling which are not widely advertised and that are even harder to discover if your Japanese is not great. Here is how to reduce your telephone bill. There are a number of schemes which you can ask NTT for and that can be set up with one phone call:

• Time Plus: For 200 yen a month, Time Plus stretches your ¥10 local calls from 3 to 5 minutes (from 08:00 to 23:00) and from 4 to 7 minutes (from 23:00 to 08:00). This represents a saving of 30% on all local calls. See table below.

• Area Plus: For ¥200 a month, Area Plus will charge all calls in the adjacent calling region at the local calling rate.
  
  
• Telehodai: If you spend a lot of time on the Internet this is the program for you. The scheme works after 11pm, so if you spend over 15 hours a month after 11pm on the phone or online this can save you money. For ¥1800 (¥3600 for an adjacent town) a month you can select two local numbers that will be covered by this flat fee irrespective of the amount of calls you make or the duration to these numbers (after 11pm). Please note that if your Internet service provider does not charge a flat fee for access then you will be paying them their timed charge (If the provider does not charge a flat fee for Internet access, then jump ship and join one that does).

• iiplan1200 and iiplan3000: This is a discount scheme for ISDN users only. iiplan1200 gives you ¥3,000 worth of connected time for ¥1,200 iiplan3000 gives you ¥7,500 worth of connected time for ¥3,000.

• Other phone options include: touch-tone phone: ¥390 per month+tax (and ¥2000 installation fee), call-waiting: ¥300 per month+tax yen (if you also have a touch-tone service with this, ¥50 will be discounted), 3-way calling: ¥500 per month+tax, etc.

For free information in English on all this dial 0120-364-463 where an English speaking operator will assist you.

DOMESTIC LONG DISTANCE CALLS

There are a number of NTT schemes with which you can save money on domestic long distance calls.

• Tele-jozu is a long distance service which allows you to receive a discount on your dialing charges by paying a fixed monthly fee. It only applies to calls made between 10pm and 3am on weekdays and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Four service plans are available:
• Tele-wise is another fixed monthly charge discount service. It applies to domestic long distance calls made at any time of day.
• Tele-choice is a fixed monthly charge discount service. The discount applies to calls made any time of day to certain area codes that you designate.
• Shaberichi lets you save 40% on national calls made to two designated phone numbers outside of you prefecture.

DOMESTIC LONG DISTANCE ALTERNATIVES

There are several companies that offer alternative, and cheaper, national plans. Once signed up it's as easy as prefixing your long distance calls with a prefix. These plans can even save you money when calling friends who live only a couple of towns away.

There are two domestic long distance carriers that can help you save over NTT: Japan Telecom (0088) and DDI (0077). To take advantage of these carriers, you will have to call and request an application form. DDI offers itemised billing for no extra charge. For more information call Japan Telecom on 088-82 or DDI on 0077-779 or 0120-22-0077.

THE MYLINE CARRIER SELECTION SERVICE

A service called MyLine can help you save money on your telephone bills by automating the selection of your discount telecom carrier rather than having to key in the access code prefix for your particular long and short distance carrier. This not only saves time but also makes using your telephone more convenient.

MYLINE Carrier Selection Service and MYLINE PLUS Carrier Designation Service make your telephone more user-friendly because MYLINE services let you pre-select the telephone company that you want to use. You won't need to dial an access code any more once you've registered your telephone company selection in each category.

MYLINE PLUS is for those people who want to always use the same telephone company. MYLINE PLUS designates one telephone company as your regular registered service provider in each category. With MYLINE PLUS you always call through your designated telephone company, even if you happen to dial a different telephone company's access code. If you still want to use a different telephone company, you just dial the prefix "122" to temporarily cancel your registration, followed by the access code of the other telephone company.

MYLINE requires you choose and register one telephone company for each of four categories; 1) Local call (2) In-prefecture long-distance (3) Out-of-prefecture long-distance (4) International.

APPLYING FOR THE MYLINE SERVICE

All of the telephone companies will give you the application form on request, and forms will also be available by mail.(Please contact the telephone companies or the MYLINE Center.) After filling out all the required items, you can apply either by giving the application form to the telephone companies that you can register for this service or by sending it by mail to the MYLINE Center.

Applications for this service will only be accepted in writing. This is to prevent irregularities, such as someone switching the telephone company of your choice without your consent. This is why applications can not be accepted by phone.

It usually takes around two weeks from reception of the application through the start of service. However, it may take longer in some cases. Please contact the MYLINE Center for details. Documents confirming registration will be mailed after the completion of MYLINE registration to the billing address of NTT East and NTT West customers. You will be informed by mail of the status of your MYLINE registration; however, it may take some time for the postcard to arrive. You can check on the approximate starting date of your MYLINE service by calling the MYLINE Center toll-free line at 0120-000-406.

The bill for the fees you must pay will be included with bills from NTT East or NTT West and the details of your call usage will come from the telephone carrier you have selected.

A fee will usually be charged for a registration or change in any of the four categories. There is no monthly charge for the use of MYLINE or MYLINE PLUS. For more information and an explanation of the application process visit the MYLINE website by clicking on the button below.