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There are three main systems available, digital, PHS and 'city based digital' services. There are a wide variety of phones to choose from and most will allow you to e-mail and choose from an infinite amount of very annoying rings. Phones are available that display all their information and menus in English, so ask the salesman for this 'bi-lingual' option. Calls from mobiles to mobiles on the same network can be expensive but once you call to landlines or mobiles on other networks, the costs start to rocket. Consider these factors before you enter into a contract with a phone company. If you also subscribe to a discount service you will be able to make international calls from your mobile/cellular phone. World Link allow you to call costs ¥33 per minute to the USA (76% off KDDI, the national carrier).
NTT DoCoMo, due to many foreigners leaving the country without paying their final bill, are considering setting up a ¥30,000 deposit requirement if you do not have your bills paid by direct bank transfer, you may be able to avoid this if you stand your ground. Monthly payment is usually withdrawn from the user's credit or bank account although you can refuse and pay your bill in cash at the convenience store. Most of the larger carriers will cater for foreigners and you can usually request an English language set of instructions for the handset. NTT offer an English language helpline service for customers, dial 0120 005 250, where you can make any enquiries with them or even have the shop call them to assist you in signing up. The NTT DoCoMo website is very informative listing all their handsets, call plans and prices. COVERAGE The reception on PHS and city based digital services deteriorate substantially once the user moves outside of large urban areas, however some PHS services are radically improving recently and can work out very cheap. This may be an issue if you're going to spend time in the country-side. NTT DoCoMo has the best coverage nation wide although signal quality standards between the networks have become less of an issue in recent times. Most people will end up going on one of the traditional digital networks. With J-phone you get an email account (¥3 per small message sent) and the bills are lighter at around ¥4,000 a month. Their phones also have an English display. DoCoMo is a very good provider with a wide network of outlets and English language support but it is the most expensive too. DoCoMo is run by NTT, Japan's national carrier, and has coverage over the entire nation. The i-mode system whereby mobile users can access a mobile-Internet has quickly become the industry standard and provides a vast amount of information. DoCoMo prices run around ¥2,500 per month with an I-mode phone up to the very expensive live video feed phones (around ¥50,000 per month). Other networks also have their benefits, but be warned, often the cheaper the service, generally speaking the worse the reception! Many JET's initially go for cheaper networks such as Tuka but in time end up moving to another network. GETTING A MOBILE/CELLULAR PHONE There are mobile phone shops all over Japan run independently or by the companies themselves. The smaller stores often will offer you a slightly better rate. Go to any shop with the following documents, your Hanko (personal stamp), passport gaijin card and your bank book or credit card. The cellular phone itself can be very cheap. Prices are vary from ¥1 to ¥30,000. Some dealers often give it to you for free if you sign a contract with them.You will have to select a phone and a service plan (see below). The process can often be drawn out even after they have gotten over the fact that they are serving a foreigner. Connection will take around an hour and you should be able to use your phone as soon as you leave the shop. CALL PLANS Phone companies provide hundreds of service plans and usually charge ¥3,000 - ¥10,000 as a base fee. Your base fee will often include 30-90 minutes of calls after which you will be charged for your calls. Once you have selected a phone you will have to choose a call plan. There are many plans at various prices on offer. Cheaper plans will charge a monthly fee of around ¥2,500 to ¥3,200. Call will be ¥50 and ¥100 during the day and under ¥50 at night. This is a rough estimate as the charges will be dependant on your monthly fee. The higher the fee, the lower the call charges. Make sure that your call plan includes the ability to receive international calls as some do not! PRE-PAY PHONES It is possible to purchase pre-pay mobile phones. These allow you to buy a phone at an initial cost of anything from ¥5,000 to ¥22,000. Following this you will need to buy cards and charge up the phone with credit. The cards range in price from ¥3,000 to ¥5,000 and the credit is valid for one month. You will need to buy a new card when the month or the credit runs out. The pre-pay mobile offers a cheap alternative to the contract phone although the calls are a little more expensive. CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET THROUGH A CELLULAR/MOBILE PHONE Many ketai and plans can have internet features added- from e-mail and (limited) web browsing on the phone itself, to connecting the phone to a computer like a traditional modem. In the latter case you'll probably need to buy a special interface card to connect your PC to the keitai. This usually requires that you have a laptop with a PCMCIA (PC Card) slot. The cable/adapter to connect your phone to your PC can be very expensive, between ¥10,000 and ¥20,000. Some phones have IR ports that can be used to connect them to any thing else with a compatible IR port- including hand-held computers, laptops, and some desktop computers. Note that your choice of ISP will be very limited- perhaps only to the cell phone provider. You can also pick up a data only mobile card to connect your laptop to the internet.
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