Japan has four types of public phones that can be distinguished by color: green, green with gold plate (international), yellow, and red. The green phones will accept coins or a telephone card. The yellow and red phones will only accept coins and some red phones will only accept ¥10 yen coins.
International calls can be placed only from the green phones with a gold plate located below the receiver or clear signage on the box.
Pay phones in Japan will charge ¥10 per minute for calls within the city and ¥10 for 80 seconds between the hours of 23:00 to 08:00. You have to insert the coin to get a dial tone. If you deposit a ¥100 coin into any public phone you will not receive change, but unused ¥10 coins will be returned. If you are calling a toll free number your coin will be returned after the call is finished.
When the amount of money you have deposit into a red phone runs out, your call may be cut off without warning. If you hear a sharp "peep" in the middle of a call on a green phone, this means your money has run out and you will have a few seconds to deposit more coins or another card to avoid being disconnected.
TELEPHONE CARDS
Phone cards are the most convenient way to use public telephones in Japan. (Some public phones only take phone cards so it's a good idea to have at least one for emergencies). These can be bought in most stores and from vending machines. They can be inserted into the green phones in place of coins, and can be used for either domestic or international calls.
INTERNET ACCESS THROUGH A PAYPHONE
It is possible to use a payphone in the street to get online in Japan. If you have a laptop, all you need is the modem cable and a suitable phone. Look for the dark grey phones, which say international phone on the phone box. These phones have data communications ports enabling you to plug your laptop into the phone (there are both analog and ISDN jacks available. Choose the English language option and then press the data communications button. Insert your money and then dial up as normal from your laptop, as you would do at home. Whilst online, an indicator shows you how much time you have left. Once you are finished, just pull out the plug and off you go.
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