You're rarely far from a payphone in Japan, but only from certain ones - usually grey or metallic silver and bronze colour, with a sign in English - can you make
international calls
. Because of phonecard scams, it's sometimes difficult to locate these phones - if you're having problems, try a major hotel or international centre.
In some restaurants and coffee shops you'll find antique dial phones that only accept ¥10 coins (which will get you ninety seconds of local talk time), but the vast majority of payphones take both coins (¥10 and ¥100), as well as
phonecards
(
terefon kydo
). The latter come in ¥500 (50-unit) and ¥1000 (105-unit) versions and can be bought in department and convenience stores and at station kiosks. Virtually every tourist attraction sells specially decorated phonecards, which come in a vast range of designs, though you'll pay a premium for these, with a ¥1000 card only giving ¥500 worth of calls.
For local calls, you should use ¥10 rather than ¥100 coins in payphones; that way you'll get back any unused money. For international calls, it's best to use a phonecard, and to call between 7pm and 8am Monday to Friday, or at any time on weekends or holidays, when the rates are cheaper. Alternatively use a pre-paid calling card, such as Brastel (advertised in all the Tokyo English-language media), to undercut the local rates altogether. All toll-free numbers begin with either tel 0120 or 0088; for operator assistance for overseas calls, dial 0051.
Mobile phones
(
keitai-denwa
, sometimes just shortened to
keitai
) have become wildly popular since the deregulation of the telecommunications market a few years ago, and it's not unusual to see trendy young things in the cities carrying a couple of the sleek fashion accessory-style phones. Announcements are now common on trains and in cinemas asking customers to refrain from using their mobile phones, though they're often ignored. You can rent a mobile phone while you're in Japan; NTT Do Co Mo Mova Rental Centre (2-6-21 Yaesu, Chpo-ku, Tokyo, tel 0120-334630 or 03/3243-6801) charges ¥1500 per day plus ¥2000 deposit; there's no deposit, though, if you use a credit card. Similar deals are available from Japan Direct Dialling Company (tel 0120-334630) and Sony Finance International (tel 0120-680100).
