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Phone,
Cell and Internet Services
NOTE: I wrote this page in 2003, so some of the information is obviously out of date.
Japan is in the midst of significant
changes in these areas. Within the past few years, reforms
were launched to create more competition and, ultimately, lower
prices in the telecommunications arena. Prior to these
changes, the only service you could choose (in most cases) was NTT.
Now, you have more choice. You will still most likely be an
NTT customer in some way or another, because NTT has done a good job
of resisting change. But there are opportunities for you to
save that weren't available before.
Before getting into the details, you can
place cheap international phone calls from Japan. Learn how at
www.dial-abroad.org/japan.htm (don't miss the Japan Phone
FAQ).
Phone Services
NTT: When you find a place to live,
you will most likely need to contact NTT to establish
your basic phone service. You will need to decide whether to buy a
phone line (the price is several hundred dollars) or lease a line
for about $3.00 a month. I suggest you lease an
analog phone line if possible. You will have a choice to lease either
a ISDN (digital) or Analog phone line. Analog lines became available for leasing
in 2002, and you will need an analog line if
you ever want to
get ADSL Internet service. There is no longer any
good reason here to have an ISDN line, but you may be stuck with one
in certain houses or apartments. You can call NTT from a pay
phone using a toll free number. There is even a number for
service in English. And you can fax a hand written order for service from any
convenience store (convenience stores like Lawson, AM/PM and 7/11
are everywhere). Better yet, ask your Japanese friend to
call NTT for you, write out the order, and fax it for you.
(Ask your realtor for phone numbers, including NTT and utility
companies.)
My Line: Part of the recent reforms is that you can choose another
company besides NTT to handle your phone service (although you are
still paying NTT a base rate no matter what). This new option
is called "MyLine." You can choose from several companies,
and they are aggressively marketing their services. We chose
"Tokyo Denwa" because they were clearly the cheapest option.
You can find information about MyLine providers online (e.g., before
you come), and usually they have advertising available at local
electronics stores. (Hint: Most MyLine providers also market
ADSL services, and those advertisements are easy to find at
electronics stores.)
International Long Distance:
NTT and all the MyLine providers both charge very high international
long distance rates, but there are great alternatives (and some bad
alternatives, too). You can learn more about these at
Dial-Abroad.org.
Cell Phones
You will be bombarded with opportunities to purchase cell phones,
and you will soon notice that almost everyone has one. At the
Shibuya train station in downtown Tokyo, 80 percent of the people
carry cell phones. Do you need one? Well, you'll have to
decide that for yourself. You can purchase a plan that
includes just a few minutes each month (for emergencies, etc.) for
about $20 a month, or you can pay up to $80 a month. The
problem is that all the marketing materials are written in Japanese,
and in such a way that most Japanese people have a hard time
understanding them.
The most expensive service is DoCoMo (NTT).
It's also the most popular. (Note: Japanese are not deal hunters,
and service providers know this.) From my own research, which was limited,
I think that the
cheapest cell phone (especially if you are a student) is Au (a.k.a., KDDI).
Don't even think about getting "unlimited weekend minutes" or "250
anytime minutes." You may find that you can only afford 30
minutes a month. On the other hand, with a little practice
you'll be sending emails with your cell phone rather than making phone
calls. Sending emails to other cell phones is much cheaper than
calling, and it's very popular. In fact, you'll see young
people everywhere you go checking and typing email. I've seen
more than one person biking down a crowded sidewalk reading and typing email on
a cell phone.
One tip: some cell phones have English
menus for email and other functions, while others are strictly in
Japanese. Internet
The Internet is just catching on in Japan. The
most popular way to access the Internet is via cell phone. If
you have a computer, then you have five basic options for getting
online. Dial-Up:
The cheapest way to get online is via a dial-up account. You
can get reliable 56k service from Asahi-net (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/en)
for just 530 Yen ($4.00 US) per month. The only catch is that
you pay for local phone time in Japan. so with dial-up access you
are paying your phone service about 5 Yen or so for each minute that
you spend online. For dial-up service, you will need an
analog phone line. Be sure not to plug an analog modem into an
ISDN line, or you will at least fry your modem, and possibly worse.
Cable: Cable is not always
available. When you search for housing, the realtor can tell
you which buildings have cable service. One nice feature of
cable in Japan is that you can get TV, Internet and telephone
service all through the cable for a flat rate per month. That
allows you to avoid NTT (Japan's telephone monopoly) altogether,
which should save you some money overall.
ISDN: ISDN is another type of
digital service delivered over telephone lines. ISDN is
basically outdated, especially as ADSL continues to fall in price.
Don't choose ISDN unless you have to. However, you may not
have a choice if you get stuck with an ISDN line (e.g., if you rent
an older house that is wired with ISDN).
ASDL: To get ADSL you must lease
(or own) an analog phone line. ADSL is heavily promoted in Japan. Many
companies are offering 1.5MB/Sec ADSL for about 2000 Yen ($16 US)
per month and 8MB/Sec for about 2500 Yen ($19 US) per month.
However, they don't tell you the true cost of ADSL service. In
addition to the monthly fee that you pay to the ADSL company, you
also must pay NTT for ADSL service over your phone line.
Currently, NTT is charging 2900 Yen ($20.00 US) per month for
1.5MB/Sec and 3200 Yen ($22.00) per month for 8MB/Sec.
The total cost is really 3500-6400 Yen ($28-$48 US) per month.
The cheapest option we found was from Asahi-net (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/en).
Asahi-net offers 8MB/Sec ADSL for 830 Yen ($5 US) per month.
Add the NTT rate, and the total for 8MB/Sec service is about 4100
Yen ($32 US). That's a good price. Asahi-net is also one
of the last big providers offering English sign-up and support.
Let me say this once again clearly:
Getting ASDL is a two-part process. First, you need to arrange
with NTT to get ASDL over your phone line. Second, you must
arrange service with an ISP.
ASDL Tip: If you speak English and want to
get ASDL, then go to Bricks (http://www.bricks.co.jp).
You will find very helpful information about ADSL in Japan.
Naomi (who runs this service) is an NTT agent. She can take
your application by email in English, translate it into Japanese,
and submit if for you. It's a free service, and she
communicates any concerns to you right away.
Satellite Dish: You can get
Internet access over satellite dish. It's quite expensive, and
you still need a dial-up connection for uploading. I don't
recommend it unless you live in a place where it is the only option.
Computers
Before coming to Japan I read in numerous places that
it's ok to bring your computer to Japan. Well, we did, and
it's true. However, there are some issues that you should
consider.
Outlets: Just about every outlet in Japan has only two
prongs. You can bring along a three prong adapter with a
grounding wire, as several websites that I visited suggest.
But unless the outlet itself is grounded, then you won't be able to
ground the computer with it. You will probably end up using an
ungrounded outlet and exposing yourself to some risk of unexpected
electrocution. Or you can do what I did. When the
electrician came to install our air conditioner, I asked him to run
a grounding wire from that outlet (which was grounded, fortunately)
to the computer. I attached this wire to the computer case.
Hopefully that works...
Voltage: Be aware that some
outlets in your house may be set at a higher voltage than others.
If you notice an outlet high on the wall near the ceiling, that is
for plugging in an air conditioner/heater. I saw one of these
in our apartment and noticed that it was grounded. How
wonderful, I thought, and plugged the computer in there. I
booted up the computer for the first time, it flickered to life, and
then died in an instant. The last tenant had changed the
voltage on that outlet to 200 volts to power a big air conditioner.
Luckily, my computer was ok (after replacing the power supply, which
basically killed itself to save the computer).
Software: Software made for
Japanese operating systems may not work on your operating system.
That's no problem unless you need to install Japanese software.
Then you may need to find a way to run a Japanese operating system.
To access the Internet via ADSL, don't use software from the ADSL
provider. See my Internet information below about that.
Service: Services in Japan are
provided through the stores where you buy your stuff. There
are no independent service stores, and you can't even call your own
electrician. If you bought something from another city, or
another country, you must go to a retail electronics store and hope
that they will help you at a reasonable price. The situation
is worse with computers. First, relatively few Japanese people
own personal computers, and most of those are of the mass produced
variety (Compaq, HP, and Sony). Second, most workers at
electronics stores know next to nothing about computers, except how
to ship it to Compaq or HP for repairs. And most stores won't
even work with you if you built your computer yourself. They
won't even help you order parts. So you're basically on your
own. For all the
reasons above, you may be better off bringing a laptop to Japan
(preferably a Sony, Toshiba, or another Japanese brand). Look
for one with a two-pronged chord, too. Laptops don't need much
know-how, they run off of batteries (so you don't worry about power
variations), and they are easy to bring on the plane. But if
you're like me, you'll find a way to bring your desktop and handle
problems as they come. |
