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Telephone Local Calls
The easiest way to make a local call (within the same area code) is to pick up the phone and dial. NTT will bill you @ 8.9yen/3 minutes. There is one marginally cheaper way but it involves signing up for an Internet service. Long Distance within Japan
You have many options when making a long-distance call within Japan (any call where you need to dial an area code first). In this case, if you just pick up the phone and dial, you'll end up paying a lot more than you need to. The best deal as of April 30th, 2002 is Fusion Communications. Call 0037-100 and sign up for Fusion Communications, where you'll pay 20yen/3 minutes on any call within Japan when you dial 0038 before the rest of the number. (Just call and say "eigo dekimasu ka?" and you should be transferred to someone who speaks English.) International Calls
KDD is the main Japanese international service. Just pick up your phone, dial 001-country code-area code - phone number and you will pay a lot. Fusion Communications is pretty cheap for these calls too, but it really depends on what country you're calling (15yen/minute to Canada). Beware of the World Link advertising machine. You will probably receive countless pamphlets and letters claiming World Link is used by 70% of JETs (could be true) and has the best rates (definitely not true as of April 30th, 2002). Another way to make International calls is through callback services. Of course if you have internet, you can save yourself a great deal of money by downloading Skype, and either video calling other Skype users (family, friends, etc.) anywhere in the world or using the "Skype-Out" feature to call any mobile or landline phone in the world for impossibly cheap rates (North America and Europe average about 2yen/minute). Just upload money to your Skype account and dial away. You can even watch how much money the call is costing in real time. **Wireless internet users may get a less clear connection than those connected by ethernet cable. Callback Service
Callback systems allow you to bypass the Japanese phone system and take advantage of the reasonable rates offered in North America. The company with which you choose to register will give you a phone number to a computer in North America. Call this number and hang up after the first ring. (This is an uncompleted call so it is free of charge.) The computer recognizes your number and will call you back within 5-30 seconds. When you pick up you will hear a dial tone or a voice prompt. Then simply dial as if you were calling from North America. Callback services can be used with a telephone, fax, modem, or mobile phone (if it can dial internationally). Be aware that one drawback to callback services is that there is often a lot of static and/or delays when speaking compared to a regular line. Yahoo BB(www.bbtec.net/bbphone/price.php)
Yahoo BB offers really cheap calls provided you sign up for their ADSL Internet service. Their rates are 7.5yen/3 minutes anywhere in Japan as well as to the US with cheap rates to other countries as well. Also, if you call someone who also uses the service, those calls are free of charge. There is a small monthly fee for the phone service but it could save huge amounts of money. But remember, you have to sign up for the ADSL service to get this service. First check to see if Yahoo BB works in your town. To sign up, go to a big electronics store and they will have application forms. You may need to ask someone for help with both the application and any subsequent phone calls to Yahoo BB. Internet Service Providers Many JET's cannot imagine the JET experience without the Internet and e-mail. Internet services allow JET's to access a wealth of information from their hometown and throughout the world. E-mail goes a long way to eliminate the vast gulf between family and friends that thousands of miles can create. There are many Internet service providers (ISPs) in Niigata Prefecture, making Internet an affordable option. But remember, if you are using a dial up service, for every minute you are on-line, you are not only paying the Internet provider, you are also paying NTT for the local or long distance call. If such a service in your town is offered, the best way to go here is probably a high speed ADSL connection where you don't have to pay phone charges. Yahoo BB (mentioned above) is one option (and you benefit from the cheap phone service) but there are many others. Please talk to your supervisor and other ALTs to find out more about specific ISPs and the current deals offered. Regular Mail The Post Office
There is extensive information about mailing procedures and mail rates in the JET Diary. Become familiar with this book, it has information about just about every aspect of adapting to Japan from another country. Be sure to inquire about aerogrammes. This is a pre-stamped sheet of paper that folds up into an envelope. It only costs 90 yen and works well for those quick letters home. A complete guide in English to postal services is available. You should be able to ask for the "Post Office Guide 2003" at your local post office. If they don't have it, call the nearest English Postal Services Information number. There is one in Nagano, 026-225-8835, available Mon - Fri, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. They may charge you 200 yen for the publication. Receiving Package Notices
If you are not home when a registered or parcel post item is delivered, it will be brought back to the post office and a reply-paid postcard, "Notice of Non-Delivery", will be left in its place. This tells you the date of the attempted delivery, the post office it is at now and the date by which the mail should be picked up. (If you do not claim it by the day written on the postcard, the mail will be returned to the sender.) There are a number of ways you can receive your mail. If you go to pick up the package, do not forget to bring some kind of identification such as a driver's license, passport, alien registration card or health insurance certificate, in addition to the notice. Takkyubin (Delivery Service)
This service is great and you will use it right away. When you arrive at Narita Airport, you will send most of your luggage to your host institution by takkyubin. This is basically a door-to-door delivery service. It is useful for sending luggage ahead to the airport, sending any kind of package around Japan (or internationally), sending gifts (omiyage) or unneeded baggage back to your apartment while you are traveling around Japan, or for having purchases that you order by phone sent to your home. Takkyubin centers are everywhere around Japan. Just look for the symbol of a kangaroo, a pelican, a cat carrying a kitten, or a running messenger dressed in a loincloth carrying a package on a pole over his shoulder. These symbols should be displayed at most convenience stores, small food stores, department stores, train stations (maybe only large ones), omiyage shops and other stores. Just go inside and say takkyubin onegai-shimasu and they should be able to help you. You will need to know the address in kanji (your home and school address are on your alien registration card). If you are sending luggage to the airport, you don't need the address but you will need to provide your flight information. You can have the package picked up at your home if it is too awkward or heavy to carry to a local store. Have a Japanese speaker assist you in making these arrangements. The companies are listed in the yellow pages. Mass Media TV
If you are lucky, there is a cable station in your town and your building has already been connected. Check with your host institution. If this is true, you will only need to sign up with the local cable company. The cost is minimal. Typical channels provided are CNN, a weather channel, and Japanese channels that feature foreign (English) movies and sports. You may also get better reception on your regular channels if you are connected to cable. For an additional fee, you may be able to sign up for Wowow, which features many foreign films; US, UK and Canadian TV programs, and international sports. Satellite TV
If your town does not have cable, there is still hope. A BS satellite provides you with two English channels - BS 1 and BS 2. These channels are like cable in that they have many foreign films, foreign TV programs, and sports. The program schedule for these two channels is listed in the newspaper. A CS satellite provides you with three English channels; MTV Japan, Star Channel (a movie channel), and CNN. Sky-Perfect TV features over 100 channels. Many of the channels are in Japanese but the English channels include news programs (NBC News, BBC News, CNN) movie channels (Star channel, CSN, Power Movie and Perfect Choice (pay-per-view)), sports channels (golf, ESPN International (mainly European and Latin football, ice hockey, baseball, football and basketball), and American baseball (2 games a day in season)), Discovery Channel, and over 50 music channels. All of these satellite services can be purchased at your local electronics shop. There will be the initial cost of the satellite, decoder and installation and a monthly user fee. Like all other bills, the monthly fee can be deducted automatically from your bank account. But once you have access to foreign shows don't leave out Japanese TV altogether... you may just miss out! English Newspapers Japan Times: 3,900 yen a month, everyday except the 2nd Monday of every month. Call 0120-03-6242 for English speaking operators. Asahi Evening News: 3,900 yen a month, No delivery on Sundays, May 1st or Dec. 25th. Call 0120-43-1159 for English speaking operators. Daily Yomiuri: 2,650 yen a month, everyday except 2nd Monday of every month. Call 0120-45-6371 for English speaking operators.
Magazines Hiragana Times, monthly magazine, a bilingual magazine for those who are studying Japanese can be purchased at Kinokuniya Books in Niigata City. Foreign magazines can be purchased at Kinokuniya Books or you can order a subscription. You can also have foreign magazines, such as National Geographic Adventure, delivered to your house from the US really cheaply. Foreign magazine subscription rates will vary depending on the magazine.
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