JET Program Vlog #20 - keitai denwa けいたいでんわ cell phones

[TheTraveler12]

glad people have skype these days.. all you need is internet access a camera.. maybe.. and a headset. wiit a mic

[crackthecorn]

unless you want a girlfriend LOL

[Kewickviper]

This is similar to the UK. I pay roughly 5,600 yen a month for my contract, but I got a 42,000 yen smart phone with that for free, plus I get a certain amount of free minutes to other phones and texts. I can't believe you get free calls in America!

[myargonauts]

since coming home, I'm finding out that the free calls are slowly going away. It's still free to call within your own area code, but outside that there are small fees that get larger the farther away the place you're calling is.

[ephemeross]

@myargonauts In the UK we have free calls and free texts etc.

My iPhone 3GS contract has 600 minutes, 500 texts and unlimited free 3G/Edge/etc with free WiFi hotspots too. That's only £35 a month.

[myargonauts]

@ephemeross good info.

I'll finally be getting a Japanese cell phone in August, so I'll have to make a vlog all about it when I do.

[hojoojoh]

@myargonauts please do make a video about it. I am going at the end of this month (sept) for a year and will NEED a phone. I am beginning to become very interested in their contracts and the pros and cons of each provider.

[myargonauts]

@hojoojoh I might wait and get the new iPhone 4 in January - but I'm gonna do some research and see what works best for me - will for sure make a vlog about which one I get, the cost, terms, etc

[nntb]

inbound calls are free in japan. i thought.

[mostawesomestjes]

I think this is one of the things I am concerned about. I am so used to having a cell phone, but I am also very cheap ^_^. I don't like to spend money! The cost of 100 dollars a month seems a lot. I have an iPod touch that can get all that stuff through it's apps (granted I am near wifi) and I requested urban areas, so hopefully I will be set.

[FuryoMusume]

How about skype? If you have internet, is skype easy to download in Japan?

[myargonauts]

Yeah - Skype is easy to use here and a good alternative to long-distance calling costs.

[FuryoMusume]

thank you!

[demonvamp33]

do you have a vlog about internet access? i can live without most things but the internet is hard to give up hehe

[myargonauts]

in JET Vlog #14 (Monthly Expenses) I mention how much I pay for internet in my rural situation.

I haven't vlogged about how you get internet, since it varies so much, but if you come to Japan as a JET, you'll have people who will help you set up internet. Just don't expect Wi-fi or wireless access in rural Japan.

[Rictof]

The phones in the states aren't too different from the ones you were showing us. They have come a long way in 4 years. I don't know if you've ever seen the Blackberry, but that's a popular one, so is the iPhone but I kind of dislike it since it's all touch screen. I just use a simple Nokia phone that makes phone calls, that's all I need it for. Whoever made the comment about a girlfriend is a good salesman. I'll get one, but I'll be patient about it like you said.

[42317]

AU... I so wanted to have that 1x2 m Nakama Yukie banner they used in Akihabara back then... but they just wouldn't sell it... sigh.

Seems like Jap. Keitai options are the same as in Germany... just more expensive. Pity, nothing new there... I'd like to add: I used a mobile, too, but PASSIVELY. That way I didn't have to pay anything, and anybody could call me.

Such options do exist, but don't ask me for details...

Yes, it IS handy... that's what we call them here: Handys.

[fister356]

cool

[aerith637]

Actually, it's free to receive calls on the cell phone, even if it's an international phone call (say, from the US). Keep up the good work on helping out future ALTs~

[kansaiPJ]

I used to live for my keitai, but nowadays I rarely use it. I am however going to get the iPhone once it is regularly available... as a dotmac/mobileme user, it would be nice that people can use one email to reach me no matter where I am.

Keitai's seem to be one more thing we have to have in the modern age. I am amazed you've gone on this long without one!

[Shinycelebi]

"unless you want a girlfriend", that was awesome.

Haha "How do I stop". Cute.

Lets all count how many times you kept opening and closing the poor girls cell phone... Doing that repeatedly can actually break that snapping part of the phone.

[justawolfbite]

Really helpful video. One of your better ones

[myargonauts]

thanks!

[MTassarion]

hanko! do you actually have a seal? I've been told foreigners were allowed to just sign with their signature, but would it be more convenient to actually get a real hanko? And how does one get an official registered one anyway? i've heard there's more to it than one might think.

[myargonauts]

I don't think it's that difficult to do, but my supervisor took care of all the paperwork. All foreign JETs have a hanko, so it's no big deal to have one. Sometimes I get away with signing my name, like when the postman drops off packages.

You won't need one to just visit, but if you plan on staying for a year or more, you'll need to get one.

[MTassarion]

could you maybe show us what your hanko is like? And i guess there are kanji on it so maybe you could explain those as well.

I'm rather curious because i know this guy who's going to go to japan for 9 months or so and i'd say he'd need a hanko for his bank account and stuff.

[WhiteMatrix2006]

I don't even have a lan line phone. I have only a cell phone here in the U.S. I will definitely be getting a cell phone when I go. I think it's cool cause I've seen some phones that can translate English to Kanji and vice-versa (as kobayashi mentioned). If I continue to study, I shouldn't need it all that often, but still a cool concept. Another good video Jason. =)

-Billy-

[myargonauts]

yeah - some JETs don't have a land line either.

[nimyo]

Do most cellphones have an option to change the menus to English?

[myargonauts]

yep! phones, cameras, iPods, and other electronics here usually have an option to change the language to English.

[ElevenColors]

There's a couple others out there: Willcom and Emobile. Willcom probably has the cheapest dialing rates overall, in principle the same as dialing over a land line since they're the last PHS company left standing, but they have terrible customer service. Lost a battery cover once and they were no help.

Emobile is the most recent player on the market. Unfortunately they're more well known for their series of ads with a monkey.

[Kobayashi77Maru]

I have a friend that was in the Nova program a while back and came back with a j-phone that, you could use the camera on it to translate kanji to english and english to kanji.

[hirokivary]

hahaha! Why do you wear Yoshinoya's t-shirt!!

about cell phone I have au's one. I bought it 4 years ago.. I want to buy a new one.

[ElevenColors]

Look closely. It says "Yokozuna". Sumo joke.

[myargonauts]

Eleven is right - it's a joke t-shirt in the style of Yoshinoya's logo but with the word "yokozuna" on it. :)