(no subject)

[unbibium]

So I go to the 7-Eleven to buy one of those phone cards that'll let you call other countries, so's I can call people in Japan without paying whatever ungodly amount Qwest wants to charge. They have the cards on a little display, and they each have this little booklet that tells you what the rates are. I take the $10 one, squint down and find the price to Japan reasonable, and bring it to the register.

Once at the register, the guy behind the counter points out to me that he can sell me a cheaper card. He whips out this big glossy thing probably intended for store windows, listing like 200 countries and telling me that for $10, I can talk to Japan or Finland in excess of 180 minutes. More than I'll ever need, I think, so I get it from him.

I just tried it out, and not only did I only get 21 minutes of talk time, but the reception was shit. I don't know whether to blame that on the card or the fact that we were both using cell phones, but I like to think that you can get good reception in Tokyo.

Does anyone have a better idea for how to call Japan in the meantime?

Damn 7-Eleven. I'd stop shopping there, but the AM/PM across the corner doesn't sell most of the stuff I like.

Comments

[i-am-not-a-tree.livejournal.com]

Can you not use land-lines? Those prices may only apply between particular networks, and cellular networks are a good excuse for higher rates. I know cellular reception in London is terrible, and I would expect Tokyo to face most of the same problems but moreso -- particularly network loading and signal propagation hassles.

[miwasatoshi.livejournal.com]

Long distance companies in the States often charge exorbitant fees for international calls ... and quite often, if you only have local call access, you can't call internationally at all. I have a buddy at Camp Hood in Texas, and his phone line is unable to make outbound calls to Arizona (though he can receive inbound calls from my cell phone any time).

[kerri9494.livejournal.com]

Right...the prices on those cards are for landlines. The cost for connections to cell networks abroad can be higher by orders of magnitude.

I use www.onesuite.com for long distance stuff. I especially like the fact that it's got an all-online interface, and it's DEBIT rather than credit, so you never spend more than you intend. Never had trouble with dropped calls or bad quality, of course YMMV.

At onesuite, even, calls from the US to Japan landlines are 4.5 cents a minute, and calls to Japan cell phones are 19 cents a minute. So there ya go.

[hako.livejournal.com]

I'm not online very much right now because my computers are in Hong Kong, my money is in New York, and my house is in Shanghai. My landlord is a little dodgy, and is asking me to pay _him_ a deposit for the cable modem, as opposed to the cable company. I can't do that when my salary is 8 days late. Got to love Chinese effeciency!

I'm opening my own kindergarten to streamline things a bit, and that's keeping me busy.

Still, I have mad hook ups and top secret information about Kyoto or Osaka if you are serious about going. I will warn you, while Kinky City Osaka may be the most fun city in Japan, it can be pretty boring for foreigners. For the tourist type, I'd recommend Kyoto or Fukuoka. Tokyo is just an ugly New York on stereroids.

Do you want to see the mountains? The temples? The rivers? Traditional festivals? Burial grounds? Forests? Ninja? Samurai? Octopus?

I'd recommend mixing it up a bit, as Japan has a lot more to offer than fried noodles and talking robotic wombats.

my yahoo and marmalade email boxes are currently under insane spam attacks, so I recommend the hotmail one.

Noah, Live from Hon Kou Foosball Stadium