How to call home from Japan to US , best way to get J. yen

Hi , I understand our cell phone from US would not

work in Japan. Does anyone know if I can get

telephone card in Japan, and how to dial back to

USA. I do not have a 3G phone. Also, there is

something buying a slim card that you can insert into your phone. Can anyone give me any info.

Also, is it best to exchange US$ to Yen at the

airport, use credit card, ATM card or traveller%26#39;s

check.

Also, what are the must see, must do thing in

Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. Hakone, Atami, Kobe. I would

apppreciate suggestion for dining in Shinjuku

in Tokyo and in Kyoto ( reasonably priced).

Sorry for the question, this is my first trip to

Japan

How to call home from Japan to US , best way to get J. yen

You can rent mobile phones at the airport. Or you can purchase a telephone card and use public telephones found near train stations, or inside major hotels.

Don%26#39;t use traveler%26#39;s checks. DO use a combination of cash and credit (more cash then credit), credit cards can be used for things like paying for your hotel and major purchases at major stores that accept credit cards, cash can be used for pretty much everything else.

Things to do and see:

http://www.japan-guide.com

How to call home from Japan to US , best way to get J. yen

Your US phone will not work in Japan unless it%26#39;s 3G so you%26#39;d need to rent a phone. Both JAL-ABC and Softbank offer good reliable service and simple rental/return at airport locations. Using these phones to call internationally would cost quite dear though. You should either get a phone card or ask someone to call your rental cell phone since incoming calls are free.

www.jalabc.com/rental/domestic_eng/index.html

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/campaign/otj/

Japanese hotels do not mark up the cost of phone calls, just charging you what it costs them, so the simplest way to make calls is just to use the phone in the room. However, I suspect that this does not apply to hotels owned by American companies such as Westin, where the 1,000% or so that is normal in the US will apply.

For Japanese yen --

Get some money exchanged at Narita Airport.

MOST ATM machines that I found in Tokyo would NOT work with my card from the USA. I had to go to the Post Office to use their ATM machine, and often , the machines would NOT have English instructions.

Hi, thanks for the wonderful link with a lot of good

info. As far as getting cash, do you have suggestion

where to go for best rate, at airport, hotel, local

bank or exchange it in US before I arrive in Japan ?

Another message sent to me said ATM card from US

usually does not work in Japan except in Postal

office, but does not have English instruction.

Since I do not know Japanese, so ATM is probaby out

for me.

Thanks for helping me to plan the trip.

Linda

Dining information - http://www.bento.com/tokyofood.html

Hi, I forgot to ask I hope the public phone in

japan has instruction in English. Does anyone know

what is the calling code to call from Japan to US,

and what is the approx. charge to call from Japan

to California?

Thanks to all of you for the help you have given me.

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Hi, I forgot to ask I hope the public phone in

japan has instruction in English.%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

I have not used a public phone in Japan for such a long time and I%26#39;m not sure if there is an English instruction. But all you need to do is pick up the receiver, insert coins or a calling card and dial.

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Does anyone know what is the calling code to call from Japan to US, and what is the approx. charge to call from Japan

to California?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

The country code for the US is 1. To call San Francisco, for example: 1-415-123-4567

I think calling from a public phone is quite expensive.

Regarding money exchange; TC gives you the best exchange rate. There is usually 2 yen/dollar difference between cash and TC when buying the Yen. If you exchange $1,000, you%26#39;ll get 2,000 yen more if you use TC.

Your ATM should work at the Airport. All ATMs at the airport have English instructions:

narita-airport.jp/en/鈥vc_12_t1.html

I have never encountered an ATM that doesn%26#39;t not have on screen English instructions, once the card is ACCEPTED.

There are several types of public phones in Japan. The green (and pink) is for domestic calls and accept coins and phone card. For international(and domestic) calls, the gray phone (clearly marked so)is used but accept only phone cards which you need to buy(min. 1,000 yen). As you use, the remaining balance is shown and punched %26amp; returned when you finish.

I am going to try Magicjack w/ a small head set next time. It is a portable internet phone(oversized match box %26amp; not PC to PC but a MagicJack to a regular phone) and plug into the USB on any PC. The call back to any of your home country phones are free (vs $1/min. or more from Japan on reg. or rented cell)as it is registered as a local call. (Calling an overseas phone costs a few pennies a min. depending on the country.) This way I don%26#39;t have to take my lap top anymore when I had PC to reg. phone internet free calls.

Anybody tried it yet?