My wonderful uncle, Phillip Certain (former Dean of Letters and Science at U of W, pictured in the center above), who is one of the most brilliant educators I know, connected me with one of his brilliant friends, who just happens to be the Asia Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her name is Kim Santiago and she is currently representing the Office of International Studies and Programs for the University in Japan. He emailed her on my behalf to solicit any advice she could offer me about staying in communication with my family while I am off on my adventure. She emailed me back with some terrific advice. I thought it would be best served if I shared it here, so that my cyber buddies can benefit from it too! Below is and edited version of her email:
Dear Christina,
As Phil may have mentioned, I am in Japan and my husband Jose is in Wisconsin, so we deal daily with the challenge of staying in touch.
Jose wrote that we use Skype, which is great as long as you have a reliable Internet connection. Christina, unless you know where you're staying,and whether the place has a dedicated Internet system, you'll be surprised to find how difficult it is to find Internet cafes/connections. In that case, you may want to look into other options, including cell phones.
I have a pre-paid US calling card, IDT, which allows me to use a public phone, and call a local access number. Once connected, I can make an international call. The cost of the call is debited from my account. I am not sure whether IDT's rates are the most competitive any longer, but with a little Internet sleuthing, you should be able to find out, or find something comparable.
Some of the Japanese phone companies are also offering calling cards. One of the best-known is KDDI (http://www.001.kddi.com/en/)
It looks like the average charge per minute is 60 yen (60 cents). Another popular option is Brastel (http://www.brastel.com/Pages/eng/spc/)
Both of these companies offer services from pay phones or from cell phones.
If you decide to use a calling card option, you'll either need to be sure to have a supply of 10 yen coins or a domestic calling card-which can easily be purchased at the airport or at any convenience store. (Once you've dialed the local access number the money is returned)
Sorry that I can't provide more thorough information on cell phones, but I actually have never had one, so I am a bit at a loss.
You can rent cell phones at the airport when you arrive. The lowest priced service is with G-Call (http://www.g-call.com/e/index.php)
They charge 262.5yen/day for rental/70 yen/minute to call the US. I am not sure whether there is a charge for incoming calls, but be sure to check.
Another option is Telecom Square (http://c155etz8.securesites.net/en/)
Of the three other companies I could find, none has a web site. One is SK CyberPass. They charge 500 yen/day rental, plus 180 yen for international calls. No charge to receive calls. The other is ABC Rental, a division of JAL (Japan Airlines). They are charging 250/day for rental, but I am not sure of the calling charges. The third option is Global Rent a Phone. They charge 600/day, 200 per minute/no charge for incoming.
I believe you can also obtain a Sim card that allows you to use your phone in Japan through NTT/DoCoMo ( a branch of what was once the national phone carrier). Information can be found on this web site (http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/en/index.html)
I noticed that you are here in June, which is our rainy season. Be sure to bring a good umbrella and shoes that can stand up to rain, slip ons preferred, as the tradition is still to remove your shoes when entering public schools, some offices, restaurants, and homes. You'll also want to bring a small travel bottle of hand sanitizer and a handkerchief/washcloth to keep in your bag, as public bathrooms may not have soap or towels.
People calling you from the U.S. will need to drop the first '0' from the city code.
Hope this is helpful. If you have any other questions about traveling in Japan, don't hesitate to email me.
Regards,
Kim S de M
--
Kim Santiago de Madera
Asia Coordinator
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Representing the Office of International Studies and Programs,
the University of Wisconsin Foundation,
the Wisconsin Alumni Association
and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Dear Christina,
As Phil may have mentioned, I am in Japan and my husband Jose is in Wisconsin, so we deal daily with the challenge of staying in touch.
Jose wrote that we use Skype, which is great as long as you have a reliable Internet connection. Christina, unless you know where you're staying,and whether the place has a dedicated Internet system, you'll be surprised to find how difficult it is to find Internet cafes/connections. In that case, you may want to look into other options, including cell phones.
I have a pre-paid US calling card, IDT, which allows me to use a public phone, and call a local access number. Once connected, I can make an international call. The cost of the call is debited from my account. I am not sure whether IDT's rates are the most competitive any longer, but with a little Internet sleuthing, you should be able to find out, or find something comparable.
Some of the Japanese phone companies are also offering calling cards. One of the best-known is KDDI (http://www.001.kddi.com/en/)
It looks like the average charge per minute is 60 yen (60 cents). Another popular option is Brastel (http://www.brastel.com/Pages/eng/spc/)
Both of these companies offer services from pay phones or from cell phones.
If you decide to use a calling card option, you'll either need to be sure to have a supply of 10 yen coins or a domestic calling card-which can easily be purchased at the airport or at any convenience store. (Once you've dialed the local access number the money is returned)
Sorry that I can't provide more thorough information on cell phones, but I actually have never had one, so I am a bit at a loss.
You can rent cell phones at the airport when you arrive. The lowest priced service is with G-Call (http://www.g-call.com/e/index.php)
They charge 262.5yen/day for rental/70 yen/minute to call the US. I am not sure whether there is a charge for incoming calls, but be sure to check.
Another option is Telecom Square (http://c155etz8.securesites.net/en/)
Of the three other companies I could find, none has a web site. One is SK CyberPass. They charge 500 yen/day rental, plus 180 yen for international calls. No charge to receive calls. The other is ABC Rental, a division of JAL (Japan Airlines). They are charging 250/day for rental, but I am not sure of the calling charges. The third option is Global Rent a Phone. They charge 600/day, 200 per minute/no charge for incoming.
I believe you can also obtain a Sim card that allows you to use your phone in Japan through NTT/DoCoMo ( a branch of what was once the national phone carrier). Information can be found on this web site (http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/en/index.html)
I noticed that you are here in June, which is our rainy season. Be sure to bring a good umbrella and shoes that can stand up to rain, slip ons preferred, as the tradition is still to remove your shoes when entering public schools, some offices, restaurants, and homes. You'll also want to bring a small travel bottle of hand sanitizer and a handkerchief/washcloth to keep in your bag, as public bathrooms may not have soap or towels.
People calling you from the U.S. will need to drop the first '0' from the city code.
Hope this is helpful. If you have any other questions about traveling in Japan, don't hesitate to email me.
Regards,
Kim S de M
--
Kim Santiago de Madera
Asia Coordinator
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Representing the Office of International Studies and Programs,
the University of Wisconsin Foundation,
the Wisconsin Alumni Association
and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
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