Hello Moto!

As you might expect, cell phones are big in Japan. Practically every cell phone in the world comes from here, so it's no surprise that everyone in Japan has one. What's interesting is to observe how much of the culture revolves around them....

The Japanese are a respectful culture, and by default, private and introverted. There is very little eye contact (it's considered rude) and little to know acknowledgement of their fellow man. The subways are a great example of this. If a Japanese is not psuedo-sleeping, they are doing one of two things on the train: A) looking at their shoes, or B) playing with their cell phones.

There's also big business behind cell phones. Besides Cameron Diaz acting as the face of Soft Bank (a major carrier) there is competition from DoCoMo, Piccell, and the company I chose, Au (clearly not as much fun to look at).

But it's more than just the phones themselves. No, the Japanese are equally obsessed with decorating their phones. Tokyo is a fashion mecca, and I'll have more than a few posts commenting on the "trends", but they are also consumed by accessories. For example, today I saw a girl on the subway with fake nails. In the U.S., that's fairly common. What's not common is that on the base of each nail was huge jewel setting with diamonds, rubys and silver. I'm talking pinball size here. The same goes for cell phones. It's almost impossible to walk into a store that doesn't sell charms. Anything from the traditional (Kanji symbols on medalions to Hello Kitty) to the creepy (full-fledged VooDoo dolls) to the unbelieveable...like Baby Tree. Just tie it to your cell phone, occassionally soak the cork in water, and watch it grow. When it gets to big, just take it out and plant it!

Anyway, I got a cell for two very simple reasons: to stay in touch with people and find out where people are going (turns out that visiting stuff with a group is a lot more fun than sightseeing on your own), and, more importantly, in case I get lost...which is a very real possibility.

For unlimited texting, data, GPS and 25 min. of talk time per month, I pay Y3250 (or about $30.00). Not bad. However, the texting is on a sliding scale, so if I use too much, it can go up to as much as Y6350 (or about $60.00). Everything is on a sliding scale here, as opposed to the set plans in the States. The other major difference are the phones. Technology constantly shifts in Japan, and a new model phone may only stay current for a few months. Take my phone for example. It's a top of the line Casio (Casio doesn't even make phones for the U.S. market), complete with GPS, data, and a pivoting screen that turns into a 5.1 megapixel camera. Pretty sweet.

...There is one drawback to this whole thing...the phone is in Japanese. But if you don't mind not understanding what you're doing, then you're in great shape...