Cell phones in Sasebo, Japan

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Permalink Reply by Micki E on August 17, 2008 at 1:32am

We also have AT&T and we were told that our phones will not work in Japan because their technology is more advanced. My son bought a phone when he arrived in Sasebo and purchases calling cards. We also found out that we cannot send him phone cards from the states because they don't work over there either.

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Permalink Reply by Kathryn on August 18, 2008 at 6:29am

Skype is awesome!!! I use it to talk to my parents when they're in Europe. If he has high speed internet and you both have Skype, it's free to talk as long as you want...
Kathryn

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Permalink Reply by Carol on October 13, 2008 at 10:51pm

I just had a disappointing conversation with an AT&T sales rep. Not only will my son's phone not work in Sasebo (he leaves in 2 days!), but his AT&T air card will work, but will cost 2 cents per kb of traffic, which would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $600+ per month! Good Lord. They will put each device on military suspension, so that's not a problem, but the lack of communication sure will be! I know my nephew (Army) has used Skype when he's been deployed, but can someone explain how exactly Skype works? I have visited their web site and am still confused as to what it is and how it works.

Micki E, I would love to hear about your son's experience in Sasebo so far! My son is going to Atsugi first, then to Sasebo in November to work on the USS Safeguard. We have a LOT more questions than answers at this point! Any information would be SO appreciated! Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Ricles on October 15, 2008 at 6:30pm

My son was stationed in Japan for three years so we went down this road...not fun.. your son can purchase a cell phone over there that will work with Japanese technology. It is a "pay as you go" and I believe that they are not charged minutes for incoming calls like we are.

Also be aware that if you call your son on his cell phone in Japan, it will cost you an extra 50 cents per minute...at least it did with Verizon. So go and check your carrier's web site to learn more about calling cell phones in Japan. The Japanese government puts the tax on the cell phone, so that is the extra 50 cents...I found out the hard way when I got a $150 phone bill.

My son and his wife lived on base and got a home phone. Then I signed up for an International calling plan and got my calls for 7 cents per minute. If your son lives on base, it will be cheaper than a cell phone for him to have a home phone to call you. It was also only 7 cents per minute from base lines. My son and wife kept their cell phones for emergencies, especially since they had two babies while in Japan!

The hardest thing about them living in Japan was finding a time to talk. I lived on the East coast for the first two years and they were either 13 or 14 hours ahead depending on daylight savings time. But when I moved to the west coast, they were then 16 or 17 hours ahead...even harder to figure out! I kept a world clock web site bookmarked...http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=248 so I could quickly check and make sure I wasn't calling in the middle of the night.

However, with technology such as skypes and vonage, you will find it a lot easier to communicate than you think. Even four years ago, my son and his wife had a virtual birthday party for my granddaughter's first birthday. I was there, but all my family went to my son's web site and watched via web cam. Today with skypes it is so much easier and just like being there. I talked the other night to a friend in Japan through skypes and it was awesome.

good luck!
Shannon

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Permalink Reply by Anti M on October 15, 2008 at 9:11pm

Not only will the cells not work, but the sailor can't access the numbers stored on their phones. Be sure to give them an address book!

I left Japan before cell phones were common (1995) and getting a phone off base was expensive. The internet is going to be your best friend.

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Permalink Reply by Donna AKA Hunter's Mom on November 8, 2008 at 11:37am

Skype is great our whole family has it. For those who have never used it, it is very inexpensive. My son is in Atsugi Japan, VAQ136 Prowler jets and on the G Dub. He can call from his computer to a land line stateside for 2 cents a minute. But great part with skype is I have it too and we can see each other and talk for FREE! Also is he is calling a land line he can conf call with it..gets a little wild with us, and grandparents, and cousins all talking! My son also takes his laptop with him on the ship so when they pull into a port he calls us then too! Got our call form Guam recently... So check out skpye it's great.

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