Regarding electronic equipment that
you may be bringing with you: the voltage throughout Japan is 100V,
which is different from North America (110V), Central Europe
(220V), and most other regions of the world. I have been told that
North American equipment will work fine in Japan without an adapter and
vice versa; however, if you are bringing expensive or otherwise
precious equipment, I urge you to check with the manufacturer or
otherwise use caution before plugging it in! Finally, it may be a good
idea to pack an adaptor for the plug (some Japanese power outlets
do not have three prongs).
Internet access:
We will arrange for wireless internet access available at the conference centre.
Both the OCU Guest House and the KKC have internet
connections available. At the KKC, you will need to bring your own LAN cable, although there are a small number of LAN cables that can be borrowed from the KKC front desk on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Cellphones:
It is my understanding that most cell phone
plans from other countries are not likely to work in Japan, but please
check with your service provider to be sure. You may also rent a
cellphone at the airport for a fee
of usually about 500 JPY per day. However, please read the section
"Culture" regarding the etiquette of cellphone use
in Japan (in particular, it is considered rude to talk
on the cellphone on public transportation!).
Public telephones (for domestic calls):
There are several types of payphones in Japan,
with different systems and (mutually incompatible) cards, unfortunately.
However,
the ones that are most standard (and these are for domestic
calls only) are the
light-green ones, which all
accept a standardized thin ``telephone card" (pronounced ``terehon kaado'')
which you can purchase at any convenience store or train-station
convenience kiosk in various amounts (e.g. 1000 JPY). (The telephone
cards most often sold at convenience stores, etc, ARE the ones accepted
at the light-green payphones.) When you insert
the card into the appropriate slot, the phone will display how many
``points'' you have left on your card, and as you make a phone call,
the display will continually update to let you know how many points you
have left.
There are public telephones on certain cars in the Shinkansen
bullet trains; these usually have English instructions posted nearby.
There are also public telephones in the lobby of the Kansai Kenshu
Centre.
International telephone calls:
There are grey payphones, a
little bigger/taller in size than the standard light-green
payphones, from which you can make international
telephone calls. These are much harder to find.
MY PERSONAL SUGGESTION: Make all international phone
calls at the Kansai Kenshu Centre or OCU Guest House, either
from the KKC ground-floor lobby area
(where there are both vending machines for international prepaid telephone
cards AND international pay phones), or from your own room at the
KKC or Osaka City University Guest House. For more details,
please see the relevant
sections in the ``Kansai Kenshu Centre'' or ``OCU Guest House''
sections of this website, below.
