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Japan is an excellent place for solo travellers: it’s safe, convenient and friendly. Almost all hotels in Japan have single rooms, and business-hotel singles can cost as little as ¥4000. Ryokan usually charge by the person, not the room, which keeps the price down for the single traveller. The only hitch is that some ryokan owners baulk at renting a room to a single traveller, when they might be able to rent it to two people instead. For more on accommodation, Click here.

Many restaurants in Japan have small tables or counters that are perfect for solo travellers. Izakaya (pub-eateries) are also generally welcoming to solo travellers, and you probably won’t have to wait long before you’re offered a drink and roped into a conversation, particularly if you sit at the counter. Finally, the ‘gaijin bars’ in the larger cities are generally friendly, convivial places; if you’re after a travel partner or just an English-speaking conversation partner, these are good places to start.

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TELEPHONE

Japanese telephone codes consist of an area code plus the number. You do not dial the area code when making a call in that area. When dialling Japan from abroad, dial the country code 81, followed by the area code (drop the ‘0’) and the number. Numbers that begin with the digits 0120, 0070, 0077, 0088 and 0800 are toll-free.

Directory Assistance

For local directory assistance dial 104 (the call costs ¥105), or for assistance in English ring 0120-36-4463 from 9am to 5pm weekdays. For international directory assistance dial 0057.

International Calls

The best way to make an international phone call from Japan is to use a prepaid international phone card (see below).

Paid overseas calls can be made from grey international ISDN phones. These are usually found in phone booths marked ‘International & Domestic Card/Coin Phone’. Unfortunately, these are very rare; try looking in the lobbies of top-end hotels and at airports. Some new green phones found in phone booths also allow international calls. Calls are charged by the unit, each of which is six seconds, so if you don’t have much to say you could phone home for just ¥100. Reverse-charge (collect) overseas calls can be made from any pay phone.

You can save money by dialling late at night. Economy rates are available from 11pm to 8am. Note that it is also cheaper to make domestic calls by dialling outside the standard hours.

To place an international call through the operator, dial 0051 (KDDI operator; most international operators speak English). To make the call yourself, dial 001 010 (KDDI), 0041 010 (SoftBank Telecom) or 0033 010 (NTT) – there’s very little difference in their rates – then the international country code, the local code and the number.

PREPAID INTERNATIONAL PHONE CARDS

Because of the lack of pay phones from which you can make international phone calls in Japan, the easiest way to make an international phone call is to buy a prepaid international phone card. Most convenience stores carry at least one of the following types of phone cards. These cards can be used with any regular pay phone in Japan.

KDDI Superworld Card

NTT Communications World Card

SoftBank Telecom Comica Card

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AREA CODES IN JAPAN

These are the area codes for some of Japan’s main cities. When calling from overseas, drop the first 0.

Fukuoka/Hakata 092

Hiroshima 082

Kōbe 078

Kyoto 075

Matsuyama 089

Nagasaki 095

Nagoya 052

Nara 0742

Osaka 06

Sapporo 011

Sendai 022

Tokyo 03

Yokohama 045

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Local Calls

The Japanese public telephone system is extremely reliable and efficient. Unfortunately, the number of pay phones is decreasing fast as more and more Japanese buy mobile phones. Local calls from pay phones cost ¥10 per minute; unused ¥10 coins are returned after the call is completed but no change is given on ¥100 coins.

In general it’s much easier to buy a telephone card (terefon kādo) when you arrive rather than worry about always having coins on hand. Phone cards are sold in ¥500 and ¥1000 denominations (the latter earns you