International phone calling cards
 

Hi,
I am trying to find the cheapest way to phone from Japan to call home in Italy during our 3 weeks stay next August.
Cell phones looks to be expensive, is it possible to buy calling cards that can be used from both public phones and from hotel via 800 numbers?
Grazie, ciao.
Gianni

Ciao Gianni --

Yes, it is possible. I use electronic cards that I buy from www.masterbell.com -- there are many different plans that are available, depending on the countries that you want to call from/to and the number of minutes that you want to buy.

I have another question regarding cell phones: I have a "triband" handset that can be used in both Europe and USA. Does it work also in Japan or I have to bring with me an UMTS phone?

Grazie, ciao.
Gianni P.

The phone that I have, a tri-band or maybe quad-band, GSM does not work in Japan. I am not familiar with UMTS.....hope this helps.

You need UMTS (also known as 3G or W-CDMA) for Japan. There's no GSM service there.