How easy is it to find public computers for e-mail, etc. in Japan? Is there a fee or is there free access in some place? We do not use a cell phone here, should my daughter have one when she is visiting for some reason I haven't considered? What do you recommend she do to save her digital photos online so she does not have to buy additional memory cards? The answers might be obvious to someone more savy so excuse my ignorance.

That's very funny as I was thinking about the digicam question myself. Personally I was thinking of buying one of those flash drive thingies. I just emailed Canon - brand of my camera - to ask that question. I assume she would need to bring her USB cable if she can use the flash drive.

When I was in Tokyo two years ago, my inn had a computer in the lobby that could be used for free so I didn't have that issue. However, I am planning to go to Kyoto soon and am not sure about my hotel. What I do is type in 'internet cafes' in google. There are a few directories of internet cafe locations to check out. I found a couple in Kyoto that look convenient for my hotel. Also one can ask at the Tourist Information, I am sure.

The only issue is explaining or figuring out how to use the keyboard which can be a hassle. Although since I installed Japanese fonts on my computer I think that using the space bar is what changes the font from English to Japanese. When I was using the computer in Tokyo every so often my email would turn into Japanese

Internet cafes are not too difficult to find but they are not that common. She might find free access in hostels and budget lodging like Mara suggested. In Nagasaki, an internet place wanted around 500 yen for a "membership" and then it was something like 500 yen for a half hour.

I haven't done it but I am sure that she'll be able to find a place to have her photos recorded to a CD.

I'm no expert here, but I believe Japan's mobile phones won't work anywhere else. If your daughter were going almost anywhere else she could buy a GSM-standard phone which could be re-used almost anywhere in the world, even in North America (providing it was tri-band or quad-band) but a phone that works only in Japan would end up as an expensive paperweight. I think there are some former threads on this forum (use the Search function) deaing with cellphone rentals in Japan, though.

What she should definitely do is buy phone cards to make cheap calls home from any landline.

IMO the most convenient and inexpensive way to store pix is to take the flash card to a camera store and ask them to burn the contents to a CD. Then she can clear the card and start all over again. I'd suggest one spare card for use if the main one fills up, though - 256K capacity (over 200 pix at standard resolution) would be plenty for this purpose and shouldn't cost much.

Back to phones - showing my age here, but I remember when kids would leave Australia in their tens of thousands, usually for the UK, then home, often via Morocco, Nepal, Goa and other must-sees on the Hippie Trail, and for months at a time would hardly be heard from. Overseas phone calls were very costly and usually only contemplated in emergencies. No email, no mobiles - just the odd postcard. Pretty much the way the kids liked it, actually.

Sorry, just another attack of nostalgia.

There is an English language help line for visitors to Japan that she might use if she had a phone. I haven't tried it but from what I've read it can be used to get info and/or help as a translation service.