From: davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Internet public access in Japan?
Date: 5 Nov 92 05:36:32 GMT

comptec91025@camins.camosun.bc.ca (Ian Hobday) writes:

>Well, on a slightly different topic from the seemly dominant guns.....

>My wife and I will be going visit and perhaps work in Japan starting in 
>January '93.  I am thinking of taking a laptop with us, and have a couple 
>questions:
>   1.  What sort of power is there in Japan?  110V?  220V?  Are the outlets 
>       the same as North American ones?

100V 50Hz and 60Hz, depending where you are. Outlets are the same as
in the U.S. but few have the third round hole for a ground so best
to bring an adapter for that if you have such a plug. To the best of
my knowlege the 50/60Hz difference doesn't affect power supplies but
will affect other equipment (such items made in Japan have a switch
for 50 or 60 Hz). 

>   2.  Are there public access internet sites?  I would prefer a site in
>       Osaka, but would be interested in hearing about any...  I am only
>       interested in being able to send e-mail back to friends in Canada,
>       file access is not of interest....
>
>   3.  How does the phone system work?  Pay-by-minute?  Per call?  What
>       about differences between local/long distance?

Attached is a mini-FAQ I have worked up to try and answer such questions.

>I do follow this group, but I'm sure that most people are not interested in 
>hearing about this - please e-mail me with whatever info you have and I can 
>always followup to the net if requests warrent....

Sorry, but I have to pay extra to send mail to addressess like your
so I am posting it here. 

Hope it's generally useful. 

Dave

--
Dave McLane 
JUNET: davidg@aegis.or.jp (ONLY within Japan: post otherwise)
Nagaokakyoshi, Kyoto Japan Tel: +81-75-951-1168 Fax: +81-75-957-1087

---- Internet Mail in Japan 92/09/11 -------------------------------

1) Join CompuServe in the U.S. and access it via TYMPAS (TYMNET) for
~ 70 yen/minute. Some people also call direct at 110+ yen/minute
(depending on time of day) with high speed modems and claim they
it's better for large file transfers than TYMPAS which is only 2400
BPS. CompuServe can also be accessed via FENICS and instead of
CompuServe you might consider any host outside Japan you can get to
via X.25 Public Data Network. 

2) Join Aegis in Kyoto for a UNIX host + BBS-like front end. 20,000
yen/year, no charge for network mail within Japan, 20 yen/K to other
addresses. Access via direct dial-up or TYMPAS (TYMNET Personal
Account System). Send mail to me, I'm sysadmin. 

3) Join TWICS in Tokyo for a VAX/VMS-host with PARTI/CAUCUS and an
AUS USENET newsreader. 15,000 yen deposit/signup + 3,000 yen/month,
mail inside Japan at no extra charge, charges for mail outside of
Japan free for the first 24K/month and 45 yen/K afterwards. TWICS is
well connected to other systems via DASNET at varying additional
charges. Access via direct dial-up, TYMPAS, DDX. Send mail to
burress@twics.co.jp for details. 

4) Set up your own UUCP host and join Juice. 5,000 yen to join plus
1,000 yen/month, mail within Japan OK, not sure about international
but most probably via KDDlabs' Inet Club which is 30 yen/K.  Access
via direct dial-up. Send mail to juice-admin@juice.co.jp for details. 

For international netmail, you will need to subscribe to KDD's
InetClub. Charges are ~2,000 yen/month and up according to how many
people are at your site, plus 30 yen/K. Also, you may need to call
their site in Saitama directly, unless you want to route through
somebody else, thereby making them subsidize your traffic. Contact
konish@kddlabs.co.jp for details. 
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