Another popular pastime is gaming. Golf, fishing, Grand Prix have all been configured for tiny phone screens, and multi-user games have also taken off. But it would be wrong to think of i-mode as just for the young. Only half its users are under 30. This is reflected in the other half of i-mode's website traffic, which is devoted to finding information and carrying out transactions.
Japanese people love to read weather forecasts and check out train timetables on their phones.
The Yomiuri Giants baseball site is one of many sports sites that are heavily patronised. Or people can search for recipes while they're out doing the food shopping. And there are online airlines, banks and stock trading. In some delivery companies, the bike riders don't phone in when they've finished a job - it's cheaper to check the company's website. If i-mode has caught Japan's imagination it's not because of its flashy presentation.