Call me!

I have to tell you I am dreading, DREADING what my cell phone bill will amount to next month.  Trying to to get a hold of Hubby while he is stateside was a nightmare- and we had to use our cell phones.  That means international roaming, meaning beau coup bucks!  We have Softbank, a Japanese cell phone carrier.  They bill in Yen of course.  Have you seen the exchange rate lately?  Yuck- it is bad all around.  I guess I should be grateful that his phone WORKS in the States.  Weird because our Stateside phones don't work here.

I am adding calling, using the telephone, cell phone, etc- as one of the challenges to living in Japan.  We didn't sign up for a DSN phone because I figured we could save $30- we have our cells after all.  But.

You can't call a DSN number from your cell phone.  You have to use a different prefix.  That is just fine if you know what that prefix is!!  The bases here all have different prefixes, some more confusing than the others.  and unfortunately- many times places on base will only give their DSN numbers- and do not tell you what the prefix is if you calling from off base or your cell.  Let me you tell you folks that is mighty frustrating!!

Oftentimes you can look up the number on the Internet, and they will give the DSN number and the commercial overseas number- that doesn't work from my cell phone.  Thank goodness for Facebook.  I will just ask my local friends- what is the prefix for....  Someone usually has it written down somewhere.

Then one tries to call Navy Fed.  Hmm, I tried the local bank in Yokosuka, but the machine says to call the toll free number.  Again- that number only works from a DSN line.  So I got online and searched Navy Federal's telephone directory.  There are several (read like 8) different toll free numbers to call in Japan- it depends who your land line or cell phone carrier is!  How crazy is that?  So after a couple of tried I finally found the number that works.  (When is doesn't work I get a recording of a woman's voice admonishing me in Japanese.)

You would think there would be a telephone directory they give all of us stationed here.  You would think...

I think I am going to go sign up for that DSN line now.