It doesn't matter if your best friend lives in Japan, you want to discover the secrets of the best sushi, or you need to call a specific company in Japan, you have to know how before you can make an international call. Follow these steps to learn how to make international calls to Japan.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Collecting Important Numbers
Step 1. Find your country's international dialing code
To make an international call, you will need to dial a code that notifies your telephone service that you will be calling overseas. If you're calling from America, the code is 011, and if you're calling from Argentina, the code is 00..
To find your country's international dialing code, search for “[The name of your country] exit code” in your favorite search engine
Step 2. Find the country code for the country you are going to
In this case, your destination country is Japan, and the code is 81.
Step 3. Find the area code of the area in Japan you want to call
Area codes in Japan vary from one to five digits in length, depending on the area you wish to call.
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The area code is as follows:
- Akita 18
- Himeji 79
- Matsudo 47
- Takatsuki 72
- Hirakata 72
- Matsuyama 89
- Tokorozawa 4
- Hiroshima 82
- Miyazaki 985
- Tokyo 3
- Ichikawa 47
- Nagano 26
- Toyama 76
- Ichinomiya 586
- Nagasaki 95
- Toyohashi 532
- Iwaki 246
- Nagoya 52
- Toyonaka 6
- Kagoshima 99
- Nah 98
- Toyota 565
- Kanazawa 76
- Nara 742
- Utsunomiya 28
- Kashiwa 4
- Niigata 25
- Wakayama 73
- Kasugai 568
- Nishinomiya 798
- Yokkaichi 59
- Kawagoe 49
- Oita 97
- Yokohama 45
- Kawaguchi 48
- Okayama 86
- Yokosuka 46
- Kawasaki 44
- Okazaki 564
- Amagasaki 6
- Kitakyushu 93
- Osaka 6
- Asahikawa 166
- Kobe 78
- Otsu 77
- Chiba 43
- Kochi 88
- Sagamihara 42
- Fujisawa 466
- Kofu 55
- Saitama 48
- Fukuoka 92
- Koriyama 24
- Sakai 72
- Fukuyama 84
- Kumamoto 96
- Sapporo 11
- Funabashi 47
- Koshigaya 48
- Sendai 22
- Gifu 58
- Kurashiki 86
- Shizuoka 54
- Hachioji 42
- Kyoto 75
- 6 suite
- Hamamatsu 53
- Machida 42
- Takamatsu 87
- Higashiosaka 6
- Maebashi 27
- Takasaki 27
- Himeji 79
- Matsudo 47
- Takatsuki 72
- Hirakata 72
- Matsuyama 89
- Tokorozawa 4
- Hiroshima 82
- Miyazaki 985
- Tokyo 3
- Ichikawa 47
- Nagano 26
- Toyama 76
- Ichinomiya 586
- Nagasaki 95
- Toyohashi 532
- Iwaki 246
- Nagoya 52
- Toyonaka 6
- Kagoshima 99
- Nah 98
- Toyota 565
- Kanazawa 76
- Nara 742
- Utsunomiya 28
- Kashiwa 4
- Niigata 25
- Wakayama 73
- Kasugai 568
- Nishinomiya 798
- Yokkaichi 59
- Kawagoe 49
- Oita 97
- Yokohama 45
- Kawaguchi 48
- Okayama 86
- Yokosuka 46
Step 4. Know the phone number you want to call
This number is the phone number of the person, office, or cell phone you want to call. Phone numbers are generally nine digits long, including the area code. For example, if you call Fukuyama, the phone number is (84)-XXX-XXXX.
If you want to call a mobile number in Japan, enter 90 after the area code and before the area code. For example, to call a mobile number in Fukuyama from America, dial 011-81-90-XXXX-XXXX
Part 2 of 2: Making a Call
Step 1. Know the current time in Japan
Keep in mind that the time in Japan will most likely be different from the time in the location where you are making the call. Japan's time zone is JST, which means it is 9 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
Remember that you will still be charged for international calls even if no one picks up. This should serve as an incentive to ensure that the person you want to contact is actually still awake
Step 2. Make a call and enter the full international number
For example, you try to call your friend in Fukuyama and you are in San Francisco. The number you have to dial is as follows:
- American international code: 011
- Japan country code: 81
- Fukuyama area code: 84
- Seven digit phone number: XXX-XXXX
- The full phone number is 011-81-84-XXX-XXXX.
Step 3. If someone picks up and answers “もしもし” (Moshimoshi), congratulations
You have successfully contacted Japan.
Tips
- International direct dialing is very expensive in all countries. You can save money with a calling card, signing up for a discount international calling plan with a telephone service provider, a VoIP program like Skype, or a callback service.
- Remember to remove 0 before calling Japan from overseas. So, even though all Japanese phone numbers have 10 digits and cell phone numbers are 11 digits, you may only need to enter 9-10 digits after the phone code and country code to make a call.
