Now that I am back to Japan for the better part of the year, I decided to once again get a cell phone. This time, instead of the popular DoCoMo service, I wanted something more local bound. I wanted AU which is also used by my girlfriend, her friends, and family. This lets us make free calls and text messages. The problem with AU is that they are a local services designed for Okinawans and for some odd reason, SOFA members are just not welcomed.

Perhaps we have a bad rep with even the phone companies here because the local ones dislike dealing with us. AU is no different. They make it a big hassle to get a cellphone with them, reason why DoCoMo gets all the American business. But today, DoCoMo would just not do, I was determined on getting an AU cellphone. I asked Hiromi to help me with the transalation and she did a good job. We were solid up until the point where they asked for a permanent resident form, something saying I live in Okinawa. See, they got this process now that only people living out in town in Okinawa are allowed to get a phone and people on base can’t. Nice touch. I was pretty much stumped, but Hiromi came up with the idea of getting it in her name and just using my credit card to pay for it. The attendent made a call, ba-da-bing boom! Next thing I know, she is asking me to choose my new cellphone. Woot!

Now, Okinawa is a small island and it gets hit by some pretty rough storms. I needed a phone that I can use anywhere and anytime. Something to take a beating because I am clumsy as hell, and something neat. I didn’t want one of their famous girl phones ( seems all phones in Japan are geared towards females ) and I didn’t want something too expensive. Then I saw it. Casio’s G’z One mobile phone. It was rugged looking and yet still smooth. It has a small guard on one side for some reason, but it doesn’t matter because it is shock resistant. I had to have it. So far it has been nothing but good to me. I still need to figure out how to download ringtones and set up the GPS tracking stuff. But after that, I will be set. Now I can moblog! Sweet. Oh, and if your in Japan and want to give me a ring, hit me up! 090-6867-1984