PINK phones

Tokyo Tales #10. November 2000. Nostalgic Shell-Pink Public Phones.

The lovely and nostalgic pink 10-yen phone.

Pink Phones in Public Places

Tokyo Tales

Dancing in the Streets
Enka Star
Atomic Aikido
Racket Attack
Sonny's Suitcase
Blending with Traffic
Sakura Time in Samurai Land
Tsukiji-a Fish Tale
Gokiburi Comedy Show
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Pink phones! They are so inconspicuous but you should keep a look out for the old ones as they are only found in cozy places, back-street eateries, and restaurants owned by the same couple for 30 years. They are a sure sign of a "shitomachi" old fashioned lifestyle.

They are placidly awaiting you in the little sushi-ya and sochu-ya and tempura bars that the locals favor. Only Japanese will be spoken there. Yakuza in suits, office ladies with fashionable handbags, old ladies in white aprons, school tots with red backpacks, sailor girls and German military jacketed boys, and delivery demons have all used that pink phone all their lives.

Talk to anyone about their phone and you'll find out more about real Japanese life. Everyone will be surprised that you noticed their faithful friend by the door.

10-yen for local calls
It says "For a local call, put in ten yen."

in the doll shop
Pink phone has been in this beautiful Asakusa Ningyo Doll Shop for generations of children.

Pink phone in the sushi shop.
By the door in the Shinjuku backstreet sushi shop. The pink phone is good friends with the cook and customers. My own keitai cell phone has an edgy, postmodern design. The user-interface is a backlit steel plate which glows in the dark. It lacks buttons, much less a dialface, and is perfectly at home in 2007 Tokyo. However, the pink phone has what that keitai lacks-a sense of personal homespace, welcome back, and pure love. I am sure no one will be using my keitai thirty years from now.

Dojo phone.
I started taking my pink phone pictures when I saw that the dojo phone had been replaced by this new one. The new one is not as lovely, and in Hello Kitty pink, it lacks that soft, welcoming aura, don't you think?

Pink phone behind the noren.
In Ebisu, for over 30 years, this pink phone peeks out behind the restaurant noren. It is as much a part of the place as the food, the plates, the neighborhood mom behind the counter, and the doo-dads on the wall.

The Ebisu sushi-ya from the pink phone's perspective.

Pink phone in the shochu-ya.
A new pink phone but only recently replacing the old friend to this owner of the sake and especially the shochu-ya. Enjoy the local specialities of eastern Kyushu!

Japlish Corner

(Playboy Symbol) Starts and Strips. Nurse's Sweatshirt

They are placidly awaiting you in the little sushi-ya and sochu-ya and tempura bars that the locals favor. Only Japanese will be spoken there. Yakuza in suits, office ladies with fashionable handbags, old ladies in white aprons, school tots with red backpacks, sailor girls and German military jacketed boys, and delivery demons have all used that pink phone all their lives. Talk to anyone about their phone and you'll find out more about real Japanese life. Everyone will be surprised that you noticed their faithful friend by the door.
	It says "For a local call, put in ten yen."
	Pink phone has been in this beautiful Asakusa Ningyo Doll Shop for generations of children.
	By the door in the Shinjuku backstreet sushi shop. The pink phone is good friends with the cook and customers. My own keitai cell phone has an edgy, postmodern design. The user-interface is a backlit steel plate which glows in the dark. It lacks buttons, much less a dialface, and is perfectly at home in 2007 Tokyo. However, the pink phone has what that keitai lacks-a sense of personal homespace, welcome back, and pure love. I am sure no one will be using my keitai thirty years from now.
	I started taking my pink phone pictures when I saw that the dojo phone had been replaced by this new one. The new one is not as lovely, and in Hello Kitty pink, it lacks that soft, welcoming aura, don't you think?
	In Ebisu, for over 30 years, this pink phone peeks out behind the restaurant noren. It is as much a part of the place as the food, the plates, the neighborhood mom behind the counter, and the doo-dads on the wall.
	The Ebisu sushi-ya from the pink phone's perspective.
	A new pink phone but only recently replacing the old friend to this owner of the sake and especially the shochu-ya. Enjoy the local specialities of eastern Kyushu!