Help with a phone call?
 

Hi, it's me again. I'm settled in my dorm in Tokyo (sort of, I got here yesterday). I have a phone in my room, and I want to call collect with it to my mom in America, but when I dial 0051 (or 00000051, I've read both) to get to the English-speaking operator, I get an error message--I can't understand it completely, but I think it says I can't dial starting with '00'? Does anybody know how I can call America collect from a phone that isn't public?

Don't. The collect call will cost more than your mom's mortgage. Use skype.
Skype – Make free calls and great value calls on the internet

I second using Skype. It's what I used all the time I was in Japan, and if your parents get it too, the call is virtually free. I think I put £11 on my skype credit for the whole year and didn't run out until 4 months after I finished the year.

Don't use Skype. Use Yahoo Messenger Voice. I like Yahoo because even though I'm in Japan I can set my preferences so it seems like I'm still in the US. That way if I make a call to America through Yahoo voice, it is charged as a domestic call, and not an international one. I call home to America every week, and it costs me less than $10 a year to do it. The call quality is excellent, I have no complaints at all about it.

BTW, if you want to call America from Japan, just dial +1 and then the area code and phone number; example +1 (213) 555-1212, or +12135551212

where did you get the +0051 from anyway:confused:... calls into the u.s. always start w 1 then the area code...:D