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Internet Cafés インターネット・カフェー
Although most JETs end up getting the Internet installed at their place, and have limited access at school too, Internet cafés can be very useful. Often called "漫画喫茶" (manga kissa -- for the shelves of comics lining the walls), these cyber cafés tend to offer more than your standard Internet café fare. They usually provide by-the-hour unrestricted access to computers, comics, magazines, DVDs, games, and to a non-alcoholic drink bar for the duration of your stay. Most are open 24 hours, and offer services based on hourly and nightly rates.
Larger manga kissa offer additional relaxation and group services. Luxurious massage chairs, leather couches, TV lounges, electronic darts, pool tables, table tennis and karaoke areas can often be found inside these wonderful buildings. As with karaoke bars, the rates fluctuate depending on the time of day, choice of services and number of hours attended. Many manga kissa require photo ID or even a membership fee, but this card fee is no more than a few hundred yen.
Internet cafés are often useful when you are traveling in a big city after hours, and need a cheap place to crash after a night out. There is always one Internet café close to the main train station, often providing food and shower services to accommodate travelers who have missed their last trains home. While Japanese people can be found asleep behind computers in soft reclining leather chairs, bright lighting and strange noises may prevent you from getting a good night's sleep.
Wireless Hot Spots (WiFi)
You might be able to pick up a wireless signal from your apartment or around your town, but chances are these networks are password protected :( Still, a few well-known WiFi hotspots can be found around the ken. Major international coffee shops such as Starbucks, Seattle's Best and Doutour provide unprotected wireless access to customers free of charge. Smaller cafes like Open-Today Cafe and others have been known to keep their WiFi unprotected too. If you have a laptop or wireless-enabled keitai handy, check the cafes near you. However, heavy leeching from these free hotspots is frowned upon in Toyama, like anywhere else in the world.
Scroll down to find Internet cafés near you.
Although redundant if you don't have the internet, the following URL links to a Japanese site that shows the addresses of 28 Internet cafés in Toyama ken:
http://www.cafeman.jp/htm/16.htm
Or if you're feeling resourceful, you could always ask the nearest JET, combini worker or stranger. They'll tell you.
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