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In search of Japan’s hidden double pay phones

Master Blaster Jan 16, 2020
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And you’ll need to find them all for 100-percent completion of Japan.

With the near total dominance of smartphones in Japan, like in many societies, the noble pay phone has become a dying breed. Although still used by ghosts and obsessive retirees, their numbers have been rapidly dwindling, making them rarer and rarer.

And among these increasingly scarce beasts are the legendary double pay phones or “Duet Phones” as they’re called. These phones are so rare that most Japanese people aren’t aware of their existence and usually take to social media after stumbling upon one.

▼ “In front of the Nakahara Ward Office in Kawasaki there is a Duet Phone public phone that lets three people talk at the same time. The idea of three people communicating is interesting!!”

川崎市の中原区役所の前に三人で同時に通話が出来る公衆電話「デュエットフォン」あります。
３人で通話という発想が面白い！！#川崎市 #中原区 #トマソン pic.twitter.com/GqWu0i9R9Y

— 川崎シビックパワーバトル (@Kawasaki_CPB) July 9, 2018

The reaction of other Twitter users shows just how unfamiliar these mutant devices are in the Japanese landscape.

“There are two handsets!!”
“I have never seen a phone like that.”
“Oh, that looks really useful.”
“I wonder if it’s meant for a mother and child to talk with the father who’s working out of town…”
“Even if I had my smartphone, I would want to try that.”
“Which handset are you supposed to use?”
“I live in the same city and had no idea that phone existed.”

It’s easy to dismiss these sightings as some sort of hoax or art installation, rather than an official public phone installed by NTT, Japan’s privatized telecom company that oversees most pay phones in the country.

To find out, J-Town Net asked NTT about the existence and use of Duet Phones. A rep for the company said that an undisclosed number of these phones had been set up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their use in Japan. Since they are managed regionally, the rep could only vouch for the existence of one at the Nakahara Ward Office in Kawasaki City shown in the tweet above.

▼ Googling “Duet Phone” in Japanese (デュエットホン) will also pinpoint this particular unit. It’s hard to see but it’s inside the fake tree.

However, it is certainly not the only Duet Phone in Japan. The NTT rep couldn’t confirm how many of these phones were originally installed or still in use around the country, but a blogger named Mikkii found two others from various other tweets.

One is in a booth at The Historical Site of The Martrydom of Hidden Christians located deep in the mountainous Otome Pass in Tsuwano Town, Shimane Prefecture.

Another is inside a small log shed outside a government office in Kanonji City, Kagawa Prefecture.

For years, it has been written that these are the only three Duet Phones in Japan. However, recently another one in Mustu City, Aomori Prefecture, just outside a Maeda shopping center, has been shown to exist.

Another one was reported in Yamaguchi Prefecture hiding right behind an ordinary pay phone outside the Shunan City Museum of Art & History.

This brings us to at least five confirmed existing Duet Phones with a high potential for more. In the past, TV shows have done segments on these machines and estimates have ranged from seven to 20 across the country, but the true number is still unclear. Also, with the overall disappearance of pay phones their population may continue to shrink.

▼ “I went to check the safety of the Duet Phone in the Aeon Tsuchizakiminato Store [Akita Prefecture] but couldn’t find it. I asked the clerk and they said it was removed years ago. Only traces of its old sign remain.”

イオン土崎港店でデュエットホンの安否を確認しましたが、見当たらなかったので店員さんに確認したところ、数年前に撤去されたとのこと。撤去された看板跡だけ残っていました。#デュエットホン pic.twitter.com/31TBFzC84I

— ニャンパパ (@h4rwHG5osWTUWrJ) January 9, 2020

So if you happen to know of any Duet Phones wherever you are in Japan, let us know by sending an email from it. Then we can add it to this walkthrough and help everyone unlock that Platinum Trophy in the game of Japan.

Source: J-Town Net, Hot Hitoiki Recipe
Top image: YouTube/Tabi Suru Hikikomori Channel
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