To the glory and hopeful days that may never come again.
*Most of the pictures in this article were shot on RICOH CX3
When I first came to Japan in 2016, smartphone had already dominated the whole market. It was a social norm to use LINE to keep in touch with each other. I still remember in my Korean class, the instructor required us to join the LINE group, and after class, a boy told the instructor he was not able to join the LINE group because he was still using a very old Keitai (ガラケー or “Dumbphone” in English).
Cellphones used to be interesting. Especially for Japanese Keitai around 2010, which were really ahead of their time. The specs of Keitai were objectively far superior to the rest of the world. High resolution display, high end camera module and mobile wallet (Osaifukeitai/おサイフケータイ). Smartphones like iPhone had been released but I didn’t remember anyone around me actually owning one. I was in high school and the most popular phone was Nokia, a kind of smartphone but still boring. I believe Keitai around 2010 represents the peak performance of Japan as a country.
Before I entered the highschool, I was being deeply influenced by Japanese culture. I had decided to move to Japan and made the initial plan. Keitai was widely portrayed in Anime, even as the key factor in the story like Future Diary (未来日記). Protagonist and other main characters use Keitai to keep the diary. I was mostly impressed by Eden of the East (東のエデン) where a special Keitai is the tool to achieve impossible. Other than the very special Keitai, the phones other characters use are all real life model. For example, Saki’s Keitai is a white N-06A. Also, it is also worth mentioning that the first scene of the Anime is Saki using this Keitai to view photos.
Despite most of my classmates thought it was a dumb idea to have such a phone, and Nokia was the most popular one, I always wanted to own a Keitai. Besides it was objectively cool, I wanted to get closer to the Anime world by mimicing the lifestyle it portraied.
Guess what, I was extremely lucky to own a legit Keitai at the time. Sharp 9020c, a foreign version of 923sh. This phone costs twice as much as average Nokia. I begged my mother to buy this Keitai for me. I believe my mother truly love me because this Keitai cost 3 times of her salary at the time. I left my data in my parents’ house, so I am not able to show you the picture at the moment. However, I happen to own 3 different coloar 923shs.
Yes, I am collecting Keitai recently. Softbank and au have already stopped offering 3G services. Docomo still maintains the 3G signal until March 2026, altough they no longer issue 3G services (or FOMA) to new clients. I think it is my last chance to get good stuff at comparatively reasonable prices. I got those two rare models in mint condition with original box with only 3,000 JPY per phone.
I even got a number for more decent Keitai experience with MVNO. Although Docomo’s service is no longer available, phone calls and SMS are still usable via MVNOs that borrow Docomo’s network. I will explain this more in the “Keitai 2”.
My first phone in Japan was a mediocre Android smartphone made by Fujitsu. It was OK and I had a good time with it. Unfortunately, at the time Japan had passed her heyday. After the 2011 earthquake, Japan changed dramatically in a really short period. To be honest, Japan becomes less cool every year.
I think my obsession toward Keitai is partially trying to preserve the greatness of the old days, to grieve the glory days I could not even enjoy – when I arrived in Japan, the party had been over for a long time.
