When I moved to Japan in 1999 telephone cards were still used and I used to to carry numerous ones around with me in case I needed to make calls while I was out and about. By the time I left in 2001 cell phones had hit the scene and were all the rage pretty much phasing out phone booths and pay phones. But in 1999, people were still collecting phone cards like this sumo set I came across recently. It's an interesting set with some heavy hitters (pun intended). Yokozuna Wakanohana (the other half of the famous Hanada Brothers), Ozeki Chiyotaikai, and Maegashira Terao are the ones I have come across so far. Interestingly, these came in the little paper/plastic purple holders to protect your "investment" which the owner did until I rescued them and catalogued them here and in my book. I love telephone cards and I'll certainly pick any up I can for the right price. Imagine a world without cell phones like we lived in 20 years ago...
Have a great week!
These are fantastic. Was just discussing how much we rely on cellphones with one of my classes last week. I kind of miss the simpler times of using land lines and long distance phone cards.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing how far we’ve come. I resisted for awhile while living in Japan, but eventually bought a cell phone and never looked back.
DeleteVery cool! I remember phone cards with athletes being a pretty big deal in the 90s.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few in the U.S. as well. Japan was the king of phone cards across the world though. Some were/are really expensive.
DeleteWow! Those are super cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks. These are pretty unique so I had to have them for sure.
DeleteNeat! I kind of like those little holders too :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, the holders are unique as well.
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