non-monthly phone service options in Japan

I use a phone voice only for a maximum of 10 minutes a month whenever I am staying in Japan. Mobal seemed to have the best service by far but now that they are cancelling all accounts the end of February with nothing to replace it, I will be without phone service until I set something up. No sense in me paying some monthly charge and I do not do data and don't care to pay for something I do not use. I would like to know alternatives to what Mobal had and which are current (things keep changing). Tough getting past all the hype and spin on phone company websites, so I need the skinny from personal experience.

Hi!

Have you tried pre-paid phones. I used to have it while living in Japan. They're easy just top up your credit when needed.

Updating my query, when I let Mobal know of my dissatisfaction I got a reply regarding a voice-only option such that the monthly charge would be 1000 yen instead of 6000 yen. I don't know if that would be available for new customers or only old who opt for it before their current account closes. Nothing about a voice-only option in their notification of account closure the end of February. Presumably I would still need the new SIM at 3000 yen. If in error I do something data the 6000 charge would kick in. Nothing about the 100 yen a minute for outgoing calls being still the same or not. The monthly charge can be suspended when not in Japan after a minimum of 60 days. This 1000 yen does put them back in the ballpark. I have no feel for the cost of a prepaid versus Mobal in their new arrangement.

Do you need to receive calls or only place calls? Also, do you have a data connection while in Japan?

If you have data and only need to place calls then consider LineOut which lets you place calls to regular phones for about 3-14 yen per minute.

If you are from North America you can use Google Voice over data to call Japan for about 3-9 cents/minute.

If you have data and need to send and receive then Skype may be a better option. I pay about $25 USD per year for a Japanese phone number and then the calling rates are similar to LineOut.