I am looking for information on the retail organization of NTT East
and NTT West in Japan. There are virtual shops
(http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/shop/ & http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/shop/),
besides, they also have different kinds of retail outlets - I think
they are called "service counters" and "retail outlets", maybe there
are other kinds as well.

I am looking for a detailed description of each kind of oulet: number
of shops; product/service range; which brands are sold (e.g. only NTT
products or also products of third parties); target group (e.g. rather
businesses or consumers); do they have so called "flagship shops" and
if possible: average number of consumers; data on sales/revenue;
pictures of the shops, future outlook, and all other relevant
information.

---

Clarification of Question by jodepauw-ga on 18 Jun 2004 04:06 PDT

I increased the list price to $ 200.00 since I need the answer
urgently. Please include pictures of the inside of the different
stores. Thanks in advance !

As I'm sure you know, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT):
http://www.ntt.co.jp/index_e.html
has several divisions and DoCoMo is their wireless business:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/

DoCoMo appears to be the only division of NTT that has retail outlets,
which, as a category, are called "DoCoMo Shops." That category is
broken down into: "DoCoMo Shop, DoCoMo Satellite Shop, and DoCoMo
Spot." (What differentiates one from the other is unclear to me!
Generically, they just seem to be known as "DoCoMo shops." Many seem
to feature Web cafes, and some of the stores are larger than others.)

It appears the DoCoMo shops sell only NTT product.

Overview of Customers & Services:

"NTT DoCoMo to Invest in the Development and Promotion of Fleet
Management Services with Loxley in Thailand,"
according to this April 27, 2004 press release:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/presscenter/pressreleases/press/pressrelease.html?param%5Bno%5D=441

"NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications company with
more than 48 million customers.

"The company provides a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia
services. These include i-modeŽ, the world's most popular mobile
internet service, which provides e-mail and internet access to over 41
million subscribers, and FOMAŽ, launched in 2001 as the world's first
3G mobile service based on W-CDMA.

"In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North America,
the company is expanding its global reach through strategic alliances
with mobile and multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific, Europe
and North America.
NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM), and New York
(DCM) stock exchanges."

*****
Also see DoCoMo's "Subscriber Growth" patterns at the company's site:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/companyinfo/subscriber.html

*****
Where To Find The Shops:

Here's a listing of DoCoMo Shops, grouped by category:
http://foma.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/info_up/shop.html

About 60 shops are listed for Japan. Be sure to scroll all the way
down the page and, at the very bottom of that page, at left, see a box
where you can search for shop locations "via dquick."

Also on that page, about midway down, you will also see a grid with a
key that tells you which shops offer which kinds of services. Services
include: "Sales of mobile phones and PHSs, model changes, and
collection of charges etc., Application, changes, and cancellation of
various billing plans and network services. Repairs."  Some shops
"don't handle FOMA services."

Also see:

http://foma.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/guide/hearty/style/_hearty.html

And this press release which describes an upcoming DoCoMo store in
Ichinoseki, Iwate:
http://www.nec-mobiling.com/e/releases/040329.html
"The Shop is closer to a Mega-store, and also includes a large apparel
shop on the opposite side and a coffee shop, and on the left and right
sides, there is a bowling lane, a barbecue restaurant, and apparel
stores. The Shop is surrounded by many large stores and enjoys a very
high traffic.
"The Shop's first floor, 231 square meters in size, is spacey with a
tall ceiling, and inside, there is a specious "Touch and Try" section
where visitors can freely choose from the mobile handsets and other
products being exhibited. The Shop also supports visitors on wheel
chairs, with a toilet that accommodates wheel chairs and entrance with
no bump step. The Shop also has Kids Corner (3 meters by 4 meters)
that fulfills visitors bringing children."

I also saw a few brief references to DoCoMo stores varying in size,
but no real explanation of categories of stores. You can read a (very
unenthusiastic) description of the "DocomoTown" store in Odaiba, here:
http://www.vic-net.com/DoCoMo%20set.html

*****
Photos:

From Japanese store sites (These stores seem to feature Web cafes, too):

http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/y-tc/docomo/html/ube.html

http://www.licross.co.jp/m_shop/ds_akebonobashi/

http://www.vic-net.com/DoCoMo%20set.html

Catch a glimpse of the exterior of the Toykyo DoCoMo store in this news
article, "Hutchison hopes to stem 3G loss with HK service," from the March
5, 2004 Taipei Times:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2004/03/05/2003101246

******
Products & Services:

From WiFi Revolution, April 2003:
"Applications for infogate are available at any DoCoMo branch office,
DoCoMo Shop or DoCoMo e-site":
http://www.wifirevolution.com/enews/042803a.htm

Also see:
Wireless Maxima: "NTT DoCoMo To Offer Video Streaming Service For FOMA Phones":
http://wirelessmaxima.blogger.com.br/2003_09_07_archive.html
(Other DoCoMo products are noted in this article.)

Products sold within the DoCoMo division:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/companyinfo/services.html
Among the listed products there, only Mobiler's Check is specifically
cited as being sold at DoCoMo shops.

At NTT'sDoCoMo home page:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/
See their "Core Business" products:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/corebiz/index.html

"World Report: The Big Picture of MMS [multi media services], by 
Niall McKay in Japan, Carlo Longino in the US and Eric Ransdell in
China." Published in The Feature on July 9, 2002:
http://www.thefeature.com/article?articleid=15359

"Other Japanese equivalents of Multimedia Messaging are doing a
roaring trade. Take for example, DoCoMo's I-mode 504 service, which
offers 9600-kbps connectivity, costs between $40 and $280 per month
(depending on how much you want to pay for each phone call or
download) and features downloadable video, audio and animation. The
service now also offers camera phones so you can take snaps on the go.

" 'Many of our customers spend between $300 and $600 on their monthly
bill,' says Harumi Gorojima, a sales assistant at a NTT DoCoMo shop in
Kanazawa.

"On what? Video conferencing? Entertainment? 'Probably pornography and
games,' she admits. 'Because that way they are not only paying the
connection fee but premium content cost as well.' "

*****
Current Market Information on NTT's earnings and shares:

Bloomberg News:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=NTT

*****
Morningstar:
http://quicktake.morningstar.com/Stock/snapshot.asp?Symbol=NTT&ss=ov&kw=NTT
*****
"DoCoMo regains top spot in cellphone user growth," reported at Yahoo India
News, August 7, 2003:
http://in.tech.yahoo.com/030807/137/26nzc.html

"Japan's top mobile carrier, reclaimed the top spot in monthly user
growth in July for the first time in four months, industry data showed
on Thursday, as its latest series of photo phones lured subscribers.
DoCoMo won 311,000 new users in July . . ."

Revenue & Sales:

Check NTT's home site's "Investor Relations" page for updates:
http://www.ntt.co.jp/ir/e/index.html

NTT is a publicly traded company, so must disclose its financial
information. Click around for the most recent information, such as
"NTT Announces Financial Results for Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2004
(May 14)."
That will bring up:
http://www.ntt.co.jp/news/news04e/0405/040514.html

There, you can click on as many links as you like. I tried "Operating
Performance of NTT and Its Major Subsidiaries," which brought up:

http://www.ntt.co.jp/news/news04e/0405/040514a_01.html#2

At that page you can review NTT's consolidated revenues for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 2004 (It says "in billions of yen," so if I
understand this correctly, over 11 billion yen.) Then scroll down to a
chart that shows revenues by division, including DoCoMo.

But it seems NTT doesn't break out sales and revenue at DoCoMo down to
brick & mortar stores, Web sales, etc. It's pretty much lumped
together.

*****
Yahoo Finance's Page on NTT:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NTT

You'll see an assortment of news reports regarding NTT. Click on "More
Key Statistics" to bring up this break-out of NTT's financials:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=NTT
On that page-long chart, scroll down to "FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS," and
under that see NTT's  "Revenue ttm [trailing twelve months] 101.39B."
(B stands for billion dollars.)

At the bottom of that page you'll see links to extensive reports on
NTT, prepared by financial analysts, that are available for purchase.
You may have to purchase a report to see a breakdown of revenues and
sales for brick & mortar DoCoMo stores -- but I can't promise you that
detail will be included.

*****
Hoovers:

Hoovers Online has a report on NTT:
http://www.hoovers.com/ntt/--ID__41780--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml

"2003 Sales (mil.) $91,026.0
1-Year Sales Growth 4.9%
2003 Net Income (mil.) $1,945.0" 
2003 Employees 207,363

Hoovers also has reports on DoCoMo:
http://www.hoovers.com/ntt-docomo/--ID__58535--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml
http://www.hoovers.com/ntt-docomo/--ID__58535--/free-co-fin-factsheet.xhtml

"Formerly NTT Mobile Communications Network, the wireless spinoff of
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), the mobile phone carrier has
about 44 million subscribers to its digital network. (It is one of the
world's largest mobile phone operators by subscribers, behind #1
Vodafone.) Nearly 38 million customers subscribe to DoCoMo's i-mode
service, which provides Internet access from mobile phones. The
company also offers paging, maritime and in-flight phone services, and
sells handsets and pagers. NTT owns 62% of DoCoMo."

"2003 Sales (mil.) $40,730.8
1-Year Sales Growth 4.6%
2003 Net Income (mil.) $1,799.7
2003 Employees 23,310
1-Year Employee Growth18.3%"

*****
Future Plans:

At USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com
You can easily check any company's financials. Scan down that front
page to the box "Markets," and then in the box by "Quick Quotes," type
in Nippon's ticker "NTT." That will bring up this page on NTT in the
"Money" section:
http://stocks.usatoday.com/custom/usatoday-com/html-quote.asp?symb=NTT&Submit22.x=9&Submit22.y=11

If you keep checking back there, you'll find updated news stories and
press releases on NTT, as information is released.


Keep checking the company's press releases:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/presscenter/pressreleases/index.html

And its "Research & Development" page, for updates on products in the pipeline:
http://www.nttdocomo.com/companyinfo/rd.html


Search Strings:
NTT DoCoMo service counter
DoCoMo Shop +photos
DoCoMo AND interior or inside AND shop
DoCoMo sales revenue
NTT sales revenue
DoCoMo shops brands

I hope my research is of help to you. Because you said you needed this
"urgently," I worked as fast as I could. If you feel I've overlooked
anything, or if you need further clarification, please post a "Request
For Clarification," PRIOR to rating my answer. You can also try
duplicating, or modifying, my search strings, for more results.

Best Regards,
nancylynn-ga
Google Answers Researcher

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jodepauw-ga on 21 Jun 2004 03:29 PDT

Dear Nancylynn, 

Thank you very much for your prompt and extensive answer, this will
help me a lot ! I would appreciate, however, some clarifications:

* It's interesting to find out that NTT does not have their own retail
outlets, although I found a reference about this here: 
http://www.trendmicro.com.hk/news/news_20020930.htm.
Can you confirm that they do not (anymore?) have their own retail
outlets? I also learnt this weekend that NTT East has a "customer
center" (a showroom or a flagship store) in Tokyo. Do you know
anything about that?

*Could you tell me if the NTT (East and/or West) products / services
(such as fixed phones, landlines, etc.) are sold in the DoCoMo shops
as well?

* I can't find a desription of DoCoMoTown on the page you mention
(http://www.vic-net.com/DoCoMo%20set.html), there are only pictures. I
did some research myself, but I only find Japanese sites. As far as I
can figure out, DoCoMoTown is targeted towards kids, look at
http://www.icnet.ne.jp/~takabe/docomotown.htm or 
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/kids/kikaku/docomotown/
http://www.date-navi.com/odaiba/docomotown.html
Could you try to explain a little more what "docomotown" exactly is?

I am looking forward to hearing from you. Once again, thank you very
much for all your efforts !

Warm regards,

Jo

---

Clarification of Answer by nancylynn-ga on 21 Jun 2004 08:22 PDT

Hi Jo:

I will be glad to do any necessary follow-ups until we get you all the
information you need. In fact, I am going to contact NTT. It may take
a few days to hear back, but that's the best way to get the most
accurate and detailed information.

1. Oddly, when I searched with terms like "NTT service counter," I got
results like this:

http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/service_guide/
which seemed to me not to be a brick & mortar operation, but a call-in
help center. I really didn't find anything that suggested actual
physical locations where customers can walk in.

Thanks to the resource you found at Trend Micro:
http://www.trendmicro.com.hk/news/news_20020930.htm
And, thanks to muna_jp-ga's incredibly helpful comment (there's
nothing better than first-hand information from someone who has
actually been there -- thanks, muna!) to tell us that there are indeed
at least some NTT retail outlets.

But it was DoCoMo -- the wireless division of NTT -- that popped up
over and over again as the retail outlet associated with NTT and, of
course, I found that extensive listing of DoCoMo shops.

2. When I noted the reference to DoCoMo Town in Odaiba, I left out the
URL --- sorry! It's:
http://www.sugihara.com/Odaiba/
This is a tourist's unenthusiastic description of the store. Scroll
down to subheader "DoCoMo Town":

"Inside of Docomo Town is filled with video games which asking
question about electromagnetic waves, or how mobile phone works, or
history of NTT and press answer button. How uninteresting! But I was
invited to play the games. I've been a engineer of Electro-magnetic
compatibility for six years, so I could answer almost all questions
but NTT's history, but I felt adult won't feel interest any of this
games, but these questions are too difficult for kids to enjoy or
learn. Actually, while I was answering the questions, I saw some Moms
bringing her Kids to play with, but seems like those children are not
really understanding the question at all; just enjoying something is
displayed on the screen, and animation character speaks, and press
buttons without understanding anything, and hear the sound of
responding."
"DoCoMo Town" appear to be the "kid" or "family-friendly" division of
DoCoMo shops. The term "DoCoMo Shop" is used in what appears to be a
broad sense. The DoCoMo stores don't seem to be generic unlike, for
instance, all Wal-Mart SuperCenters look pretty much the same. I'm
getting a sense that DoCoMo shops aren't that uniform.

I will look around some more, and I'll contact NTT directly and ask
them which products are available in their NTT West and East shops. I
will also ask them, as muna noted, about apparent cutbacks in the
number of those NTT stores. I am also going to ask for an explanation
of the DoCoMo Shops. I found this breakdown, which I'd noted to you:
"DoCoMo Shop, DoCoMo Satellite Shop, and DoCoMo Spot," yet I couldn't
find an explanation of this categorization.

Again, we may have to wait a few days to hear back.

Best regards,
nancylynn-ga
Google Answers Clarification

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jodepauw-ga on 21 Jun 2004 23:55 PDT

Dear nancylynn,

I genuinely appreciate the effort you put in answering my question.
Thank you so much. The breakdown for DoCoMo (DoCoMo Shop, Satelite
Shop, Spot) will do, there is no need to go further on that. I am more
interested in the actual NTT outlets. I contacted NTT as well, and
they answered politely "We are sorry but all the information?we have
now in English is on our web-site.", so don't put your hopes to high
expecting them to give you the information.

Furthermore, I wanted to tell you that I posted a similar question
about Telia (Sweden) and that I would have appreciated you answering,
but it already has been locked by an other searcher.

Finally, muna_jp and othono, thank you both very much for the
interesting comments. I can only agree with marylynn that there's
nothing better than first-hand information. So thank you very much,
all of you; and I am hoping we get a  clear answer on all the issues
very soon !

Best regards,

Jo

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jodepauw-ga on 22 Jun 2004 00:00 PDT

Hello marylynn, 

In the meantime, the question about Telia (Question ID: 364387) is not
blocked anymore. So if you have time, feel free to check it out.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=364387

---

Clarification of Answer by nancylynn-ga on 22 Jun 2004 13:32 PDT

Hello again, Jo:

Well, let's hope NTT tells me more than they told you!

I am coming up nearly empty on NTT outlets and service counters. As
muna_jp noted, it appears that NTT is phasing out its NTT retail
outlets. And, as noted in my answer, it is DoCoMo, NTT's wireless
division, that now really represents NTT in the retail space.

The NTT East and West Service Counters appear to be just that --
counters. The main business that's conducted there is applying for an
account, filing relocation information, and making arrangements to
disconnect service -- that sort of mundane housekeeping stuff.
muna_jp-ga and othono-ga gave more detailed description of these
outlets, and what they have to offer, than anything I have found in my
searches!

For instance, here's a reference to making arrangements for Internet
service at an "NTT shop":
http://tanuki.org.uk/jap-online.html 

And from the corporation's own site:
http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/service_guide/2billing/billing05.html
"For automatic bank account payment, please fill out an application
form, which requires the seal or signature you used to open your bank
account, and take the application form to your banking institution,
post office or an NTT West service counter." (NTT prefers that
customers then use automatic banking to pay bills.)

Here's what little I found searching with terms like "NTT service
counters," "NTT retail outlets," "NTT East sales outlets," and "NTT
West sales outlets," which were the names mentioned in the 2002 Trend
Micro article you cited:
http://www.trendmicro.com.hk/news/news_20020930.htm

I got only a few results, like these:

From a cached link to Japan Today, Sept. 3, 2001:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:x0KjwS2YOhAJ:www.japantoday.com/gidx/news39056.html+NTT+East+sales+outlets+&hl=en
"Miyazu . . . also said NTT East and NTT West will push forward with
consolidating sales outlets nationwide. (Kyodo News)," which
buttresses the impression that, aside from DoCoMo, NTT is moving its
focus away from retail or brick & mortar presence.

And "Pay your bill at an NTT West Service Counter":
http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/service_guide/2billing/billing05.html

And apply for a telephone account at NTT West Service Counter:
http://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/english/SurvivalTips/SURVIVAL_TIPS_0101.htm

"What are the procedures for relocation?":
http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/isdn_e/e_page/e_faq06/faq256.html
At the bottom of this page I clicked on "corporate information"
http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/aboutus_e/
Then, clicked on "Products & Services":
http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/product_e/
As you can see by surfing around there, it's the same generic information
about, for instance, changing your subscription at an NTT service counter:
http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/product_e/guidebook/1/3.html

I also tried "NTT service counters AND locations" and "NTT service
counters located," but that didn't get me anywhere. (When it comes to
retail, NTT mainly sells technology to retail outlets -- that turns
out to be the explanation for hits I get searching for "NTT" in
conjunction with "retail" or "shop.")

But mostly, I just wound up at that same Trend Micro article you
cited, or at a site that refers to NTT's DoCoMo shops.

I also tried "NTT service counters +products," which yielded results like:
NTT's Services Guide:
http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/product_e/guidebook/1/
http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/product_e/guidebook/9/index.html

I can't even find listings of these service counters -- listings of
where they're actually located.

So, I tried a public library database search on "Business Source Premier." Nothing.

Perhaps, NTT will tell me more than they told you. Otherwise, the
information I gave you on DoCoMo, which is clearly NTT's main retail
venue, and the information muna_jp-ga provided, have given us as
detailed a picture as we can get of these NTT East and West counters.
Also, it seems clear from what muna-jp-ga said, and from the
information at:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:x0KjwS2YOhAJ:www.japantoday.com/gidx/news39056.html+NTT+East+sales+outlets+&hl=en
that NTT is scaling back its service counters.

I'm sorry I can't find more, but I think that's a reflection of how
narrow the scope of these counters is, and of DoCoMo's emergence as
NTT's main retail outlet.
 
I will look at your other question, thanks.

Best regards,
nancylynn-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by nancylynn-ga on 22 Jun 2004 19:52 PDT

I couldn't stand it, so I did another round of searching. This time I
tried searching with a more generic term "NTT offices."

It worked! I found several locations for NTT service counters,
including convenience stores. (No wonder I was having so much trouble.
I guess not all of these counters are exactly stand-alone
establishments.)

Here's a 2002 press release listing offices, including customer service desks:
http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/news_e/9911/991117_1.html 

Some are also listed at these "How To Get/Use Telephone" guides for
Japan. (For translation help with Japanese links that pop up, try
Babel Fish, http://babel.altavista.com/translate.dyn?lin=it&translate_me=yes,
not perfect translation, but better than nothing!):

http://insc.tohoku.ac.jp/guidebook1/daily/phone.html
(Scroll all the way down).

http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/GuideE/28-29.html

Where to pay your bill in Saga: "Any convenience stores that have a
[NTT denwa ryokin madoguchi] sticker. (big
convenience store chains, 7-11, Lawson, etc) Bring in the bill you
receive in the mail and pay at the register."
http://www.city.saga.saga.jp/en/doc/7267291586E09931492568A300270D73.html

The same for Osaka:
http://www.ih-osaka.or.jp/enjoy/en/services/06.html
"(2) Paying Your Telephone Bills
NTT and any long-distance telephone company whose services you use
will send you monthly bills.  You can pay these bills at a bank, post
office, or any convenience stores with the sign of 'NTT telephone
Bill'. . . "

From "Global Compassion," regarding moving to Japan:
http://www.globalcompassion.com/japanphone.htm
"Phone Services
NTT: When you find a place to live, you will most likely need to
contact NTT to establish your basic phone service.  You will need to
decide whether to buy a phone line (the price is several hundred
dollars) or lease a line for about $3.00 a month.  I suggest you lease
an analog phone line if possible.  You will have a choice to lease
either a ISDN (digital) or Analog phone line.  Analog lines became
available for leasing in 2002, and you will need an analog line if you
ever want to get ADSL Internet service.  There is no longer any good
reason here to have an ISDN line, but you may be stuck with one in
certain houses or apartments.  You can call NTT from a pay phone using
a toll free number.  There is even a number for service in English. 
And you can fax a hand written order for service from any convenience
store (convenience stores like Lawson, AM/PM and 7/11 are
everywhere)."

Besides convenience stores, see a listing of "NTT-Neomeit" service offices:
http://www.ntt-neo.com/english/pr/gr-base.html

(The key at bottom right tells you which kinds of customer service
support is provided at various locations.)

NTT and Neomeit partnered in 2002 as an IT company. See:
http://www.ntt-neo.com/english/pr/pr-1.html
http://www.ntt-neo.com/english/pr/pr-3.html

Also, this chart may be of help to you, it's from Converge Network Digest:
http://www.convergedigest.com/Bandwidth/newnetworksarticle.asp?ID=11123

You can see a breakdown of subscribers to NTT West, NTT East, and
DoCoMo. In the case of NTT West and East, since it appears their
"service counters" are for subscribers, these numbers give us the
customer number totals for NTT East and West. Unfortunately, it still
doesn't give us a good idea of actual foot traffic at those counters
(let alone for specific counters) -- but at least it's something of a
break-out.

Although the NTT monopoly has been broken up, it remains --
overwhelmingly -- the dominant telephone provider in Japan. See
Adbrands.com's reports:
http://www.adbrands.net/jp/ntt_jp.htm
http://www.adbrands.net/sectors/sector_telecoms.htm

The Japan Phone Guide:
http://www.dial-abroad.org/faq.htm 

And, according to Euromonitor:
http://www.euromonitor.com/Telephone_services_in_Japan_%28mmp%29
As of 2002, NTT maintained 78% market share.

I hope this additional information helps you. My thanks again to
othono and muna who have been so kind and generous with information
and help!

nancylynn-ga

A great answer for a very difficult question. Nancylynn, I admire your
drive and your contributions have been very helpful to me !
Furthermore, I would like to thank muna_jp and othono-ga for their
very useful comments. Best regards, Jo.

NTT land lines products are not sold in NTT stores for retail as a
main outlets.  They do have a store in Umeda, Osaka (NTT West) that do
sell NTT product.  These are NTT West office and NOT NTT DOCOMO.

I visited this store a few months ago.  They do offer various packages
expecially ISP products, BFlet and ADSL hook up.  You can purchase
landlines from this outlet but most sales are done through free dial
call "116".

Note that NTT Docomo is outlet for mobile phone; whereas, NTT West and
NTT East concentrate on landlines, ISP, ADSL and BFlet services.  NTT
has been cutting down their retail outlets in many prefecture.  For
example they no longer have customer center in Hyogo prefecture but do
they have customer service support through various free dial services.

Hi, I live in Japan, and maybe I can give you some little help.

Ntt is the giant japanese telecomunications company. NTT are divide
into 2 independent companies. NTT West Japan and NTT East Japan. NTT
have a huge list of services, especially landlines and ISP, including
access to a 100 MB and 1 GB fiber cable internet. NTT Spot, who works
with video conference, and many other services. NTT Docomo is a
subsidiary of NTT, working with mobile phones.
If you have any question, contact me. 

See you.

Othon

Like othono I am also in Japan and I am in relocation business which
means that I do interact with NTT for my clients.  Nancylynn is right
they are scaling the counters.  NTT sales focus is divided into:
corporate sales, NTT Docomo (Mobile), ISP services and household user.

I used to own a company in Osaka - they come and visit your office
when you open a business.  Offers you different types of servises
multi lines and equipment as well (the Xmas tree and bells etc.)  They
will also offer you to install a public phone in your lobby.

Docomo is the main outlet for mobile phone they do not offer any
landlines other services that NTT provided.  There are plenty of
Docomo outlets through out Japan.

ISP are distributed in different ways - mainly at computer stores such
as sofmap  and electronic stores such Seiden and very heavy online
application and services and most of them are in Japanese.

Household user are mainly done through the 116 dial number very easy
process.  All you need is to fax your ID and give them the address
they will arrange for installer to come to your house and set up
thephone line.   Normal phone lines take about 2-3 days ADSL takes
about 7-10 days.  When the hookup guy visits your home they will again
sell you various products such as fibber optics etc...  OF course it
helps if you understand Japanese.

----- Bellow this line is oppinion -----
IMO, the reason why they stop the counters services are:
1.  When NTT first started you have to lease the line around 80,000
yen that is your line you can resell and transfer it.   The purpose is
to help pay for NTT infrstructure.  Today they still offers the lease
line but they also offer non lease line - meaning you can get a phone
line for about 2,000 yen and pay extra monthly for rental lines.  Thus
NTT, no longer needs the outlet to sell this line.

2.  All new housing in Japan have phone line pre installed in new
apartments so the set up can really be done without entering your
home.  They do visit your home to test the line.   If you talk to NTT,
they will tell you that it can cost up to 10,000 yen to hook up the
line but it's always around 2,800 yen because all the infrastructure
are already there.

3.   NTT (at least NTT West) have different local smaller companies
that do repair works, hook up, deliver telegram etc...   In  a way
these are really theur main salesforce.  Thus they no longer need
retail outlet and focus on corporate account.

4.  Similar process is taken place with Osaka Gas, utility company
that provide gas in Kansai area.  They are closing down their outlets
as well and now focusing on electrical and appliance shops to
distribute their product such as stoves.  Also note that Osaka Gas is
currently expanding their business into heated floors and opening more
network in reform companies etc.

I hope this info help.  Feel free to ask if you need different info.