Telephone blues

Does anyone ever get confused with foreign telephone numbers?

I always do. An easy way out is to use the +(country code) (area code) (number format) on your cellphone. But that gets expensive.

So then, how do you call someone from a landline or payphone?

My guidebook says that the area code for Tokyo is '03'. But when you dial from outside Tokyo, you drop the '0'. So when calling to Tokyo from Tokyo, do you drop the '0' too?

This is what I've discovered (but only after I returned from my trip).

Drop the '0' when dialling from outside Japan.

So to call Tokyo, the number will look something like this: 81 3 XX XX XX XX

Drop the '03' entirely when dialling Tokyo from Tokyo.

The number should be something along the lines of: XX XX XX XX

Include both '0' and '3' when calling Tokyo from other parts of Japan.

So you'll be dialling: 03 XX XX XX XX