public telephone; pay phone
Refers to a telephone installed in a public place for use by anyone, typically requiring payment. In modern Japan, these are becoming less common due to mobile phones.
Is there a public telephone in front of the station?
It's been a while since I made a call from a pay phone.
My phone battery died, so I called my mother from a public phone.
I looked around the station for a public phone, but couldn't find one easily.
With the spread of mobile phones, public phones have rapidly decreased in number.