Things I miss: phone straps

I don't know how many people are old enough and / or in Japan long enough to remember "keitai" (phone) straps. I had forgotten all about them to be honest. But while writing about "garakei" on City-cost recently, I rooted out one of my old flip phones with the phone straps hanging from it.

Right away I was transported back to another time. And was reminded how popular phone straps used to be and how I used to collect them myself! As the name suggests, and as you can see from the photo, a phone strap was something you hung from your phone. The old flip phones used to have a tiny loop for attaching straps. And they were big business. 

Not only did finding my own flip phone remind me of how I used to collect straps, it also reminded me of trips I had been on and people who were once in my life. For example, the round decorative ball on the right, was a present from a person I used to work with. Or the Hello Kitty on the motorbike, was from a trip to Motegi. If you were in Japan at the time of flip phones, did you collect phone straps?