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Like some previous posters, I'm soon going to Japan for a year and will need a phone. I have no idea how often I'd actually be using voice service, but I'll be there as a student. If I read correctly, is my best bet an unlocked phone + b-mobile data SIM card、 or a wifi hotspot?
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Aug 19, 2014 04:55
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 12:54 |
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Kodo posted:Wifi hotspots are still obnoxious to locate and sign up for (a lot of them restrict to 30 minutes per session, limited number of sessions/one session per day), but at the same time b mobile requires proof of residency so you can't even sign up for the long term plans until you get your alien registration card. That sounds annoying, but I figured I'd have to wait until I'm there. I wish the data plans were a bit better than I read up on, though. How about something like T-mobile USA's data/text roaming?
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Aug 19, 2014 06:11
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Long overdue update, now that I have phone service... I was without service for a few weeks upon arrival in Japan. Once I was properly settled in, I found someone selling an international model Nexus 5 on Amazon for a great price and bought it. I'm pairing it with the Smartphone Free Data plan from b-mobile, which is costing me ¥3,300 a month. I get: - An actual phone number - 3 GB high-speed data per month, 200kbps unlimited after that - ability to upgrade/downgrade high-speed data and other services - 4-5 month contract, no cancellation penalties afterwards It did take a few days to activate the SIM card, but was pretty painless otherwise. Found the SIM card at Yodobashi Camera, bought it on the spot, followed online instructions and set up credit card payment. Yodobash had other data-only SIMs from various companies; some are working well for other people and can be activated in-store. As a bonus, those should have no contract whatsoever (unless the store attendants lied about it). In summary, though the MVNO plans seem to have a bit more data latency and don't have free calling, they're really cheap and work well if you have a phone with the right wireless band support.
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Sep 30, 2014 16:25
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I had considered T-Mo before, but was worried that the speeds would be horribly throttled. Glad to hear the situation's pretty good now.
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Oct 8, 2014 13:12
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bitprophet: From my (admittedly limited) experience here, 3 weeks is in that weird limbo of being a bit longer than some visitor SIM cards let you use them. A pocket wifi device will likely come with a microUSB charging port, USB charging cable and USB-compatible AC adapter in the package. You might get 8-10 hours' use per day if on all the time, and ￥6,750 for one month is not the worst price I've seen. Unless you are out and about from dawn 'til dusk and need internet at every second, you'll be fine. If you go the pocket wifi route, I'd say go with LTE. Yes, there's a data limit, but unless you literally need to watch movies or see funny cat .gifs every hour of the day you'll appreciate phenomenal LTE coverage anywhere actually populated (even in the subways!). It will service you well for maps and any phone translation tools. A lot of hotels do have WiFi, even if it's a bit spotty, so you can rest easy there. Some cities even have municipal wifi that's started not sucking badly*! In short: an LTE pocket WiFi device, if the cost is no problem, is a fine idea. The battery won't last indefinitely but it will probably serve your needs just fine. * Kyoto recently introduced "city-wide" Wifi that doesn't need an email address to log in. Not the best coverage, but it's still nice.
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Mar 1, 2015 13:13
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Now that I remember what I actually came here to post... I was using the b-mobile Free Data plan until a few days ago, when I found out that their SIM card is no longer sold in stores under that brand. Instead, they sell a new one: b-mobile SIM 高速定額. It has four monthly plan options, all high-speed, all 5-month contracts:
It's still LTE service on NTT Docomo's network, still has that small bit of lag that comes with being an MVNO... but I was able to switch to plans on b-mobile's website in a few clicks and had it working the next day. I'm stoked! For my usage patterns, the highest-priced plan is still a discount. Assuming they don't pull any last-minute tricks on me, I would recommend this for being the most straightforward, best-priced LTE data SIM card from an honest company, for anyone with an unlocked supported cell phone living in Japan at least 5 months. If you're coming from the USA, though, getting a compatible cell phone will be the challenge without buying another. Anaxite fucked around with this message at 13:38 on Mar 1, 2015 |
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Mar 1, 2015 13:32
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A big department store like Yodobashi Camera will have SIM cards and other cell phone things. They might also have pocket WiFi devices.
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Mar 26, 2015 16:01
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harperdc posted:^^^^^ those are almost guaranteed going to require longer term data plans and more "for people who live here" versus "people visiting here." Maybe pairing a pocket wifi with a rented SIM, but I know absolutely nothing about those. I was at a Yodobashi store yesterday and saw that they now stock visitor data SIMs. Maybe it's store-dependent?
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Mar 26, 2015 16:41
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Unfortunately it wasn't in Tokyo; you might be up to luck of the draw 
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Mar 27, 2015 02:56
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 12:54 |
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Tea.EarlGrey.Hot. posted:I have a friend in Japan that isn't super technically savvy and needs to get a SIM card for one year max. I usually suggest b-mobile's free data, but she actually needs minutes so she can call family. She's also got a pretty low budget, somewhere between 3000-4000yen (after taxes). I'm a little out of my element here and she needs some sort of phone service before Monday (Japanese time zone). She has an iPhone 5S. b-mobile's SIM cards do include calling features, but you don't automatically get minutes. Rather, you pay for calling and the price isn't great from a cell phone. Where is her family located? I think international calling is going to be expensive with any plan. The best bet might be getting a data SIM and calling from a Skype subscription/Google Hangouts/whatever other fancy VoIP service. Anaxite fucked around with this message at 12:14 on Apr 3, 2015 |
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Apr 3, 2015 12:08
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