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using a cell phone in Japan - recs?

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  1. #1

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    using a cell phone in Japan - recs?

    Hello All - about to head to Japan for a few days with the fam. Wondering if anyone has advice about how to handle communications while there - is it an easy country to get a cheap sim card to use for less than a week? (And if so, would it have data?)
    Or, fellow smartphone customers, how bad would our roaming charges be once we came back, if we just use our current simcards?

    Thanks for your feedback


  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Loblaw:
    Hello All - about to head to Japan for a few days with the fam. Wondering if anyone has advice about how to handle communications while there - is it an easy country to get a cheap sim card to use for less than a week? (And if so, would it have data?)
    Or, fellow smartphone customers, how bad would our roaming charges be once we came back, if we just use our current simcards?

    Thanks for your feedback
    https://hk.search.shop.yahoo.com/sea...5%E6%9C%AC+sim

    They are commonly available in HK, Try sincere podium

    But the cheapest is on yahoo auction fealers

  3. #3

    Not all phones will roam in Japan, so check before you go. Japan uses some less common cell phone frequencies.

    There is lots of Wifi available there, roaming cellular data is expensive. At the airport you can rent pocket Wifi devices quite inexpensively that would give you data throughout the country


  4. #4

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    Get your SIM BEFORE YOU GO. Or, use one of the services at the airport. Once you have left the airport, getting a SIM is a right pain in the ass (yes, i have tried). Even once I got my Japanese SIM (from a store in Tokyo) to activate it I had to use a japanese mobile phone! (luckily I was supporting Trailwalker so there were some English speaking complete strangers who helped). I have seen Japanese SIM's available in some of the stores here (Kwai Chung Plaza has a lot, but that's not convenient for many people LOL) so that would work. Or get a mifi device from one of the services that provide them in HK. Or get a roaming day plan on your phone (I found my blackberry worked in Japan, so 3G and 4G are there, just expensive without a plan).

    If you are going for a longer period of time, a SIM or a MIFI are probably best. For a couple of days only, a HK roaming day plan or just nothing are fine - wifi is everywhere, on the bus, on the train, in the hotel etc etc etc.


  5. #5

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    U can get easily at International airport, YODOBASHI, BIG CAMERA ond so on...in JPN.

    This site introduce many kinds of sim card for visitor.
    外国人観光客用SIM Card - 通訳案内士(通訳ガイド)試験&英  相談室

    I'll translate some products for u.

    1. Payg SIM... It's possible only to talk, inpossible to data transmission
    9980JNY for 1 week, can get YODOBASHI, or online Where to purchase | b-mobile PAYG SIM

    2.OCN mobile ONE Prepaid SIM for VISITOR... It's possible to talk and data transmission
    3780JNY for 2 weeks, can get YODOBASHI, International airport in JPN, or online 取扱店舗 - Prepaid SIM for JAPAN | NTTコミュニケーションズ

    3.Prepaid SIM by SONET.. It's possible to talk and data transmission
    Prise is depend on data size u select
    If u get it at airport more expensive than open price, but the price gap is small, around 1500JNY
    It's nice u can charge if u expired the data size by additional fee
    1G...3000JNY for 1 month
    2.2G...4000JNY for 1 month
    3G...5000JNY for 2 months


  6. #6

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    Big Camera was where I got mine. It was not at all easy. In retrospect I would absolutely use a mifi rental service or get something sorted (i.e. ordered online) before I go.


  7. #7

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    You have two simple choices:

    1. Get off the plane and don't make that mad dash to the taxi line. Look around for a prepaid SIM store and get one for yourself. Usually cheap usage and data options and very easy to buy with a copy of your passport (they'll photocopy).

    2. Most HK carriers have a "day roaming" package. I pay HKD 150/day to CSL and they give me unlimited data roaming in most countries (includes JP). A bit expensive if you'd have to do this for three phones in the family (I am assuming you said family vaca). You can enable "day roaming" online or just walk into your nearby store.

    I'd go with option 1.


  8. #8

    I was last there for work and holiday in October last year. At Narita, I was able to buy the data only sim below for my wife and I to use in our unlocked iphones. I got the SIM with 2GB of data for 90 days for about 240HKD each. We were there for 2 weeks and used the SIM for VOIP, social media, google maps etc. with perfect service in Tokyo and Kyoto. You could also receive calls but could not make them. Thoroughly recommend it. You can also keep the SIM card and re-charge again when you go back. We both used about 1.5GB each over the 2 weeks and easy to view your data consumption in the settings section of the phone.

    https://t.iijmio.jp/en/index.html


  9. #9

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    wow, thanks everyone. very helpful.
    will probably try to get my butt to sham shui po this week (i'm guessing that if you can get a japanese sim in HK, you can do that in sham shui po)


  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by blryoda:
    You have two simple choices:

    1. Get off the plane and don't make that mad dash to the taxi line. Look around for a prepaid SIM store and get one for yourself. Usually cheap usage and data options and very easy to buy with a copy of your passport (they'll photocopy).

    2. Most HK carriers have a "day roaming" package. I pay HKD 150/day to CSL and they give me unlimited data roaming in most countries (includes JP). A bit expensive if you'd have to do this for three phones in the family (I am assuming you said family vaca). You can enable "day roaming" online or just walk into your nearby store.

    I'd go with option 1.
    Anyone who gets off a plane in Japan and makes a mad dash for the taxi line has never been there before..... Taxis in Japan are a luxury! Make a mad dash for the train or bus limousine...

    But back to the phone question - SIM costs in Japan are nowhere near as cheap as here, so with the cost of the SIM, unless you are there a while a day plan from HK is not as expensive an option as it is for many Asian countries.

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