Pre-paid Keitai

[skrba]

Joey,

If you stay so long definitely buy the real phone because eventually it will be much cheaper. When you start studies in Japan by the time you will get more and more friends and you will call more and more, so better forget about prepaid.

Just first check about the contract period to be 6 months, otherwise if it is 1 year or more you will leave Japan earlier and have to pay some difference if break the contract. Usually cheaper devices have shorter contract so don't take any "space" model even you see price is very low, it means you will pay it through 24 installments and in fact will cost a lot.

Many people are using Softbank because it is the cheapest but me and some friends are really unsatisfied with their service (a few times shop staff were not so kind and pretty useless, and network coverage is not the best), but with "White plan" I can call any Softbank phone for free all the day except late evening so that keeps my bill really small.

[em]

hi, i will be in japan soon, and want to get a prepaid keitai. i heard that those without gaijin torokusho can get one (with passport and hotel name) at softbank shibuya and roppongi. my friend tried calling the other day, and they told her that a gaijin torokusho is necessary. can anyone offer info/input regarding this? if possible i want to get it on my own (and not ask my friend)

second question, anyone know where i can get a softbank 705 px (3g) as a prepaid? my friend said most softbank stores dont carry that anymore. i really want a white one. -- but my friend said that there are only 822s available at most stores...

can anyone help me? thank you!!!

[jkid]

em-san,
Please see: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2223.html

Scroll down to the "How to get a mobile phone" section for information on prepaid and rental phones.

[em]

gomen nasai. i guess i worded my question a bit confusingly--- i am aware of what it takes to get a prepaid phone, but so confused as to where will sell me one with only a passport. and info that i am also looking for is: where people have seen prepaids being sold at. (preferably the 705px or 707sc models, not the 822)
i have read online that softbank stores are out so dont bother, but instead of me going out and scouring around tokyo (because i will only be there for a few days), i was hoping someone would be able to tell me exactly where they are... san-kyu!!!

[hajime]

Will the Softbank in Harajuku sell a prepaid cellphone to a U.S. passport holder with a hotel address?

日本に行きます！日曜日に出発します。

This is the cheapest rental cellphone I could find, but it is still very expensive:

http://tiphone.temco.us/us/agents/jalpa ... /index.php

There are (currently) no per-day charges but it costs about $30 or more to set up (e.g. $20 to pick up / drop off at Narita). Calls are $1 US / minute. [/quote]

[lazer85]

For anyone staying in Japan more than a few months, I think it depends alot on your situation and just searching around for the best plan for you.

First of all, I recomend going with the worst model phones because theyre usually only a year or two old and arguably better than most American phones. The features are rarely THAT different although they usually arent pretty at all. You can get a phone for free this way and also have access to some really cheap plans.

Second, if you are close to anyone in Japan and they can trust you enough, try to get the phone under their name. That way calls between you and that person will be free and you can talk as much as you want. You can also get around not having an alien card this way (I got my phone a month earlier than most of my foreign freinds this way).

3 I dont know about Docomo and Softbank but I know AU lets you choose 3 numbers that you get a discounted rate with. Take advantage of it.

4 get used to texts (phone email) instead of calls and dont be excessive about it.


In general most people in Japan pay what I consider to be an insane amount on their phone bill. It may be most convenient to just go with whatever plan the people you want to call have and if you dont know, it depends what kind of deal you can get at that particular time. Most people I know pay between 8000 and 12000 yen a month if they use their phone at all. I usually pay 3200 (about $32) because most of my calls are to my girlfriend and those are free and to 2 friends that I have a discounted rate with.


If you get the old free and totally decent phone and cheapest plan at that provider, and make about 1 hour of normal calls a week and 50 texts, you can manage something like an average of 3000 a month.