# Japanese cellphone and carrier



## jonas_kungen

Please help me out.

Im going to japan end of march and i have some small issues that i cant work out.

Im going to live in Nagoya for 2 years and i was wondering about the cellphone service. I was thinking about bringing my my phone with, I have the HTC HERO and Iphone 3G.


Is it possible to use my phones in Japan?
Is it possible to just by a sim card in Japan and just plug in my phone?
If i want free internet and mail witch is the best cheapest carrier?

Best regards

//Jonas


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## Joppa

jonas_kungen said:


> Please help me out.
> 
> Im going to japan end of march and i have some small issues that i cant work out.
> 
> Im going to live in Nagoya for 2 years and i was wondering about the cellphone service. I was thinking about bringing my my phone with, I have the HTC HERO and Iphone 3G.
> 
> 
> Is it possible to use my phones in Japan?


As both your phones are 3G (W-CDMA), they will work in Japan. It's worth bringing your Swedish SIM card as well for receiving text messages from home - free to you. 



> Is it possible to just buy a sim card in Japan and just plug in my phone?


They don't sell you a pay-as-you-go 3G SIM card only. You either have to take out a contract with a subsidised handset, or you have to buy a phone + PAYG SIM combo (from SoftBank Mobile). If your phones are unlocked, you can do the latter and just pop in your SIM (handset that comes with PAYG SIM is pretty basic). But as you are going to be there for 2 years, it will probably make sense to get a contract deal, with either DoCoMo or SoftBank. There is a huge choice of phones and contract deals - I suggest you go along to a shop with a knowledgeable local (English isn't always understood). You will need a few local IDs like aliens registration card, bank details and possibly pay slip.



> If i want free internet and mail, which is the best cheapest carrier?


Go with a local to unravel the huge choice of tariffs available! If you have a landline at your accommodation, getting ASDL will be cheaper and much faster. Most mobile tariffs allow internet use, often included or as a bundled extra. There are also deals with USB stick modem for your laptop.


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## jonas_kungen

Joppa said:


> As both your phones are 3G (W-CDMA), they will work in Japan. It's worth bringing your Swedish SIM card as well for receiving text messages from home - free to you.
> 
> 
> 
> They don't sell you a pay-as-you-go 3G SIM card only. You either have to take out a contract with a subsidised handset, or you have to buy a phone + PAYG SIM combo (from SoftBank Mobile). If your phones are unlocked, you can do the latter and just pop in your SIM (handset that comes with PAYG SIM is pretty basic). But as you are going to be there for 2 years, it will probably make sense to get a contract deal, with either DoCoMo or SoftBank. There is a huge choice of phones and contract deals - I suggest you go along to a shop with a knowledgeable local (English isn't always understood). You will need a few local IDs like aliens registration card, bank details and possibly pay slip.
> 
> 
> 
> Go with a local to unravel the huge choice of tariffs available! If you have a landline at your accommodation, getting ASDL will be cheaper and much faster. Most mobile tariffs allow internet use, often included or as a bundled extra. There are also deals with USB stick modem for your laptop.



Thank you


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