# Getting a cell phone for Japan



## Ben Yoshida

Hoi 

Is there a way in obtaining a cell phone that operates in Japan? Without actually been in the country? 

I hear that the system the Japanese use is entirely different, with the advent of nation wide digital television, and the extinction of analogue television within a year or two, (there building a new tokyo tower for that atm.. abit taller then the Eiffel tower copy) .. and the nationwide fiber-optical system.. non-japanese phones wont work.. (not even SIM cards work.. its a different world.) 

So in light of that pretext.. would say, I iphone brought in Australia, work in Japan? 

I hear that you need to get a minimum 1 year contract with a service provider in Japan, with proof of identity, or proof of address required, even for a pre-paid cell phone, brought while in Japan. 

I'm guessing therefore that you CANT get a cellphone outside of Japan, that would work in Japan? 

Any information concerning this thread, bit it advice or web-links would be much appreciated, thanks in advance. 

regards 

Ben Yoshida


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## larabell

Ben Yoshida said:


> Hoi
> Is there a way in obtaining a cell phone that operates in Japan? Without actually been in the country?


The phone itself is no longer a problem. Modern 3G phones work fine here. Phones which predate 3G usually will not work (the transmission technology is different). I suspect what you're asking is whether you can get a local account -- that could be more of a problem.

It's rare to see the kind of pre-paid phones you used to be able to buy at just about any convenience store. It was simply too easy for the bad guys to pick up phones that were untraceable and then just toss them away afterward. These days you need to be able to show ID. And for non-Japanese, you need to show evidence that you're a registered foreign resident. And to get that, you need an address (as well as a visa that allows you to remain in Japan past the usual 90-day tourist period).

If you have an account with DoCoMo, you should be able to get a SIM card that works in a standard GSM/3G phone. If the phone itself supports 3G, you should be able to use it here but I've never tried that. The standard FOMA cards apparently won't work, despite being the same form-factor as a SIM card (at least that's what I was told once by a DoCoMo sales droid). Of course, you still need the account in Japan.

I don't know about iPhone. I know several friends who have come over with their US-based phones and most of them seem to work fine. But none of those were iPhones (ask again after August -- an iPhone-toting friend of mine is coming over then and we can see if his phone works here). If you don't mind paying rather steep roaming charges, you can probably sign up for service back home and bring the phone along. Just make sure it's a 3G phone.

As for the 1-year contract... it's my impression that you only have to sign up for a minimum period if you get a subsidized phone. If you don't mind paying US $300 or more for the instrument, you can probably find service with no minimum contract. Again, you'd need to show you were a registered resident in Japan.

DoCoMo rents phones for use in Japan, as do several smaller companies. They also sell a number of instruments that work overseas as well. I realize that's backward from what you're asking but buying *just* the phone here might be an option.

By the way, the tower project you mentioned (Tokyo Sky Tree) is supposed to be considerably taller than the current Tokyo Tower -- almost twice as tall, in fact (ref: Wikipedia).


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## Joppa

Ben Yoshida said:


> Hoi
> 
> Is there a way in obtaining a cell phone that operates in Japan? Without actually been in the country?
> 
> I hear that the system the Japanese use is entirely different, with the advent of nation wide digital television, and the extinction of analogue television within a year or two, (there building a new tokyo tower for that atm.. abit taller then the Eiffel tower copy) .. and the nationwide fiber-optical system.. non-japanese phones wont work.. (not even SIM cards work.. its a different world.)
> 
> So in light of that pretext.. would say, I iphone brought in Australia, work in Japan?
> 
> I hear that you need to get a minimum 1 year contract with a service provider in Japan, with proof of identity, or proof of address required, even for a pre-paid cell phone, brought while in Japan.
> 
> I'm guessing therefore that you CANT get a cellphone outside of Japan, that would work in Japan?
> 
> Any information concerning this thread, bit it advice or web-links would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.


It all depends on what you want your phone for, for how long, whether you will be resident in Japan or merely visiting, and so on, as solution will be different in each case.
In the last few years, with a rapid move to 3G technology in Japan, getting a compatible phone that works in Japan is no longer a problem, but getting an account or a programme that works in Japan without paying the earth can still be a challenge.
Briefly your options are:
1) If you are going to be in Japan longer than 6 months and you are getting your alien registration card, then taking out a contract may be the best solution, as you'll then have an extremely wide choice of phones (and each one in 10 different colours!) and tariffs to suit you.
2) If you are on a short visit, you can just roam with your phone and SIM. You need to have a 3G phone (all Australian networks - I don't know about virtual networks that don't have infrastructure of their own - have a roaming agreement in Japan), and enable international roaming. The advantage is you keep your number so it's very easy for people in Oz to contact you, the disadvantage is the cost. Roaming charges are quite high, and you may pay on average US$2 a min to call and receive. Receiving text message will be free, and sending one to OZ shouldn't be to expensive, so for this reason you may want to bring your phone anyway.
3) You can hire a compatible phone (or bring your own unlocked 3G phone) and a post-pay 3G SIM at the airport or in town. Hire charge is quite reasonable, around 800 yen a day for phone + SIM or 105 yen for SIM only. The advantage is you get your own Japanese local number, which makes it very easy for people in Japan to contact you. Important if you are there on business or have a lot of friends there. Also incoming calls are free (to you). Disadvantage is again the cost - around 100 yen/min to call, and particularly high for international calls (like 300 yen/min to call Oz) and for data use. Some people with iPhone have ended up running up an enormous bill in a week (several hundred US dollars!), as you are charged for every kb you download. Still a good option if you are only staying for a short time, say up to a week.
4) Get a pre-pay phone in Japan. As larabell says, it's a bit more complicated nowadays to activate the service for short-term visitors, but you may have a friend resident in Japan who can do it for you, using their ID (you aren't supposed to pass a phone registered to you to someone else, but nobody is likely to find out!). Or if you go to a SoftBank Mobile shop, they will accept foreign passport and local address (e.g. your hotel). You pay from around 5000 yen for a basic phone and SIM, and you just top up credit as required. Calls cost around half of Option 3 above, and the phone is yours to keep (it's locked unfortunately), and you can keep the same number for your next trip, provided you will return within a year and top up the phone before leaving. As it's pre-pay, you won't rack up a huge bill.
5) Bring an unlocked 3G phone and an international (global) SIM. There is a big range of those SIMs now available. I have used one from Travel Sim - 100% Free Roaming - No Connection Charge - No Daily Fee and it works well in Japan. SIM itself may cost around US$20-30, and you top up using your credit card. Call charge is around 50 UScents/min either within Japan or to major countries abroad, and free incming calls in Japan. You will be allocated a mobile number registered in such country/territory as Isle of Man, Jersey, Estonia, Belgium etc. Other available SIMs are listed in PrePaidGSM.net: International GSM Operators

So choose your option to suit your requirement. You may end up with more than one phone, such as your usual phone and SIM for texting, a local SIM for your Japanese contacts and a global SIM for outgoing calls.


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