can anyone suggest a cheap way of using my mobile phone in japan?
do they sell prepaid cards at convenience stores which can be used in my Australian phone?
also, ive seen mobile narita and the softbank prepaid service, but i am unable to use them as i dont have a credit card.
anything which can be purchased in shops and is prepaid (:
Mobile Phone International Roaming in Japan
Lkamen-rider on 07/08/2011 - 19:37
Comments
It's very difficult, if not impossible, to get a prepaid sim card to use in an Aussie mobile in Japan. Most of their phones don't require sim cards, but they do sell prepaid sims - however they're not popular nor widely available.
Last time I was in Japan (about 1.5 years ago), I managed to get a prepaid SIM, but it took a lot of work, and it was only because I had an "alien registration" card (ie I had registered to say I would be in the country for 3 or more months) that I was able to get one. For a 2 or 3 week tourist, it's pretty much impossible unless you know someone (that said, occasionally some people get lucky, so you never know!)
Went to Japan at the start of this year. From my research at the time it seemed too difficult/expensive to get a sim or hire a phone. Just ended up activating global roaming. I was quick on the phone so it didnt cost too much :p
Actually sim cards are NOT built into the phone (at least not for Softbank or AU kddi) It works pretty much exactly the same as Australian phones and I know for a fact that softbank sims will work on any unlocked handset.
However no Japanese telco will sell you a sim card on its own, even a prepaid sim requires you to purchase the basic handset with it which as bobsi18 said requires an alien registration card. The cheapest way for a tourist is just to use the rental service from softbank.
The impression I get from my research into it is that the easiest method is to use global roaming (with data roaming turned off). Keep your phone use to text and calls for emergencies.
Then hire a Mifi or something similar to that at the airport for your data needs.
I'm not sure I would want to travel without data any more. Having data always seems to make my travel much more efficient and easy. Look up details of hotel/next destination etc in your spare time while on the bus/train instead of being cooped up in your hotel wasting precious travel time :-)
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that Japanese phones have SIM cards built into them (which cannot be taken out) so you will have to hire a phone in Japan - but that means you will have to use their phones.
Otherwise, if you want to stick to using your own phone, you can just activate global roaming whilst you're in Japan but those costs might rack up…
Depends if you want to make more local calls or international calls?