Hello,
I received an e-mail asking for help about prepaid W-CDMA in Japan. I wrote back but a stupid antispam filter of comcast refuses to deliver the mail and put my ip on a black-list and it seems there's no way to solve it, unless spending too much time in something I really don't care.

Anyway, if the lady who wrote me the e-mail reads the forum she can find solutions here in this thread.

Here is her e-mail:
and here is my answer which never arrived...

If our Japanese experts have something to add and/or to correct me, feel free to help! :)
Thanks!

I've tested the Riing (UM) SIM in Japan on a couple of occasions. As I recall, it worked on Vodafone but rates seemd to be undefined. Incoming calls on one occasion were 59cts/min the next time they were over 1 Euro/min. I asked UM about this and they really didn't support roaming in Japan. For this reason I don't really recomend UM in Japan. I have no experience with any other prepaid SIMs in Japan. I've been looking at alternatives to UM but have not tried anything yet.

Travelsim should be THE solution... if it's confirmed to work! :)

Well, in reality, as soon as you arrive in Narita (and other Japan airports), in the arrival halls are a few phone rental places, and it's like $5 a day, free incoming, and reasonable outgoing (50c a minute to US, etc ...). Even if you leave via another airport, you can return via shipment very easily, if you pre arrange with them upon rental. A better solution overall. You can always forward your foreign cell number to the rented Japan one via Skype for 15c a minute.

You can now rent a SoftBank (ex Voda) SIM for 105¥/day (about $1/day) with free incoming calls but rather spendy outgoing calls. http://www.softbank-rental.jp/inbound/eng/phones/


Since I now have an O9 SIM I plan to test it in Japan as I pass through on my way to Singapore on the 26th. I'll post the results.

i thought that vodafone japan did do a pre pay plan supplying both a phone and a sim card (or whatever they have in its place) however the softbank website mentions this but no real clue as to getting hold of said phone? any help guys/ girls?

Softbank does have a prepaid but it's PDC, not 3G. They also require a Japanese ID to get one.

Well, we are waiting, especially because the 09 rate calculator doesn't show Japan in the "calling from" list :roll:

Also Manx SIMs seem to be about to start roaming in Japan. E.g. globalsim.net shows Japan as "Testphase" with free incoming calls and outgoing to Japan and Europe 39 cents (59 cents mobiles) but to USA it's 1.48 euro (and 1.68 to US mobiles :? ).

Japan's not listed on the calculator but is listed in the much longer list of roaming countries. I e-mailed 09 about Japan but got no response.

ahhh ballsacks....want to go to tokyo to...damm.......what a bitch.......i dont know if nttdocomo do pre pay though i bet its a similar story, you need japanese id to use it..though thats probablt true with kddi to...

Switzerland is the "reverse" of Japan. It's absent on the roaming list (what seems to be true BTW) but it's present in the calculator :). I think that everyone should be very careful about relying on 09.is content :?

So if i totally understand the japanese pre pay system, you need to be a japanese resident to use it, anyone have any idea on if its possible to buy a 'unlocked' mobile phone out there, if so any ideas on how to by them?

Except for some of the 3G handsets formerly sold by Vodafone, every handset I've seen in Japan is totally specific to the carrier. Japan is all about monopolies. The concept of "unlocked" does not exist.

ok hypothetically, if i bought a locked softbank/ vodafone handset and brought it to the uk would it work with a uk vodafone sim in it, or if i brought a japanese handset out there and if it was locked (though with no japanese equiv of a sim, where applicable) would it work over here, sorry for sounding like a noob but i really dont understand the japanese mobile system! and what would its network lock status be like over here?

Japanese 3g Handsets
 

If you brought a Soft-Bank 3g handset to England, unlocked the same, and inserted a 3 SIM in the phone, it would work. The other standards are complete incompatible with the rest of the world except for a couple of very high priced hybrid phones that never sold very well. There was a CDMA handset that did the Japanese variant of CDMA and the 800mhz version of CDMA used in many other countries, but it didn't even do the 1900mhz band of CDMA so countries like the US were not covered very well. You could roam into China, Korea, and OZ with the phone.

When I visited Japan a couple of years ago, I decided that the best approach was to go with rental. The English language version of the DoCoMo page suggested that you could purchase a prepaid, but everything else I heard suggested to the contrary. Until a year or two ago, you could purchase prepaid handsets from some party stores, but then Japan started "cracking" down on prepaid registrations because of a kidnapping where the kidnappers used a prepaid phone. I've heard that even American soliders and sailors stationed in Japan have a hard time buying Japanese prepaids because they lack the necessary Japanese documents.

I'm not sure how much discretion a friendly merchant has, but language is a huge issue in Japan. My niece purchased a prepaid in Japan after the crack down, but I don't know how she did it, but she is exceptionally cute and a fluent Japanese speaker. She also legally lived in Japan from 2000 through 2002, currently works for a Japanese company's US office, probably still had some Japanese ID card and certainly has friends who would buy one for her. I hate to use her as a precedent for anything.

Re: Japanese 3g Handsets
 

Military may have trouble buying a phone in town but there are usually agents on-base who are set up to sell to the military. At least every one I've met has a Japanese phone.

Re: Japanese 3g Handsets
 

so what about buying sim free phones out there or even vodafone/ softbank phones and bringing them back to blighty


how easy is it to get just the handset, and costs for a mid range handset with camera, bt, media player?

Re: Japanese 3g Handsets
 

Someone will have to tell me what a "blighty" is. What do you mean by "SIM free", a GSM phone without a SIM? A PDC or CDMA phone that doesn't use a SIM? I'm confused.
AFAIK, You can't get those features without a contract. Prepaid phones are very basic.

When I wandered down Ashibara (sp) Street, there were phones for sale including unlocked GSM phones for export. I didn't think that they were wonderful deals. Unlocking (or buying a factory unlocked) PDC or Foma phone doesn't make sense where there is no other network in the world that uses that technology.

ahh i want to get hold of some japanese mobile phone type gadgetry...aww poo...



ps blighty/ britain....for those who wanted to know....

I've never even seen shops like we have in the US that sell used phones. Not that they don't have them. I've just never seen one. One thing about Japanese cellular gadgets is that they tend to be very small, low power and dependent on the network for advanced functions.

Thanks. I'll try to file that away for future reference.

ok ta!

09 recently updated their website to show Japan. Free incoming calls and calls to the US are 39cts/min. :beer:

re; Japanese prepaid cellphone
 

I have been reading this forum since last summer and I appreciate all of the valuable information posted by members in this forum. This is my first post to this forum.

Since I do have Japanese ID (driver's license) and use prepaid cellphone when I visit Japan, I can add some comment in this thread.

As other members pointed out, it is not easy (probably not available) to purchase a prepaid cellphone in Japan. First of all, only one out of three networks currently offers prepaid cellphone (Softbank - ex Vodafone Japan). Only THREE networks in Japan=very little competition. There is no concept that you can buy unlocked cellphone and insert prepaid SIMs in Japan. People in Japan frequently exchange newer POSTPAID cellphones for almost free at the cost of their phone bill (somewhat similar business model in the US). NTT Docomo and AU (Japan's no.2 cellphone company) stopped accepting new prepaid customers about 2 yrs ago due to the concern of "abuse" (such as drug dealers, organized criminal activity). I thought it was very silly decision and these companies completely ignored the existence of visitors to Japan like us.

Softbank is the only available option if you'd like to "purchase" its prepaid cellphone. However, you need to be a "registered" foreigner to Japan (ie, need to have "resident" status in Japan, not a short-term visitor) or have Japanese ID in order to purchase prepaid cellphone. This is why American military persons have access to Japanese cellphones. I think they might use POSTPAID cellphones as well because the cost of the calls may be cheaper in POSTPAID contract if you stay in Japan for a long time. BTW, these prepaid cellphones are "locked" at the hardware level by Softbank and I do not see any access its SIM card at least in my phone (Sharp, 201SH). Therefore, I cannot "unlock" my Softbank prepaid phone. As far as I know, Softbank does not offer any prepaid SIM card sale.

I usually purchase voucher (available prices are 3,000 yen ~$25 or 20 Euro and 5,000 yen) and recharge airtime once I arrive at Narita Airport. I usually purchase voucher (~2700 yen) from discount online shops and ask them to send a PIN by e-mail prior to my arrival. Since these prepaid phones are totally useless once you leave Japan, you need to recharge/use airtime while you are in Japan. The validity of airtime is 60 days and the phone number is valid for another 360 days after the airtime expires. You can receive incoming calls/messages for free. I think 3,000 yen voucher is good enough for 1~2wks' stay. You can use SMS, e-mail, and international phone calls (from Japan to other countries only, roaming in other countries is not available for PREPAID, but available for POSTPAID).

As other forum members mentioned, if you have 3G-compatible cellphone and prepaid/postpaid SIM card that accepts "roaming" in Japan, you can make/receive calls in Japan. I successfully used my Nokia E70 with Smartone-Vodafone HK (Hong Kong) prepaid SIM during my visit in December. I forgot the exact cost, but I remembered these calls were pricy. I noticed that Smartone-Vodafone HK "roamed" in either NTT Docomo or Vodafone Japan depending on the availability of network. Maybe I should consider 09...

Although this forum is for "prepaid cellphone", I agree that renting a phone at one of the Japanese airports that have international flights (Narita-Tokyo, Chubu-Nagoya, Kansai-Osaka, etc) may be the easiest way to use cellphone as a traveler in Japan.

Thanks for the information Yazcedrid! :)
Anyway I suppose that the Sharp 201SH is a PDC phone and not 3G W-CDMA, that's the reason why it doesn't have a simcard and cannot be used outside Japan in any case...

SoftBank update
 

I had a brief chat at a SoftBank (nee. Vodafone-JP, J-Phone) kiosk today. One of the reps sounded like an Australian and, unlike most folks in Japan, understood the concept of prepaid SIMs. They are considering doing prepaid 3G but have made no decision yet. No word on prepaid 3G SIM-only deals but he did not hold out any hope of it. I showed them that I was roaming with my V980 which sort of impressed the Japanese side of the shop.

Since the CelTrek SIM has incoming rates of 24c/min and outgoing rates of 34c-39c/min it's really cheaper than just about any Japanese prepaid around. So I really don't have much motivation to find a local prepaid now.

could the land of the raisen bun finally wake up to the world or pre pay?

Possibility for pre-paid mobile service in Japan.
 

I have missed the thread for a long time. I hope that I could give some summery from the viewpoint of Japanese.

I have to mention the particular situation of Japanese mobile service. There is (has been) no GSM nor concept like SIM in Japan, at least up to 2G mobile. Just for the recent few years two (Docomo and Softbank) have been introducing 3G (UMTS) service that are compatible with the world wide standard. In their 3G service SIM is used but still now the handsets are provided through the carriers and all of them are SIM-locked.
In Japan we have three carriers, Docomo (practically NTT=the former national telephone company), au by KDDI(=the former monopoly company for international telephone communication) and Softbank.

1. Prepaid service offered by Japanese carriers.

Two Japanese carriers, Softbank and au offer the prepaid service.
They are not 3G-service, so you need handsets that meet their own specification (au>CDMA1x, softbank>PDC).

1)In the case of Softbank, they usually offer the handset and number together. It costs around 5000JPY.
2)In the case of au, they sometimes offer the handset and number together, but not always and more expensive than Softbank. If you have the handset without subscription (number), it is possible to get a new number for prepaid service at au's shops. it cost 4200 JPY. If you can get the handset for au from one of your Japanese friends or from the auction, it is a reasonable option to get a number at au's ahops.

When you try to get a handset, it might be convenient to know Japanese slangs;
KURO(black)-ROM
a handset with the proper subscription (number).
SHIRO(white)-ROM
a handset whose ROM has no information on subscription (number)
HAI(grey)-ROM
a handset whose ROM still has information on subscritop (number) while the subscrition (number) is no more valid.
If you want to get a handset, it should be a SHIRO-ROM. HAI-ROM might be still OK, but there is some risk.

Both carriers require you to show some ID like passport or so, it may varies from shop to shop. It seems that the passport is enough for Softbank. but au may require the ID with Japanese address like Japanese driving permit or foreigner's registration sertificate.
Au's coverage is far better than that of Softbank, I can confirm, because I have both. There is no problem in using CBW services. Incoming calls are free of course.

2. International SIM in JAPAN.
I confirm that both UM and TravelSIM work in Japan. Docomo and Softbank offer 3G UMTS. UM works with Docomo and Softbank but TravelSIM works only with Docomo. Docomo's coverrage is much better than that of Softbank.
But the problem with Docomo is that their network is not completely compatible with the world standard because Docomo has been introducing 3G UMTS from the early time and their old 3G-equipments seem to have compatilibity problem.
In fact USSD and other functions do not work always with Docomo. The TravelSIM's or UM's numbers could not be always reached even if the handset shows that it joins the Docomo's network.
I also mention that Docomo now begins 3G UMTS also in the 850MHz frequency band.

The conclusion would be;
In the case of stay for several months:
According to the law you have to register yourself at the local autonomy's office (city office or town office) in Japan. Therefore you get a foreigners registration ID and can have prepaid mobile service from Japanese carriers.
In the case of short stay;
The easiest solution is to prepare both of UM and TravelSIM before the departure.

let's see if i get this right, as a tourist can i walk into a (either) softbank shop or an au shop and (by just showing) my UK passport can walk away with a phone and number (operating on pre pay)?

Prepaid in Jpn
 

Hi, Malkav,

I don't think you can purchase a new prepaid package by showing just your UK passport (unless the folks at the cellphone shop simply forget/ignore their company's policy).
Please see my post in the other thread regarding the "official" regulations requested by the Japanese carriers; see "phone help" thread in this Africa/Asia/Pacific category.
I carefully read their "official" requirement to apply a new prepaid/postpaid cellphone package in Docomo and Softbank's website.
Now I also read AU's website (Au operates CDMA prepaid cell network).

Here is my understanding.
To apply a new prepaid cell phone,
you need to show your registration as an alien (and its validity has to be longer than 90 days).
This regulation is applied to both Au and Softbank's applications for a new prepaid customer.
This alien registration is issued only after you enter Japan (by the local municipal government office where you will "stay" most of your time in Japan) and the validity is dictated by your visa status (ie, unless you have a visa that allows you to stay in Japan longer than 90 days, the validity is restricted).
Per Japanese government's website, they say it is NOT required to obtain alien registration if the duration of your stay is less than 90 days.

As a postpaid contract, Docomo seems to offer a new contract for non-Japanese with an alien registration (they specifically mention that you need to pay by your credit card if you have a shorter validity than 90 days).
I think it is probably due to the fact that you cannot open a bank account with a short validity of alien registration.

In short, I don't think it is worth going to these routes unless you will stay in Japan longer than 90 days.

Therefore, as a traveler (stay less than 90 days), I would go for
a) international roaming SIM card with compatible unlocked cellphone (I think DRNewcomb has good review about his recent trip to Japan using Celtrek card; TravelSIM or UM may be another choice)
b) rental cellular phone (or rental SIM card) from Softbank (I saw their advertisement in their website)

Calling rates are actually more attractive with Celtrek than Japanese rental/prepaid package. However, DID will be US number (not so convenient for the local folks who will call you in Japan and visitors from non-US countries).
Latter is useful if you receive most of the calls from local folks since DID will be Japanese cellular number.
I think latter option is more reliable (connectivity, etc) since it is offered by the Japanese carrier (ie not roaming like the international SIMs).

Of course, if you already have either one of these options, you might try purchasing a prepaid package (and see how your attempt may work!).
Please remember, both Au and Softbank's prepaid phones are useless once you leave Japan.
I keep my Vodafone Japan's prepaid since I visit Japan at least once a year.

I am sure that there are some markets to sell prepaid cellphones anonymously (prepaid cellphone already activated under somebody's name=not your name), but I would stay away from it.
These sellers DO know that customers need to show their ID or alien registration to purchase a prepaid phone package AND they will SELL it.
Prior to 2004, there was essentially NO requirement for showing IDs to apply prepaid cellphones in Japan.
Unfortunately, due to its anonymity, there were bozos who "abused" these cellphones for their criminal activity.
As a consequence, it is very difficult to purchase a new prepaid phone as a traveler.
It's just like everything else (some small number of people with bad intention will ruin the whole benefit of service)...

ID for purchasing prepaid mobile in Japan.
 

I have to tell that the ID requirement for the purchase of prepeid mobile is more strict than before even in the case of Softbank.
I now checked the web pages of Softbank. Now they officially require ID with Japanese address (Driving permit issued in Japan, certificate of foreigner's registration, Student ID from Japanse universities etc.) as well as au.
When it was still Vodafone Japan, some shops accepted foreign passport as ID and it was enough to write the address of your hotel in Japan. But it does not seem to work.

Yazcedric mentions about "anonymously sold prepaid cellphone". I also know their existence. They are sometimes offered even on internet auction sites. But I do not recommend it either. It is completely illegal. Stay away from it.
But, if one of your Japanese friends buys a prepaid cellphone and let you use it, there is no problem. I have already called au and Softbank to get the answer "OK" because I sometimes have foreign researchers visiting me and let them to use one of my prepaid mobile.

Anyway Japanese market of mobile communications is very special. In Japan, almost all the people think that they buy mobile hendset from the mobile operators and they can not understand that the handset and subscription contract can be separate.

If you can manage to get onto a US military base in Japan you may find it easier to obtain a prepaid phone without the Japanese ID. They seem to operate under an exception to the rules not available to everyone else.

oooh ok thanks for that people i am still really miffed i cant get my grubby mitts on some fiiiinnnnee nipponese phone gadgety type gadets....damm them...damm them all!

Softbank Prepid Sim Card in German Cellphone....
 

I have a Cellphon that can use UMTS (Sony Ericsson K800i) so I thought I could just get a prepaid SIM Card, insert it and use my phone in Japan...
Well, I got the card and I can make and receive calls. What does not work is SMS and Mails. My phone tells me it requires setup to be able to send or receive Mails...
The Softbank guys have no idea how to handle this problem. (In Tokyo I was told it is company policy to give Softbank Sim Cards only to people who already have a Softbank phone... Well, in the countryside they were merely concerned, that the card might not fit.)
The Sony Ericsson Homepage is not really helpful eigher. There is one setup download available, that aledgedly does it all by itself... which of course doesn't work. So I have to enter the settings manually.
Does anyone know Softbanks Connection type (pOP3 or IMPA4?), incoming server and outgoing server?

you can use web browser with following GPRS settings.

APN: softbank
username: ai@softbank
password: softbank

Email Settings are depending on your email provider, so you can set whatever you use on your normal computer as well.

Chris