Prepaid In Japan

[NoGSMarea]

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.

[Malkav]

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)?

[Yazcedric]

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)...

[NoGSMarea]

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.

[Malkav]

Originally Posted by NoGSMarea

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.

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!