vB Easy Archive - Before i head off to tokyo... couple of questions.

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Before i head off to tokyo... couple of questions.
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Posted by: Maikurukun

should i take my 903Sh with Fido sim to Japan?... Does anybody think i'll get super roming charges?

would my fido sim get to vodafone live in japan? i don't think so.. but.. its good to ask...

and i wanna pick up a 904sh or 705sh... i do'nt think its wise to use yahoo auctions... and buying from vodafone ... would not be wise either.. anywhere i shuold go?

Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maikurukun

should i take my 903Sh with Fido sim to Japan?... Does anybody think i'll get super roming charges?

would my fido sim get to vodafone live in japan? i don't think so.. but.. its good to ask...

and i wanna pick up a 904sh or 705sh... i do'nt think its wise to use yahoo auctions... and buying from vodafone ... would not be wise either.. anywhere i shuold go?

well if you don't make calls you should be fine, i would bring it, a phone to use is better than NO phone at all or a brick.

no it won't get voadone live.

Posted by: Tannoi

Bring your credit card, get a contract at a Vodafone shop (and a 904), then cancel the contract a week later and keep the phone. It'll cost you.......50,000 yen or so? But worth it I think?

Posted by: Maikurukun

lol.. that won't work. lol
my canadian creditcard won't work in vodafone japan. Its a clear sign.. - Canada-jin.
that way will only work if i have someone with me too... ^^" and it should only be around 30000 yen... =P and... isn't the 904 out of stock everywhere too?

.. alot of ands...

Posted by: Kevbodian

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tannoi

Bring your credit card, get a contract at a Vodafone shop (and a 904), then cancel the contract a week later and keep the phone. It'll cost you.......50,000 yen or so? But worth it I think?

you have to be a permanent resident or citizen of japan to buy a phone there.

@maikuru

bring ur fido sim and 903 and try to use it. call fido first and ask them about the roaming options for japan. i believe they might try to tell you to get a handset rental thingie.

tell them u have a 3g phone and you would like to try to roam there.

i am pretty sure it would work but you would pay at least $1.50 per minute.

Posted by: Kevbodian

found here:

http://www.fido.ca/portal/packages/...p?lang=en#japan

Roaming in Japan

Travelling to Japan? Fido offers roaming on two W-CDMA (3G) networks in Japan: Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo. To roam on one of these networks, all you need is your Fido smart card and a W-CDMA handset. These special handsets are available for rental at Tokyo's Narita airport or Osaka's Kansai airport. Don't forget to bring your Fido smart card with you when you go!

For more information on roaming in Japan or to reserve a handset on-line, visit Vodafone or NTT DoCoMo.

Posted by: Kevbodian

so it should work even without calling fido. just bring your 903 and your sim card inside. if flying into narita or KIX.. you can probably ask the rental desk if they have any special procedure, but i honestly doubt it.

Posted by: dimension6

If it's any help, I roam on Vodafone's network through T-Mobile when I'm in Japan. It's expensive (over $2 per minute), but worth it. I only had to activate international roaming.

Posted by: Kevbodian

yeah the fido link said that fido users will roam on docomo or vodafone... which means docomo in most areas!

stupid fido pic so small

Japan is Zone 3

rates are here:

http://www.fido.ca/portal/packages/...jsp?lang=en#605

if you have japanese firmware or euro with answering machine

turn it off while in Japan and on fido sim, gonna be expensive haha.

Posted by: AL9999

Usually you just get international roaming activated, then when you arrive and turn your phone on it will connect to the first network in the list.

However my experience shows that with the 903 only Vodafone JP was available - even though I was in DoCoMo coverage, DoCoMo never ever showed up in my network list no matter where I went (tried in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kumamoto).

Tried doing a network search with an instore 705SH, and got the same result - only Vodafone JP showed up in the list, so it could be something to do with the fact that Sharp 3G phones were all originally made for Voda JP in the first place, I dunno.

Anyway, roaming is a simple matter, just be careful about your usage - I already have a AU$200+ roaming bill waiting for me

Posted by: fryrice8850

lol have u guys checked out the satellite phone rental thingy? the thing weights 2lbs

Posted by: Maikurukun

lol.. this is why we use international text messaging i guess =p

Posted by: Maikurukun

but thanks everybody.. haha
actually kev did alot of research.. thanks man

Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevbodian

yeah the fido link said that fido users will roam on docomo or vodafone... which means docomo in most areas!

stupid fido pic so small

Japan is Zone 3

rates are here:

http://www.fido.ca/portal/packages/...jsp?lang=en#605

if you have japanese firmware or euro with answering machine

turn it off while in Japan and on fido sim, gonna be expensive haha.

WOW NTT DoCoMo sure lend their customers some POS phones.

The link posted leads to this one: http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/detail.html

And they have the Motorola A835. I can tell you that this phone is SERIOUSLY a POS. I've owned two myself (don't ask about the second time. I got it for cheap.) and both I sold (both are somewhere in Canada). You want to bring your own phone really. You really do, regardless whether you buy a new 904SH there or not.... the A835 is about 2-3 years old and a total brick. They don't support MP3 ringtones (unless flashed with Austrian H3G firmware) etc yadda yadda./... battery life is kinda sucky. No memory card slot although they do have IR and Bluetooth. Another good thing is no need for battery removal for changing of SIM/USIM card. But other than that they are a brick.

Speaking of 903's roaming on DoCoMo:

http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/index.html

interesting huh? 903 is listed. Also, that list is seriously outdated. There are PLENTY more phones that would work in Japan.

Posted by: Tannoi

It would be 50000yen minimum. You'd have to buy the phone, pay the first month fees, setup fees and then cancellation fees. A mate just did it.

And NO, you do not have to be a permanent resident of Japan to buy phones from Vodafone. As long as you have your credit card, you're good to go. And they won't care if it's Canadian or not. Plenty of Canadians (like me) move to Japan and keep Cdn. credit cards.

Posted by: Tannoi

And plenty of 904's everywhere. As far as I know - full stock.

Posted by: Takashii

Mike, take your 903 with you for emergency calls. The last time I went with my 903 (last year) I ran the bill up to $700 cdn. in just 5 short days. I thought international text messagings were cheap but not when you do it alot, and it's quite popular there so... expect to use alot of it lol.

All my friends later tell me to get one of those rental phones from the airport it's the cheapest way to go... yes I agree it's cheap but.... dang it the phones avalible are so damn ugly. Both from docomo and vodafone.

Now I notice if you get one of those rentals from Vodafone at the airport they provide you with a phone and a simcard. Mike, if you do get one of those rental phones (Trust me, speaking from experience you should) from the airport, try putting the simcard they gave you on your 903 and see if it works with the rental simcard.

And by the way, I did go up to many shops in akihabara and they said if I'm a foreigner I need to have a Foreigner pass to buy. Or be a permanent resident or citizen to buy Japanese Vodafones.

Perhaps you were speaking fluent Japanese and they didn't think you were just a tourist? All I'm saying is if they know you're a tourist they will reject.

Posted by: AL9999

Simple solution, don't go to Akihabara to buy phones. They discriminate against foreigners there simply because so many of them go there.

I bought my V201SH prepaid phone from a Vodafone shop in Kyoto for 6090 yen, and I actually told them I was a tourist. They said just to show them my passport (they photocopied it) and tell them where I was staying, and that was satisfying enough to sell me the phone and allocate me a number. While this is off-topic to this thread, if you're going to Japan for more than a week and want a Japanese phone number, Vodafone Japan prepaid is the best way to go - MUCH cheaper than renting a phone and a number.

Posted by: Cloud V

Quote:

Originally Posted by AL9999

Simple solution, don't go to Akihabara to buy phones. They discriminate against foreigners there simply because so many of them go there.

I bought my V201SH prepaid phone from a Vodafone shop in Kyoto for 6090 yen, and I actually told them I was a tourist. They said just to show them my passport (they photocopied it) and tell them where I was staying, and that was satisfying enough to sell me the phone and allocate me a number. While this is off-topic to this thread, if you're going to Japan for more than a week and want a Japanese phone number, Vodafone Japan prepaid is the best way to go - MUCH cheaper than renting a phone and a number.

agreed on this.

Akihabara is no longer the cheapest place to go first off, despite having that image. They do discriminate against foreigners too, and it's kind of shocking, I remember asking at a place about the SH902i when it came out and being told 60,000 yen, and I just laughed in the sales reps face and told him it retails for half that anywhere else and he got pissy.

Two, the law has changed, and while some places may sell you a phone based on passport and credit card alone, those who will follow the book now, will not sell without a alien registration card, or only if you have a Japanese friend.

Three, honestly people, doesn't the prohibitive cost not bother you? You're going to pay damn near your airplane ticket in costs for the phone, just to show it off in Japan and then take an unusuable brick home. I know the desire to have the latest gadget, but man...? On the other hand, the 705 is now 0 yen at a lot of places, and I've seen the 904 as cheap as 12,000 now, but that's at major outlets most likely to follow the book. Just saying, it's cheaper to go prepaid, and save that 50,000 and use it for other things.

And Al, hows the 201SH? I was debating on picking it up for my gf, we're currently using the 603SH and the 201D? prepaid for the love teigaku (both regular docomo users, with no desire to change, but this is still the cheapest way) but the voice quality is freakin horrible. Eventually thinkin of getting a 705, if I can find a place that will give it to me without happy bonus, which is getting exceedling harder and harder to find.

Posted by: fryrice8850

man and i though going to hk and getting a phone was cool! talk about spending mad money in japan for phones!

Posted by: Kevbodian

it has been the law in japan to sell a phone with alien registration card for at least 5 years (since i got one from Docomo in 2001... N503i)...

@AL

does your provider have roaming agreements with vodafone AND docomo? perhaps only vodafone is why you only roamed on vodafone. My old 802se roamed on docomo no problem.

Posted by: Tannoi

That's not the law dude - that's Docomo's policy. AU has the same policy. Vodafone does not.

As long as you have a credit card - ANY credit card, you can get a phone at Vodafone.

Posted by: Cloud V

heaven forbid I break out the damn law, it went into effect April 1st of 2006 to stop crime caused by mass amounts of phones not being able to be tracked back to a legit user.

The POLICY has been to sell only to foreigners with a alien registration card, but that's only POLICY and it depends on the place. I've bought at Docomo when I returned to work after college before I got my card no problem. However it is now the LAW to not do so, and when helping a friend get his Docomo at a large chain, they refused because he didn't have his alien card yet. I had to get it for him, adding him through my contract. Note, that his gf who is japanese, was also refused, because she didn't have valid ID on her, so it's not just foreigners that this is aimed at.

The bottom line is it depends on place, but you'll find that smaller retailers are being more careful and will not sell to you because of their own rules, policies, and the law.

Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takashii

Mike, take your 903 with you for emergency calls. The last time I went with my 903 (last year) I ran the bill up to $700 cdn. in just 5 short days. I thought international text messagings were cheap but not when you do it alot, and it's quite popular there so... expect to use alot of it lol.

All my friends later tell me to get one of those rental phones from the airport it's the cheapest way to go... yes I agree it's cheap but.... dang it the phones avalible are so damn ugly. Both from docomo and vodafone.

Now I notice if you get one of those rentals from Vodafone at the airport they provide you with a phone and a simcard. Mike, if you do get one of those rental phones (Trust me, speaking from experience you should) from the airport, try putting the simcard they gave you on your 903 and see if it works with the rental simcard.

And by the way, I did go up to many shops in akihabara and they said if I'm a foreigner I need to have a Foreigner pass to buy. Or be a permanent resident or citizen to buy Japanese Vodafones.

Perhaps you were speaking fluent Japanese and they didn't think you were just a tourist? All I'm saying is if they know you're a tourist they will reject.

i think this is a really nice post and a nice tip regarding the use of the rental SIM card. Sounds like a good idea without taking out a contract, although you don't get to keep youir number, maybe taking one phone for your SIM from home and borrowing one from the rentals... this would make you carry two phones but might be worth it.

Posted by: Maikurukun

ohhh.. thanks alot guys.

so.. the best policy so far is to either get vodafone prepaid.. or rent a phone in the airport.. and just use the sim there..

i'll be sticking around for 10 days.. any word on how much it cost per minute using prepaid? + email using prepaid..

apparently.. alot of my friend just gave me their email adress... instead of a actual phone number...

Posted by: yakuzasentinel

Vodafone USED TO let you sign up with just a credit card (I did this in the summer of 2005), but this summer when I went back to Japan their policy had changed and Japanese ID was required by vodafone for contracts AND prepaid activations.

Posted by: yakuzasentinel

also, I was just in Japan with a Fido sim card and the Docomo network wasn't available anywhere (didn't appear as a network I could select to use), even right in downtown Tokyo. so I had to use Vodafone, but i guess it doesn't matter since the price per minute would be the same with fido anyways.

Posted by: faifai9394

Maikuru where are you going to stay? I will be there in 3 days

Posted by: Maikurukun

i'm going to be in shinjuku..i found a ryokan run by a white guy. lol.
seems simple enough.

www.tamaryokan.com i think.. its pretty cheap there.

Posted by: Maikurukun

renting it is then! >.< i would prefer prepaid actually...

Posted by: AL9999

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloud V

And Al, hows the 201SH? I was debating on picking it up for my gf, we're currently using the 603SH and the 201D? prepaid for the love teigaku (both regular docomo users, with no desire to change, but this is still the cheapest way) but the voice quality is freakin horrible. Eventually thinkin of getting a 705, if I can find a place that will give it to me without happy bonus, which is getting exceedling harder and harder to find.

The phone as a whole is great, it might only do simple things like voice, mail and other basic Voda 2G services but it does them well. It also had crappy voice quality though, but I think that's just the PDC network; when FOMA and Voda 3G came out and people began to use it, I remember reading a lot of forum posts about how the 3G network's voice quality was 'so much better' than the PDC ones, so the PDC network must just have a really low quality voice codec.

In my travels I found a few places that were willing to really lower phone prices for new subscribers as long as they took happy bonus as well as agreed to take up one of the four teigakus. Is Happy Bonus really that bad for you though? It's only a year's contract (and it gives you two months free service charge)...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevbodian

@AL
does your provider have roaming agreements with vodafone AND docomo? perhaps only vodafone is why you only roamed on vodafone. My old 802se roamed on docomo no problem.

Yep, Voda AU lists both DoCoMo and Vodafone JP as roaming partners. Even if DoCoMo wasn't a partner, its network should still at least show up in the list (and then bar me from using it if I tried).

Posted by: AL9999

Oh I should add, I tried a friend's FOMA USIM in my 903, and using that it connected to DoCoMo fine (and we even did a caller ID test just to make sure). But even using that FOMA card, doing a network search only showed up Vodafone JP in the list (which I obviously couldn't access).

So I really think being a Vodafone Japan 3G Sharp phone has something to do with DoCoMo being hidden from view (just like the 705SH I found in the shop).

Posted by: Cloud V

Quote:

Originally Posted by AL9999

Actually Al, happy bonus is a 2 year contract, not one, and it's the one with an unavoidable 10,000 cancellation fee, so I'd rather pay an extra 3000 or 5000 up front then avoid 10,000 if I cancel sometime in the next two years. Basically, I use vodafone for the love teigaku and really don't need anything else.

As for the quality, I'm kind of disappointed, I had heard from a vodafone shop that the quality of the sh201 was by far better then the D201, but perhaps if I go 3G, that'll fix the quality, maybe.

Posted by: AL9999

Oh of course, it was two years. I see your point, makes sense in your case to be able to walk away at any time...

Yeah I was disappointed too, couldn't believe that our GSM's voice quality was so much better than what PDC managed (and PDC is the network standard DoCoMo originally wanted the world to adopt, lol). 3G will definitely help voice quality, it's a far cry over what PDC can manage, but Voda aren't offering prepaid on 3G at all yet...

Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:

Originally Posted by AL9999

Oh of course, it was two years. I see your point, makes sense in your case to be able to walk away at any time...

Yeah I was disappointed too, couldn't believe that our GSM's voice quality was so much better than what PDC managed (and PDC is the network standard DoCoMo originally wanted the world to adopt, lol). 3G will definitely help voice quality, it's a far cry over what PDC can manage, but Voda aren't offering prepaid on 3G at all yet...

no wonder i cant hear my callers properly on GSM.... ive always favoured W-CDMA over GSM but now i know...... im only using GSM in Hong Kong because i have cheap IDD calls.

Posted by: Cloud V

Unfortunately, it's been 2 years since I've used DoCoMo's 2G service, but I never had quality problems like Voda's. I've always been impressed with FOMA's quality. In general, I've always heard complaints about lack of reception in some parts, but in the countryside, it doesn't matter what user you have if there's no tower. As for Voda, In the long run though, it's doable, considering I only use it to talk to one person, and I may eventually pick up a sharp 3g for the future when I do return to the US.

Posted by: faifai9394

maikuru I found one in ikebukuro and since my girlfriend NEED to com with me I would need a room for 2 I found this play in ikebukuro and its about 7000 yen per day for 2.
www.nikoinn.com

Posted by: Maikurukun

err. the website is in chinese. haha.. it doesn't really help
nahh.. it hink i want to stay in the shinjuku area.. its near waseda university.. gotta check that place out.
the place i got is 4500 yen a night.. i found another on taiko ryokan for only 3000 yen a night.. but its in asakusa

Posted by: Maikurukun

if i rent a phone from the airport.. how much would that possibly be??
and... like.. would it charge me by the minute like prepaid.. or what?

haha.. unlimited like city fido using a rental in japan...
i'm not sure that makes sense...

Posted by: faifai9394

Maikuru, you must make reservation for the ones from airport, and again their price are super high and because you must pay 1)daily rental for the phone 2)minute charge 3)those phones are ugly.... The airport ones are intend for business traveler not for visitor so If AL's info (from the other thread) was right, I would definitely go for the prepaid phone.

Posted by: AL9999

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloud V

Unfortunately, it's been 2 years since I've used DoCoMo's 2G service, but I never had quality problems like Voda's. I've always been impressed with FOMA's quality. In general, I've always heard complaints about lack of reception in some parts, but in the countryside, it doesn't matter what user you have if there's no tower. As for Voda, In the long run though, it's doable, considering I only use it to talk to one person, and I may eventually pick up a sharp 3g for the future when I do return to the US.

Agreed, Voda's quality was really crappy in many country areas (both 3G and 2G, although worse in the 3G network's case), but now that Softbank has taken over they've stated the ambitious target of building new towers up to a total number of 46,000 by the end of 2007 (I think it was?), which would be more than DoCoMo's current number. Softbank is going to turn that network around, it's probably the best thing that could have happened for its subscribers.

Posted by: Maikurukun

but i thuoght prepaid we have to get a japanese citizen to do it.. or a dude with a alien registar card

Posted by: Maikurukun

ohh any estimate on the prepaid~~~?

Posted by: Cloud V

the initial 3000 yen card and cost of whatever phone you decide to get. There's the old 201D by mitsubishi which is free I believe, or of very low cost if you don't buy at a Voda shop, or the new 201SH which runs from 7000~9000 yen depending on location.

Posted by: KrossTrain

Since you guys are talking about different service in Japan, can you guys give me advice on what phone I should get while I'm working here in Japan for a year? It doesn't have to be sharp because a there are like tons of good stuff out here... I might be here for more than that so should I get something that would work back in the US or just get something else? I mean, would it be better off for me to just get something else a year later to bring home? Thanks in advance!

Posted by: Cloud V

If you can handle the fact that 95% of the phones aren't usuable abroad, then you can get pretty much anything you want here. Again it depends on carrier, then what phone you may want, and where you may be. My advice would be to hit any big shop when you get to Japan, and check out the catalogs for AU, DoCoMo, Vodafone, and perhaps even Wilcom(albiet they are phs only) this way you can see all the phones and go from there.q

Posted by: Maikurukun

alll the prepaid phones seem to not have any type of sim card thingy.
lol.. which.. kinda counters the point for .. bringing my 903sh...

... ohh.. they going alien registar card crazy in japan.. >,<
its lke on every cell phone website.

Posted by: KrossTrain

Hey Cloud V, thanks for the advice! I already went to the store to check the phones already, well display models that is... I'm actually in Ibaraki and there is a Docomo and a Vodafone store by my house. I like some of the Docomo phones but it seems to me that they don't have the 1seg (tv viewing) nor GPS navi available. Do you guys know anything about that? On the other hand, both Au and Vodafone got both of these functions available for the W33SA/SAII and super nice tv for the 905SH (no GPS though i think) Cloud, you listed yourself as from Tokyo right? Your advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!! (^_^)V

Posted by: KrossTrain

What phones do they offer for wilcom by the way and are there actually people who uses them? "Wilcom(albiet they are phs only)" What did you mean by that?

Posted by: faifai9394

I just saw the wilcom　ＷZERO 300 ES WHICH IS THE SECOND GENERATION FOR THE WZERO, IT HAVE CAMERA AND POCKET PC FUNCTION SO AWSOME

Posted by: jeebjp

faifai9394, no need for the caps

. I know, I know, there's the VGA 2.8" touch screen and a 1.3MPixel camera (with a 416MHz processor and Windows Mobile 5). It has been out for about a month now. I'll definitely grab it if there'll be a Wi-Fi USB add-on for it when I go to Japan next time. If not, I'll just take the "updated" W-Zero3 (WS004SH) which has a bigger screen and not-so-phone'ish design (plus internal Wi-Fi, just like in the older WS003SH).

Posted by: Kevbodian

i remember 5 years ago i was on docomo and lots of friends were on j-phone kuz j-phone released the first camera phone.

while they had dropped calls and blotchy service, i had never dropped a call or lost signal.

Posted by: Cloud V

Krosstrain, sorry for the late response, as for GPS and 1-Seg, I've honestly not seen many people using the GPS function, and if anything, it's being labeled more as a, where's your kid right now, function than anything else. As for 1-seg, Docomo has the P901iTV which is 1-seg, it's also the only phone available from any carrier, that can still use 1-seg after you cancel your contract. ie, the 905 from Voda/Softbank, and the AU ones are unusuable should you switch phones or cancel.

As for willcom, they have a really good service in the fact that all willcom users are free, mail and phone wise. outside of that I believe it's a set rate around 13 yen a minute or so. They also have pretty fast speeds, around up to 256kbps I think. The voice quality is supposedly superior to other 2g/3g phones, using cd quality codecs. Actually, I've seriously considered switching from vodafone to willcom for family use because it doesn't cost that much more for two lines, and supposedly has better sound, which is my current sticking point with vodafone. As for the phone of choise, the Sharp eS, which is looking very very nice, it's the 3rd generation wzero3.

Posted by: Maikurukun

haha. well i just confirmed.. fido doesn't not work in japan.
Fido recommends.. getting a rental phone from the airport.

I called fido,, and my friend with a 903sh in japan using fido.. says it doesn't work.
GSM or 3G..

oh well.. gotta use prepaid.. but theres no prepaid sim cards?
sooo... ... its up to the rental...

Posted by: Kevbodian

fido DOES work in Japan. one sec while i get the link.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fido.ca

Roaming in Japan

Travelling to Japan? Fido offers roaming on two W-CDMA (3G) networks in Japan: Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo. To roam on one of these networks, all you need is your Fido smart card and a W-CDMA handset. These special handsets are available for rental at Tokyo's Narita airport or Osaka's Kansai airport. Don't forget to bring your Fido smart card with you when you go!

found here: http://www.fido.ca/portal/packages/...nal.jsp?lang=en

The rental handsets are simply unlocked W-CDMA/GSM handsets that will take your SIM card.

Posted by: Junglizt1210

or you can of course buy your own

which generally has to be done before you leave for Japan.

Posted by: faifai9394

man just back to the state.... and too bad cannot find the mamorukun cover for my green 902sh.... they only have 904sh..... yes the wzero is awsome and I didn't mean to put them in cap its just the wierd japanese keyboard at the internet cafe of ikebokuro..... anyways saw and play with the 905sh..... and according to the magazines it will be the trend for the next couple months..... (man they are slow) too bad that it won't work here.... I even try to get one of the 905 dummy phone but they refuse to sell it because 905 is too new. also went to the sony museum in aqua city and saw their new L series desktop (when the keyboard flip up it became a home stereo system. The only good things for this trip is clothings it is the right time of the year, where all muji, uniqlo, loft and bunch of other stuffs are on sale.

Posted by: Maikurukun

oh. lol 903SH.. she was dumb.. kept it in gsm mode.. or something.
Now.. back to the final verdict.

To get a loan sim card.. it only costs 100 yen a day. with a catch.. it also charges 100 yen per minute.
When u get to the rental shop in Narita.. you will need some type of creditcard. that has 30000 yen available.. (unfortunately for me.. my visa.. just doesn't like japaense stores... god..)

so damn it! i'm stuck using fido!! 5$ a minute!!!!!!!! ... today i must of used like 50$ worth already... 1$ per text message too! ...

prepaid requires alien card + passport... i've tried many stores in shinjuku....
i almost got away with one store... until they saw my visa card.. >.< TD bank. lol.

ahh.. even payphone are crazy... 100yen per minute .. to cell phones.. 10 yen a minute to regular phones..

.... lol.. good ol tokyo.

Posted by: AL9999

The rental shop in Narita wouldn't accept your foreign-issued Visa card? What the hell is the point of the rental shop then if it can't service visitors from overseas???

Shame to hear you're not getting away with the prepaid phone thing. I got away with it so easily...

I don't know if you can speak Japanese (it's a bonus to getting them to sell it to you it would seem), but definitely pay for it with cash, chances are they won't accept your foreign-issued Visa anyway (and it's an excuse for them to reject you, as you've seen already). Offer to use your passport as proof too, I dunno, make it obvious to them you're not some crook who's going to use your phone for fraudulent purposes

Another suggestion is buy the phone when you've gone out of Tokyo to visit some other place or something. They might not be as keen to stop you buying a phone as the Tokyo stores might be.

Posted by: Takashii

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maikurukun

I called fido,, and my friend with a 903sh in japan using fido.. says it doesn't work.
GSM or 3G..

oh. lol 903SH.. she was dumb.. kept it in gsm mode.. or something.
Now.. back to the final verdict.

By the way I believe your so called dumb friend is on Rogers, not Fido.

Posted by: Maikurukun

lol. well. according to vodafone. if you are on rogers. u are guarrenteed to work.
since rogers is a officallly associated with voda for roaming.

fido isn't. but fido works.