PrePaidGSM.net Forum (Archived) - View Single Post

Amrando · 07-09-2011, 20:14

Hi all-

you are definitely right about the limited availability of rental and prepaid options in Japan. There is NO prepaid 'disposable' buy-at-a-corner-store option at all in Japan- this is ostensibly to prevent use for eeeeevil criminal activities (yakuza, etc) but practically speaking is really just there to restrict and control the public's use and provide a barrier to entry and maintain profit margins for the established carriers.

You have to remember Japan has always been more advanced technologically than socially, and they are always very insular.

Softbank has offered a rental SIM for iPhones and smartphones for a couple years now, which is very inexpensive for voice usage but still bills by the kilobyte for data. This is the same with a few low-cost competitors fronted by KDDI, however you would need to use a KDDI phone as well as they do not support GSM.

My option across several trips now is a 3rd-party rental service - there are several companies based in and outside of Japan that rent Softbank or docomo SIMs and/or phones for use in Japan, and they will offer the only plans even vaguely comparable to what an actual subscriber would have in Japan.

My typical package is with *shameless plug* JCR Corp based in Hawaii. They offer docomo SIMs with unlimited data by the day, week or month. Yes, it is quite a bit more expensive than what we are used to as prepaid SIMs around the world, however the coverage is great and their ease-of-use for a rental service is phenomenal. They offer phone and data kit pickup and return from the takkyubin courier service counters at NRT, KIX and HND.

If you need voice and data in Japan, a rental service is unfortunately the only way to go. Down the road docomo and Softbank are moving to UMTS as is the rest of the world, maybe at this point they might get with the program worldwide. But as long as the market is a duopoly and they have the government in their pocket don't count on it.

	(#8)
Amrando (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 7 Join Date: 06 Sep 2011 Country:	07-09-2011, 20:14 Hi all- you are definitely right about the limited availability of rental and prepaid options in Japan. There is NO prepaid 'disposable' buy-at-a-corner-store option at all in Japan- this is ostensibly to prevent use for eeeeevil criminal activities (yakuza, etc) but practically speaking is really just there to restrict and control the public's use and provide a barrier to entry and maintain profit margins for the established carriers. You have to remember Japan has always been more advanced technologically than socially, and they are always very insular. Softbank has offered a rental SIM for iPhones and smartphones for a couple years now, which is very inexpensive for voice usage but still bills by the kilobyte for data. This is the same with a few low-cost competitors fronted by KDDI, however you would need to use a KDDI phone as well as they do not support GSM. My option across several trips now is a 3rd-party rental service - there are several companies based in and outside of Japan that rent Softbank or docomo SIMs and/or phones for use in Japan, and they will offer the only plans even vaguely comparable to what an actual subscriber would have in Japan. My typical package is with *shameless plug* JCR Corp based in Hawaii. They offer docomo SIMs with unlimited data by the day, week or month. Yes, it is quite a bit more expensive than what we are used to as prepaid SIMs around the world, however the coverage is great and their ease-of-use for a rental service is phenomenal. They offer phone and data kit pickup and return from the takkyubin courier service counters at NRT, KIX and HND. If you need voice and data in Japan, a rental service is unfortunately the only way to go. Down the road docomo and Softbank are moving to UMTS as is the rest of the world, maybe at this point they might get with the program worldwide. But as long as the market is a duopoly and they have the government in their pocket don't count on it.