Japan - Travelsim, UM, other?

[tiga31328]

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

Charlie,
I guess my response is a little late to be of any use. I'm in Japan right now (with my new e61 ) and use both Celtrek and 09 here, along with my T-Mobile US postpaid. 09 is free incoming and Celtrek is reasonable, considering the forwarding from the US. Even my T-Mobile with the old international rates is reasonable for incoming calls at $0.33/min.

Still I find myself carying the mobile more than using it. Everywhere has high-speed Internet and most of my calls home are made by VOIP.

But you are in time to help me. I am going to Japan the first week of April and want to have a phone with me while I am traveling.

What I have:

Cingular Tilt(HTC) Unlocked, I have verified that it will function with networks in Japan.



What I would like to be able to do in Japan:

Have a Prepaid SIM that I can order, receive, and test to work prior to traveling.
Have a number that US caller's can call, or that I can route my International 800# to.
Be able to call from Japan to the US.
Be able to call from Japan within Japan.
Text messaging/VoiceMail, etc. are okay, and optional.

My biggest question is what is a trusthworthy SIM that I can get ahead of time, that will work in Japan, and that isn't extremely expensive.

I checked the CelTrek mentioned in your post and it looks okay, that their site has not been udpated in nearly a year, and all the typo's concerns me slightly. Do you recommend CelTrek for me?

Any help is greatly appreciated as I have been looking around online for a month and can't seem to find the right information/SIM to use.

I have also considered just getting a SIM in Tokyo when I arrive, but that negates having everything in place for me to receive calls(people knowing the number to dial).

Thanks again,
Patrick