In Japan the most cell phones are sim locked and Japanese don't usually change between SIM cards. That's why you can't find SIM cards in the stores in Japan and when you ask a Japanese they don't know; even though they are simple to find in other countries. In the end, you often hear the complaints of foreign visitors who can only connect to the internet in their hotel room and use public phones that are not so easy to find.
But even in Japan there are services for foreign visitors to rent SIM cards, smart phones and portable wifi devices and these will be introduced in this article.
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SIM
■b-mobile VISITOR SIM 14Days Prepaid■
sim card phone use japan
With this SIM card you can use the internet as much as you want during 14 days. The internet speed however, is rather slow at 300kbps. It takes 10 seconds to open the yahoo homepage from a smart phone and even longer from a PC. You should consider this service as helpful for viewing emails. It isn't exactly clear which devices you can use with this service, but it is safe to assume that only iPhones and iPads work with this service.
Costs3.980 yen
How to buyhttp://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/1gb.html
Where to getNarita, Haneda, Osaka, Nagoya, Hokkaido airports, and your hotel in Japan
■b-mobile VISITOR SIM 1GB Prepaid■
This is a SIM card that lets you use 1 GB of internet. Compared to b-mobile VISITOR SIM 14Days Prepaid, the internet speed is higher (max 14Mbps). The possible usage time is 14 days.
Costs3.980 yen
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Rental iPhone
■Softbank Global Rental iPhone■
plan-ib02
You can rent an iPhone if you want to use a smart phone for phone calls and internet. At the most 1500 yen a day, you can use heavy contents as much as you want!
Rental costs250 yen（incl tax）／day
Internet costs1,500yen（incl tax）/day as a maximum
Phone call costsNational calls 105 yen/minute
Receiving is free of charge
Transaction Fee315 yen (incl tax）／contract
How to buy https://www.softbank-rental.jp/e/rental-plan-ib02.php
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WIFI
■Pocket WIFI■
wifi
The costs are fixed, so you don't have to worry about the data you use.
Rental costs870 yen～/day
How to buyhttp://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html
