portable wifi

I have seen a few suggestions to rent "portable wifi" while I am in Japan. What is this, and is it necessary?

I will be in Japan for about 3 weeks, travelling in Osaka, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Toyko. I would appreciate any insight on the subject.

Portable WiFi, or MiFi, is exactly what it means: a device that uses local phone systems and converts it to a WiFi only you can use. As for the necessity, that's up to you and your needs while you're there. Don't expect many free WiFi hotspots in Japan. Most of the few there are require you to register on their website, which will be Japanese language only.

Thanks for the info, John. I've heard I can rent MIFI at the airport (although I am flying into Osaka and out of Tokyo, so maybe that will not be possible in my case). Do you happen to know if the airport is the best place to get MIFI, or somewhere else?

https://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html

I've used this company 3 times now and I've been totally satisfied. You can have them send it to your hotel or pick it up at your point of entry airport. It comes with a self-addressed postage paid envelope you can mail from anywhere in Japan.

Totally agree with JohnDigsJapan: GAC are fantastic: the portable wifi (Mifi) makes life SO easy....cant recommend them highly enough: pick up at airport, or your hotel, and drop off at airport when you leave.
The website is easy to navigate, and we have had no problems at all, using GAC twice, and planning at least 2 more times as well.

Completely agree that a MiFi is a must for your trip. I've used PuPuRu a few times now and I highly recommend as well. Right now, I'd pick them over GAC only because they offer the GL06P MiFi model which has 2x the battery life of the GL04P model. Used it few months ago and it was amazing.

on the subject of if it's needed i would say it's all down to how much are you going to need it whilst away from your hotel?

personally having used both mifi's and data sims i don't think the mifi's are good value for money. most people on the move will only be using maps and travel apps so i prefer just to get a sim for my phone.

This is a good question between WIFI and that MIFI.i have to agree with pas7680. i did not really understand it to much so i went with softbank Sims. i didnt care to about anything but to use the map to get around.i went with the sims for that. if your in the big cities there are wifi all over. so you can sometime use the wifi to get around if you reload your direction. mbut cut back us data useage. remember depending on the phone your using. my Iphone.. aka crapple phone suck the baterry dry when using the map

We used the Wifi a lot, as not all hotels have FREE wifi: some we stayed at only had cable internet, and others you had to pay for the use anyway. (although this is improving each time we go).
We also used it for Viber, iMessage, Skype etc; it worked out about $7 a day: good value for the convenience.