Use J iphone in US?

Hi all,

I plan on leaving Japan next year after 3 years of working. I'm currently using an iPhone 4s, bought here in Japan, but it's two years old and starting to lag. Docomo is offering 5c's for free now, and I thought it might be nice to switch - new, nice phone (that has never been dropped in the toilet), and if I can bring it back to the states, it'll replace my 4-year-old iPhone4.

But can I actually use it in the States? I know that everyone's always asking about bringing US phones to Japan, and I know Japan doesn't usually sell SIM cards, but how about the US? I've never actually had to do it, so I don't know.

Thank you!

Yes, it can be done. When you leave Docomo will unlock your phone and then you can use it on networks in the US, T-mobile for example. Note that there will likely be some pretty hefty fees as the end since you'll have a cancellation fee plus will have to pay off the cost of the phone in a lump sum (they're not truly free phones). You'll probably want to weigh those against just continuing your current service till you leave.