Phone for gaijin student

Good day, Senpai-tachi.

Need help in this matter. what should I do to acquire a mobile phone in Kyoto, Japan?

This October, I will be in Kyoto for at least 1,5 years for language study. Originally from Indonesia, Male, 24yrs.

I went to Tokyo,Nagoya,Osaka 3 months ago and had the chance to asking around in a department store. It seems both Docomo and Softbank need a contract for 2 years in order to get a phone.
on the otherhand, I couldn't find any pre-paid counter nor do I 100% sure if my phone (Sony xperia SL) compatible with those JapANESE pre-paid sim card.

I heard that starting an account in bank (I plan Shinsei bank) need your phone number for confirmation.

Thank you for your attention. any help is appreciated (tasukette kudasai~).

The mobile and internet contract is 2 years basis. If you are in Japan for 18 months, you can choose either make a 2 years contract, buy a pre-paid phone or buy a sim free data card at b-mobile(min contract for 5 months)
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/fd/index.html
A pre-paid phone is unpopular in Japan.

If you break the mobile contract, you will be penalized around 10,000 Yen at Docomo, Softbank and b-mobile. I think it worth to make a mobile contract for 2 years and then break the contract as you leave.
You can ask at Docomo or softbank shops for any special offers(they often do) that you will not be charged any penalty as you break the contract(normally offer in March and April). But you won't get any monthly discount as you make a non-penalty contract.

I went to Tokyo,Nagoya,Osaka 3 months ago and had the chance to asking around in a department store. It seems both Docomo and Softbank need a contract for 2 years in order to get a phone. on the otherhand, I couldn't find any pre-paid counter nor do I 100% sure if my phone (Sony xperia SL) compatible with those JapANESE pre-paid sim card.

Department store kiosks tend to have a limited selection and there aren't any prepaid specific counters. You'll have the best selection at a Softbank store or at some outlets like Don Quiote. Docomo doesn't sell prepaid phones.

I heard that starting an account in bank (I plan Shinsei bank) need your phone number for confirmation.

I believe there are banks other than Shinsei that don't require phone numbers.

If your Sony Xperia SL is unlocked then it may be compatible with a Japanese prepaid. If you want to go this route then either look into a softbank prepaid (voice and email only, but really cheap, as low as 1500 yen/month) or B-mobile (contract based voice and prepaid data, roughly 7000-8000 yen/month).

Otherwise, you may want to consider getting a contract phone and just eat the cancellation fees when you leave.

A few more things:

The mobile and internet contract is 2 years basis. If you are in Japan for 18 months, you can choose either make a 2 years contract, buy a pre-paid phone or buy a sim free data card at b-mobile(min contract for 5 months)
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/fd/index.html

Note that some companies won't sell you a two year contract phone based on residency. If so you may have to purchase a phone outright at the beginning.

A pre-paid phone is unpopular in Japan.

But prepaids are fairly popular among students as they are cheap and easy to get.

If you break the mobile contract, you will be penalized around 10,000 Yen at Docomo, Softbank and b-mobile.

Just to add, b-mobile's early termination fee only applies if you cancel within as little as 3 months to 1 year, depending on the plan. So that may not even apply to the OP.

I think it worth to make a mobile contract for 2 years and then break the contract as you leave.

That may be a viable plan. Especially as you can also get a phone out of it.

You can ask at Docomo or softbank shops for any special offers(they often do) that you will not be charged any penalty as you break the contract(normally offer in March and April). But you won't get any monthly discount as you make a non-penalty contract.

In this case it may be cheaper to make the regular contract and pay the ETF. Depends on how long you'll keep the contract before it pays off, but it's usually less than a year.

I heard the rumor that as per 2013/2014 there will be new policy to deals with the problems caused by gaijin, breqching the contract and run away. I am sure I heard it on the other thread (not sure which)...
On the other note, thank you for the inputs... I will post the result once I manage to get the phone.

I'm not quite sure what you're referring to, but most companies mitigate this issue by requiring that you have enough time on your visa to cover the contract period. Otherwise you won't be eligible for a subsidy and will need to purchase the phone outright.