Cost of cell-phone in Japan (Tokyo)

I'm going to be living in Tokyo for a little over a year (studying at a language school) and am curious what is the cheapest phone plan I can get. What is the average monthly payment, and do I need to buy the phone (or is it free after the phone plan like in America for some phones)

I don't care if the phone is low-end as long as I can text and call. Thanks.

Just FYI, phones are usually not free in America, they simply make you sign a two year contract. If you don't fulfill the contract, you're hit with a massive early termination charge.

I had Softbank service while I was in Japan so I could only speak about them. I got a "free" phone and had the lowest possible plan. The phone was "free" because I didn't have to pay for it at the beginning, but I had to pay for it in monthly installments for 24 months. As for the phone plan itself, I was an extremely light user (only called in-network) and my bill was around 4000 yen monthly (including the monthly installment for the phone). That being said, I barely made any phone calls, barely surfed the web so I got almost nothing out of it too.

I hear Softbank is the more expensive provider (ie. Verizon in the US) so if you're looking for strictly the cheapest price, I think KDDI would be the way to go.

Thank you for the response. Yes I realize phones technically are not free in the US, but I will be in Japan long term so a contract is fine. Anyone have any experience with KDDI?

Hey Matt, many things depend on the provider.

Here is my experience with phones in Japan. ^-^

If you will stay in Japan only for one year there is a fair chance that Softbank won't allow you to take a two year contract which enables to pay off your phone through monthly installments.

I was refused a two-year contract with Softbank because my alien registration card was issued for initial period of two years and they calculated that I won't be in Japan to pay off the last installment.

So I had to take a one year contract and pay for the phone immediately, in chash. I picked the cheapest one and it took around 20000yen. Now it's being refunded through a monthly discount on my bill, but still.

At first I wanted to take Willcom, but they refused to give me a contract at all because at the time my alien registration card still hasn't arrived and they didn't admit the paper I received at the shiyakusho confirming that I have been registered.

My friends who are here on the same terms as I am had no such problems with either KDDI or AU.

You can find new phones in some of the smaller shops in Akihabara (along Chuo Dori, up towards Suehirocho Station)

They start from around 8000 yen for 3G phones from Softbank, DoCoMo, KDDI & eMobile. No contract, outright buy price.

I guess my major concern is the monthly fee. If I have to pay a bit for a phone initially as long as its not too much I'm fine. What would be the monthly fee after buying one of those phones with no contract? Or do you pay by the minute?

You could also look into getting a pre-paid phone. Softbank offers it, but i'm not sure about other companies. That is what most of the international students (including me) at my school have. It's one of the cheapest ways to go, although the phone doesn't do much.

If you will only be staying for one year on a student visa then postpaid contracts will not be an option. However, what you can do as many have mentioned is purchase the phone outright and then have monthly postpaid service with no contract. Phones start at around 10,000-20,000 if bought from the carrier, and then service can be as low as 1500 yen/mo, however with usage, taxes and fees your probably looking at more like 3000+ yen/mo. Incoming calls are free and outgoing calls are charged in 30 sec blocks and it ends up costing 20-30 yen per minute depending on your carrier and plan. If you go this route consider au (Kddi) as they have a 50% discount for students that applies to student visa holders.

Optionally consider a prepaid phone (either softbank or au). The handsets start at just under 5000 yen and you can buy credit in 3000 and 5000 yen increments. Again incoming calls are free and outgoing costs about 9 yen/6 sec (90 yen/min).

here's some links to softbank and au:

http://mb.softbank.jp/en/
http://www.au.kddi.com/english/

Oh, and make sure you get a 3G phone. The old 2G PDC system will be phased out by March. If you happen to get a PDC phone, you will have to buy a new one again in April !!!