Japan SIM rental question

Good day Japan Forum people.
I have not yet decided if I should either rent a SIM in Japan or bring my own and use roaming. The most info I found says I can pick up the SIM at airports like Narita from the operator with reservation made beforehand, but in case I would make up my mind later on during the trip and would like to rent the SIM in a big city in Japan like Osaka for instance, would that be possible? I mean renting it for some days not just over the day. But then is it perhaps impossible for me to return the SIM at some other city?

Rental sims are pretty much only available at airports/ports or through the mail. Mail order companies need a little time to get the card to you and they can be shipped to your hotel, and they can be returned by mail.

Prepaid sims, on the other hand, can be purchased at yodobashi camera, costco, and a few other physical outlets.

Okay. Are the prepaid SIMs not only for Japanese residents? If I pass by another airport than Narita during the trip, do you think it would be possible to rent a card there (Osaka airport for example) and return it to another airport like Narita when going home?

Personally, I would decide before you arrive.
1. roaming costs are astronomical.
2. If you are undecided re a SIM card, then consider a Portable WiFi router: then you can keep your number, and use email/skype/etc for contacting
We rent from http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com and have found them to be excellent.
Good luck!

I know the roaming costs are like you say "astronomical". Thing is, I wont be calling so much, at least not for fun if you see the point. It will most be used for emergencies or if needing to call a hotel. During the rest of the time the phone will be lying in my pocket. That is why it is hard to make out if I should get the roaming or rental sim. About the WiFi hub I think is a bit too much, I dont have one here and dont want to put too much stuff in my luggage, but it was a great idea anyway :)

Yeah! I just got the mifi device with sim rental from http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com too!

I think this the best option to get your 4G speed while travelling in Japan.

Well I do not really care about the data traffic though it seems like a good offer. A good thing could be to use Skype but I am not that used to it to be secure using it abroad...

If you will only use the phone for emergencies then you're probably better off just getting a roaming sim. Just be aware of the calling rates and make sure to leave data roaming off except when you really need to use it.

Yes, I am not happy about the rates but hopefully there wont be too many calls...

The SIM is prepaid and it should be possible to refill it but it would need a internet PC connection.

So you dont think it will be worth having a rental SIM compared to roaming considering the rates?

The SIM is prepaid and it should be possible to refill it but it would need a internet PC connection.

I'm not sure what sim you are referring to. If its a softbank sim, then the postpaid rental version will probably be more cost effective for your trip.

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/e/

So you dont think it will be worth having a rental SIM compared to roaming considering the rates?

Can't say without knowing your roaming rates. But as an example, when my parents come they pay about 250 yen/min for roaming calls within Japan. A rental sim costs 105 yen/day and about 100 yen/min so for them it is more cost effective to just pay for roaming than for a rental. Your usage will differ, but may be a similar situation if you only will be using the phone for emergencies.

I tried to ask the phone operator here if local emergency calls (police, ambulance) or Japan Help Line cost anything but they could give me no answer. There are emergency lines abroad in case of health issues and so. Domestic calling however is double rate from calling out of Japan. I will post a rate list in case you are interested when I get ahold of my calling list.

Have you seen this thread:

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+99405

It seems emergency calls may be possible even if you don't have an active contract. Of course you can always use a payphone too.

Oh, another swedish guy (I suppose), haven't seen that thread before.

Here are the rates by the way:
International & incoming calls - 260 yen / min
Domestic calls - 520 yen / min
Text messagaes - 50 yen

Here's a cheaper option which I use every time I go to Japan

http://www.rentafonejapan.com/Mobile-Internet.html

I'm not familiar with mobile WIFI router so how accurate is the GPS localisation system in that case? Can it get the data from the modem?

Well again I am not interested in mobile internet, but thanks anyway.

International & incoming calls - 260 yen / min
Domestic calls - 520 yen / min
Text messagaes - 50 yen

Wow your domestic calls are surprisingly expensive. Still, if you only plan on using it for emergencies then I'd forego the rental sim and just roam. Also try to find a payphone if you need to call someone in Japan. In the end you'll probably end up spending less than if you rented or got a prepaid.

I'm not familiar with mobile WIFI router so how accurate is the GPS localisation system in that case? Can it get the data from the modem?

I'm not sure if the mobile wifi modems can transmit their positioning information to the phone, but even so the advantage is more with speed of determining your position rather than accuracy. Does your phone not come equipped with gps? If it does then you probably don't need to worry about this as gps doesn't need data to get a fix, you just need the data to display the map (or use an offline map program).

yllwsmrf,
Yes, the rate made me first consider the rental SIM idea but since I will only be using them for emergencies then it made me clueless.

There is an emergency service for most travel insurance companies called SOS International which apparently have collect calls. I am supposed to contact them prior to any medical assistance in Japan so the Japan doctors have a pay agreement and then can start any procedures... Unsure if it will cost me to call any ambulance in Japan if there were no payphone near me though. That bugs me a bit.