Wifi v SIM rental - 2 phones (delivery?)

Hi there

It seems this question has been asked to death in various ways, but I'm hoping someone will humor me.

We are travelling to Japan for 23 days, spending most of it in Tokyo with a short stay in Kyoto and just outside of it in Kurama. We have two phones (iphone 4 and galaxy s4).

I figured renting a pocket wifi with a skype account would be best to make some international calls home, use google maps, etc. Is that a good way to go?

Also, would it be best/possible to have it delivered to Haneda Airport where we arrive for a 10pm flight, or to our first night hotel room in Shibuya?

Apologies if these qs are obvious/stupid. Any tips/comments much appreciated,

Thank you :)

I figured renting a pocket wifi with a skype account would be best to make some international calls home, use google maps, etc. Is that a good way to go?

That's exactly what I would recommend. Its the easiest to set up and use between two devices and is relatively inexpensive.

Also, would it be best/possible to have it delivered to Haneda Airport where we arrive for a 10pm flight, or to our first night hotel room in Shibuya?

You would be better off having it delivered to your hotel in Shibuya if you arrive at 10PM. Pretty much all of the rental companies should be able to handle that no problem.

Have you looked into rental companies yet? There are several listed on this thread that you may want to look into:

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+108565

Thank you for the advice.

I looked into rental companies and thought that Global Advanced Comm seems to come recommended and was decently priced.

I also thought that, being a bigger company, they would be able to accommodate me on what might be short notice (less than two weeks away). Anyone had any problems booking this close to deadline?

Also, I'm considering using the wifi router of our apartment for the last week of the stay. My only concern is the last 8 hours in Japan we'd be wireless-less, so to speak.

Should we have one at all times or risk navigating trains to our departing flight without one?

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Thankyou

I looked into rental companies and thought that Global Advanced Comm seems to come recommended and was decently priced.

They are highly recommended on this site.

I also thought that, being a bigger company, they would be able to accommodate me on what might be short notice (less than two weeks away). Anyone had any problems booking this close to deadline?

They have a minimum 2 days advance notice so you should be fine.

Should we have one at all times or risk navigating trains to our departing flight without one?

It depends. Where is your rental apt and where are you flying out of?

We've rented in Harajuku and check out before 12 midday. Our flight is from Haneda International Terminal and it's midweek at 8pm I think.

I thought if we left early we could probably fumble through it in time. Is the airport a nice enough place to be in, or would it be a waste of our last hours in Tokyo?

Flight at 11.45pm. I thought we should arrive for 8pm to be safe (inexperienced travellers).

We've rented in Harajuku and check out before 12 midday. Our flight is from Haneda International Terminal and it's midweek at 8pm I think.

Why not just drop the wifi off at Haneda?

I thought if we left early we could probably fumble through it in time. Is the airport a nice enough place to be in, or would it be a waste of our last hours in Tokyo?

With a little planning its easy enough to get too, you can do it in one transfer. You don't need to arrive until 8-9 so it looks like you squeeze in almost another full day of sightseeing before your flight.

Hm. I might try to organise an envelope with the apartment owner and maybe we could drop it in a post box at Haneda.

thankyou

GAC provides prepaid return envelopes, so you can just drop it into any post office box once you are ready to return it.