Don’t Leave Your Cellphone Home

Although many cellphones do not work in Japan, they can be very helpfull when used as a guide.

I make a screen shot of the map of places I am going, then
I edit it by putting English names and save it as a .JPG. I also make a
.JPG of the travel details.
I make a folder for every day of the trip with all the .JPGs for that day.
Then I put all the folders into the PHOTO section of my cell phone. That
gives me a complete day-by-day schedule.
Here is an example of two of the pages in one of my folders.
http://dickh.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v133/p444848062-3.jpg
http://dickh.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v3/p732669503-4.jpg

Or you can just rent a portable wifi router.

...or you could just pretend that you're on holiday in an amazing country, that you might not ever get the chance to visit again...and enjoy life *without* the constant accompaniment of a mobile phone.

Just a thought.

If it isn't on a roaming service, why not? Phones are not just phones, and why shouldn't people use them as offline handheld data units? You can access photos, screenshots and files relating to your trip, with the added benefit of GPS capability. You *could* rent a WiFi device, but if it's just to use mindless social networking sites, SHOULD you?....

"...or you could just pretend that you're on holiday in an amazing country, that you might not ever get the chance to visit again...and enjoy life *without* the constant accompaniment of a mobile phone."

Unlike many other people, I have not succumbed to the cell phone addiction. The ONLY reason I have one is to use as I have explained and to call 911 in an emergency. As you may know, all cell phones must be capable of calling 911 even if they are not registered. I bought a refurbished smart phone for less than $50. It looks and performs like new. In addition to the nearly 100 pages of text and maps for this 21st entry into Japan, there are dozens of songs on it to relieve the boredom of a 12-hour flight.