Should I buy an iPhone in Japan

Hello. I was wondering if it makes sense to purchase iPhone 13/14 Pro in Japan since I will be traveling there in a few weeks and would rather have a physical sim slot. I have a few questions:
1. Where would be the best place to buy it? I read some articles saying that Japan had the cheapest price for iPhones; yet it doesn't look like that upon checking on apple store website in Japan
2. Do their phones come with all necessary bands to work in the US? Any other differences like vocal shutter of the camera?
3. Can one expect to get a tax free purchase?

Thank you for you input!

You on tourist/temporary visa? So best place to go is Apple shop..

Buying in Japan will be a nightmare.
- the stores (it is a carrier oligopoly) will make it almost impossible to buy without a contract
- as a visitor you are prevented from getting a phone with voice service (there is legislation that requires you to be resident)
- the phone will be sim-locked to the carrier you buy from. While they can be unlocked, the sales people will lie to your face and say it is impossible
I can think of less stressful things to do to try to save a few dollars.

This time I donft agree with JCT.

I bought my current iPhone 11 while I was here on a tourist visa at an Apple Store. Itfs free of carrier restrictions and back then with the tax free it was cheaper than in Europe.

Yes, it has the shutter noise though.

Getting a phone card in Japan as a non resident isnft possible. You can only get a data card. But thatfs independent of the phone you use.

At the Apple Store (I bought it at the one in Marunouchi) there was also a lot of English speaking staff at hand. Back then I had to queue a bit, got an appointment and then went to pay and got it. Probably all in all took half a morning. That was shortly after the release of that phone generation.

@LikeBike - great you had a positive experience. I must have lucked out with the staff and stores I have had to deal with over the years.

Thank you everyone for all the valuable info!
I guess I will give up on the idea, since Apple Store sounds as the only option. Their pricing is very similar to the US...

As a footnote to this thread I did see a report that Apple Japan changed its sales policy for visitors. The OP would, normally be able to get the 10% consumption tax discount, but Apple stopped offering tax-free shopping mid-2022 after being charged 13 billion yen in back-taxes for sales to foreign tourists. Without that discount, there might not be much of a price advantage.