iPhone Use in Japan

Does anyone have an American iPhone, that is unlocked, and is using it with a Japanese sim? I believe SoftBank still has the exclusive contract? Domo.

I've used a unlocked iphone 3g from Australia with a rental softbank sim from the airport if that is your question? As long as its a 3g or 3gs model it will work.
The data side of it costs a fortune though.

Not really. I am looking specifically for a way to use the unlocked iPhone. I know about 6 months ago we were told we needed a 2-year contract for the SoftBank sim (only company in Tokyo for iPhone like ATT is in US) and a visa or way to prove we are here for 2 years. Our work contracts are for 1 year at a time, so no go. Any other advice?

That's actually a helpful message in some ways, thanks. We are looking for affordable voice & text msg & data. So roaming doesn't do the trick nor does a rental.

I thought about doing this to use the iPhone gps while on holiday but it seems like the data access would cost a LOT.

Data would probably be the issue I guess for you. If you rent you can have all the features you want on your iphone, at a cost.
If you get a prepaid sim you won't have data other than email access.
However apparently softbank only just recently stopped selling prepaid sim's on their own. Might be lucky to find one lying around at some small corner shop.

Aloha,

I recently traveled to Japan and rented a SIM (card only) from JCRCORP.COM. The plan I used included phone service ($75 for 1 week) AND unlimited data ($99). Although the data was good for 30 days, I was only there for 7 days. Considering other SIM rentals are $25/megabyte for data, this was a bargain!

I had NO PROBLEMS using the SIM. JCRCORP gave clear instructions for its setup an use.

I used it in my unlocked iPhone 3G and it was the greatest tool along for the trip. Google maps worked like a charm, as did email and web browsing. I even found a train route website that saved me the hassle of calculating routes on my own.

Hope this information helps someone. I'm currently wondering what I have to go through to PURCHASE a SIM card for use in Japan from within the USA. From what I've read, I have to live in Japan to buy one currently. Anybody have an answer to this?

dijitul

I'm currently wondering what I have to go through to PURCHASE a SIM card for use in Japan from within the USA. From what I've read, I have to live in Japan to buy one currently. Anybody have an answer to this?

You have to be a resident of Japan and typically need more than 2 years left on your visa depending on where you purchase.

So just to understand, it sounds like it is possible to use a Japanese SIM in a unlocked IPHONE? I currently have a NTT Docomo contract, but was wondering if I just purchase a unlocked IPHONE, would my current sim card work? My current plan has internet etc, so I was hoping I could just put the NTT Docomo sim into the IPHONE and everything would work?

So just to understand, it sounds like it is possible to use a Japanese SIM in a unlocked IPHONE? I currently have a NTT Docomo contract, but was wondering if I just purchase a unlocked IPHONE, would my current sim card work? My current plan has internet etc, so I was hoping I could just put the NTT Docomo sim into the IPHONE and everything would work?

Generally speaking it should work although the method that you use depends on which model iphone you end up getting. Note that you can't get an unlocked phone from softbank in Japan so you will either have to purchase it on auction (expensive), or unlock one yourself (the older models are easier to unlock than the newest model).

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=611210

I'm an American with an iPhone and went to Japan this past summer. I contacted AT&T before I left to see if it would work when I was there, and they assured me it would. The only thing was that they suggested I switch my plan over to "global" for that month so I wouldn't get charged for roaming. However I didn't do that because I really had no need to use the actual phone functions.

When I got there, I switched the phone on in hopes of just seeing it acquire network connectivity from a Japanese carrier (don't ask me why, but I just thought it would be cool to see something other than "ATT" on the screen)... but it never found anything. I know I was still using a US SIM card, but as per the AT&T sales person I talked to, it should have worked on roaming, regardless of what my plan was. So it was pretty disappointing, and could have been potentially more serious if I actually did need to use my phone. The wifi worked of course, which was more than helpful considering outside of hostels, you can't really use a computer for free anywhere.

When I got there, I switched the phone on in hopes of just seeing it acquire network connectivity from a Japanese carrier (don't ask me why, but I just thought it would be cool to see something other than "ATT" on the screen)... but it never found anything. I know I was still using a US SIM card, but as per the AT&T sales person I talked to, it should have worked on roaming, regardless of what my plan was.

Too bad it didn't work for you, but just some quick questions. What model iphone do you have? The first gen cannot work in Japan. Also, did you verify that global roaming was activated on your phone (its not necessarily active by default)? Other users have noted that their phones would jump between Docomo and Softbank networks when roaming in Japan.

Either way, unlocked iphones have been verified to work for residents of Japan with Docomo and Softbank sim cards as mentioned on the link above.

You can get a postpaid simcard from Softbank to use for your unlocked iPhone.

Get the unlimited data packet plan for minimal data cost

You now can rental a SIM for iPhones from SoftBank with unlimited data plan.It worked for me in Tokyo and Kyoto. SoftBank is the only official iPhone provider in Japan.

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/phones/