Cell phone while abroad for a year

Hello everyone!

So I'm going abroad for my senior year of highschool in Japan. I've never had a cell phone that truly was mine, but I know how to use them more or less although texting still perplexes me and probably more so in Japan.

Moving along, while abroad in Japan the necessity of a cell phone is a lot bigger than in the U.S. (as in, I can survive without one here in the U.S. and in Japan... I doubt it.) So, what I want to know is if I should get a cell phone here in the U.S. and then take it abroad with me (specifically iPhone).

Or, should I buy a cell phone in Japan? I've heard rumors that my host program will supply me with one, but in case they don't I just would like to know which would be the best option.

If I should buy a cell phone in Japan, in what way and what will the process be like? Throw in extra details if you like the more I can learn the better off I will be.

Thanks,

DemonicDerek

You can actually survive without a cellphone in Japan. The only thing is, once you do get one, you probably won't be able to do without it.

Japan has its own radio frequency for cellphones, so only Japanese cellphones would work in Japan, i.e. those from abroad will not work in Japan. I don't have an iphone myself, but many foreigners who study in Japan get one so that they can use it when they return back to their country. So I assume you could bring your iphone along to Japan. If you don't have one yet you could also just get yourself an iphone here once you get to Japan, because the older 8gb version is sold for nearly half the price of what they cost abroad.

Definitely find out whether or not your host company will provide you with a phone or not.

If you choose to get a cellphone in Japan, you will need to supply your cellphone carrier with a Japanese bank account, your alien registration card (or in case you don't have that yet, a specific document that replaces your alien registration card until you actually get it, you will probably need one in order to open up a bank account etc. early, or otherwise wait for a month until you get your real alien reg. card).

There are three major cellphone carriers in Japan: docomo, AU, and softbank (and lately, a fourth player called willcom is in the business too). The only carrier that actually provides information in English is softbank, who also sell the iphone btw. All the other carriers are in Japanese only.

The rather annoying thing in Japan is that a few years ago, they changed their system on buying cellphones. In the past, you could usually get your cellphones for free if you subscribed for a one or two year plan. Newer phones that were just released would still cost around 10.000+ yen however.

But a few years ago, this has changed. Now any phone you buy will cost you money. The cheapest Japense phones would be around 20.000 and up, and the most expensive ones at a staggering 90.000 yen! They have this system where you can choose to either pay the price of the phone in full, or just pay it in monthly installments for the next year or two. Up to you to choose what you do.

After you've actually picked your phone you're also going to have to choose a plan, which there are many of. You will have to identify whether you will be using your phone a lot for talking and emailing, and whether you want to use your internet browser. Have phone carrier assistent help you with that. You can always change your phone plan should you find that necessary afterwards, but you won't be able to cancel the contract for at least a full year, or you will have to pay a fine.

Depending on the carrier you're with, you will be able to get certain previleges. For example, all softbank cellphone users can talk and mail for free during certain periods of the day. Docomo lets families who all have a docomo plan talk for free, the 'family plan', and I think AU has a similar thing going on. Willcom will let you talk for as much as you want for a fixed 3000 yen per month i think, if both you and the other person are subscribed to willcom.

Please choose a phone wisely, because you will probably be stuck with the same model for the first 6 months you use it. It's also not common in Japan to say, have a docomo phone with a softbank plan. In Japan people buy the phones of the carriers they're with.

"Japan has its own radio frequency for cellphones, so only Japanese cellphones would work in Japan, i.e. those from abroad will not work in Japan. I don't have an iphone myself, but many foreigners who study in Japan get one so that they can use it when they return back to their country. So I assume you could bring your iphone along to Japan. If you don't have one yet you could also just get yourself an iphone here once you get to Japan, because the older 8gb version is sold for nearly half the price of what they cost abroad. "

A lot of the above information is not accurate.

It is not the "radio frequency for cellphones" which is different, it is the older phone system. The 2G system used is called PDC, which is incompatible with any other system in the world. However, that will be turned off at the end of March. For almost 10 years now, Japan has also been using 3G (WCDMA/UMTS) which IS COMPATIBLE with 3G systems overseas, provided that the overseas 3G phone uses 2100MHz, which most 3G phones will use. This means that MOST overseas 3G phones will work in Japan, including the iphone 3G.

If you buy an iphone in Japan, it will be SIM LOCKED to the Softbank network, so it wll not work overseas, unless the phone is unlocked first.

Oh, and by the way, it may be easier to get a prepaid phone with Softbank, if you're only in Japan for a year.

Moving along, while abroad in Japan the necessity of a cell phone is a lot bigger than in the U.S. (as in, I can survive without one here in the U.S. and in Japan... I doubt it.)

As a student living abroad a cellphone would probably be a necessity simply as peace of mind and so that your parents can easily get contact you. I'd definitely get one.

Based on your situation I would suggest getting a softbank prepaid phone. They cost about 5000 yen for the handset and credit can be bought in 3000 and 5000 yen increments. As incoming calls are free, unlimited mail costs just 300 yen/month, and credit being valid for 60 days, with minimal calling you can easily limit your phone costs to 23000 yen for the entire year, which is pretty much as cheap as you can go.

http://mb.softbank.jp/en/prepaid_service/



Anyway, to address your other questions:

So, what I want to know is if I should get a cell phone here in the U.S. and then take it abroad with me (specifically iPhone).

This is a possibility but i will be very expensive if you intend to roam on a US carrier. Alternatively you could bring a US phone and get a Japanese Sim card, but if you are interested in the iphone it would probably be better to just get one in Japan and then just pay the cancellation fee on your contract (expensive) when you end up leaving.

If I should buy a cell phone in Japan, in what way and what will the process be like?

It depends on what type of phone you will be getting but at the most basic they need passport and an address in Japan for a prepaid phone. For contract phones you will need alien registration, a bank account, and might need a minimum valid length of your visa.

some further comments:

Japan has its own radio frequency for cellphones, so only Japanese cellphones would work in Japan, i.e. those from abroad will not work in Japan.

Japan has 3g networks that run on a 2100 mhz frequency. The iphone 3g, 3gs, and many other foreign phones will work on this frequency but you need to check your phone specs to be sure.

the older 8gb version is sold for nearly half the price of what they cost abroad.

I don't think the 8gb version is still available, but the newer 16gb 3gs is free with a two year contract.

There are three major cellphone carriers in Japan: docomo, AU, and softbank (and lately, a fourth player called willcom is in the business too). The only carrier that actually provides information in English is softbank, who also sell the iphone btw. All the other carriers are in Japanese only.

There's more like 5 carries. Docomo, Softbank, and Au are the 3 major ones, with Willcom and EM mobile as newer entrants. Btw, docomo, au, and willcom also have english pages. And au might be worth looking into as they offer 50% discounts on their services to students.

http://www.au.kddi.com/english/
http://mb.softbank.jp/en/
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/
http://www.willcom-inc.com/en/index.html
http://emobile.jp/

The rather annoying thing in Japan is that a few years ago, they changed their system on buying cellphones... ...but you won't be able to cancel the contract for at least a full year, or you will have to pay a fine.

The newer system charges higher costs for the handsets, but is paired with lower monthly service fees. At the end of a two year contract the costs of the old and new system tend to even out. BTW, the standard contract is 2 years (actually 26 months). You can cancel at any time but there are cancellation fees up to the completion of your contract.

Please choose a phone wisely, because you will probably be stuck with the same model for the first 6 months you use it.

Yes, with contract phones you are pretty much stuck with them for the length of the contract if you don't want to pay heavy cancellation fees. But this should read 26 months, not 6 months to avoid any fees.

Under the assumption my host club doesn't pay for a phone for me, from what I've seen here it seems my best bet is to get a prepaid phone.

Now as I understand, in Japan people hardly ever actually call each other. Most of the time they are texting each other, is that included with the "unlimited mail" thing I read from the above reaction?

I have a vague idea of how texting in Japan works, I know the keyboard is usually hiragana and as such will take some adjusting for me, but other than that how does it work really?

Also is the keys being in hiragana even true? I asked the Japanese foreign exchange student who is here in the U.S. and she told me it's in Hiragana, but I just want to verify with as many sources as possible.

Thank you very much for your time everyone!

-Derek

Now as I understand, in Japan people hardly ever actually call each other. Most of the time they are texting each other, is that included with the "unlimited mail" thing I read from the above reaction?

yes. In Japan text=mail

I have a vague idea of how texting in Japan works, I know the keyboard is usually hiragana and as such will take some adjusting for me, but other than that how does it work really?

it depends on the phone, but with most phones you can easily switch the input to english letters. Then you can enter text like you would on a US phone, i.e. to type hello you would press 44 33 555 555 666

Also is the keys being in hiragana even true? I asked the Japanese foreign exchange student who is here in the U.S. and she told me it's in Hiragana, but I just want to verify with as many sources as possible.

The language input may be initially set to hiragana but its trivial to change to English input. Japanese people use both English and Japanese character sets on a regular basis so every phone will be able to text in English.

Now as I understand, in Japan people hardly ever actually call each other. Most of the time they are texting each other, is that included with the "unlimited mail" thing I read from the above reaction?

if you want an email address, you will have to pay a small extra charge for registering your email address and for connection to the internet. I'm not 100% sure about the other carriers, but the one i'm with (softbank) allows softbank users to mail and call each other free of charge during certain periods of the day. outside of those periods, you need to pay regardless of who you're calling/mailing. It is also possible, though less popular to send a regular sms to cellphones, but you are limited to fewer characters, and you don't seem to be able to send an sms to a number if it's not the same carrier.

This thread has helped me as well. I have a small question though: are incoming calls normally free on other plans or is that just a specific feature of that Softbank prepaid phone?

In Japan, the general consensus among cellphone carriers is the person making the call pays all the fees. In part this is why people don't like to call each other and instead text each other.

Either way, I don't know of any cell phone carriers in Japan that do like American Cell phone carriers do which is charge both people. Although the person who makes the call pays the rough total of what both people are charged in America, however I think it just makes more sense that the person receiving the call shouldn't have to pay for the call.