Any way to get a SIM only contract?

Basically, I have a legally unlocked iPhone 3GS, bought in the UK.
I'm in Japan for a year, and wanting a Japanese contract, preferably from Softbank. I want to continue to use my iPhone while in Japan, but have been told that there's no way to get a SIM only. I have heard something about using someone else's IMEI number, but don't know quite how that would work.
I can't get a new iPhone as the minimum contract is 2 years, and I don't want to have to buy some new Japanese phone.
Is there any answer to this rather silly predicament? I want to give softbank money, but they don't seem to want it.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Japanese mobile phone system is different, and it doesn't work as it does in Europe.

A new company plans to sell SIM card only, with which you can access the internet(Skype, Email etc.) But still you cant make a voice call.
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/3g.html
29800yen for a year, unlimited usage.

Actually, I am aware of the difference between the Japanese and European networks, but this doesn't affect iPhones. Softbank sell exactly the same iPhones as get sold anywhere in the world. This means the SIM is identical too; I can put a friend's Softbank SIM in my phone and it works perfectly. The only problem is that I need my own SIM, and nobody seems to want to give me one. Most bizarre.

This is often confusing to people used to carrier mobility, but you have to realize that in Japan handsets are locked down to a carrier at the hardware level. With the exception of a few models, Japanese domestic phones simply don't work across networks so there isn't a vibrant market for plans that don't include a handset.

However, people have reported being able to get sim only contracts from softbank, but you may have to visit multiple softbank outlets before you find one that will sell it to you as it can be rather hit or miss on what services are offered at each softbank store. Also, they may require the same 2 year contract so be prepared for that.

Check around the forum for more info on this, as other users (Sandy maybe?) have had experience getting a sim only plan through softbank.

I did this about 4-6 weeks ago.

I'd bought a phone at Akihabara a while back, and I went into Softbank Shibuya to see if I could get just a SIM for it. They said I couldn't get one there, but just as I was about to leave, they suggested I try the Roppongi Softbank.

I went there, and guess what?? I got a SIM only. I did it with my Gaijin card, but I THINK you could probably do the same with just a passport.

Sandy,

I had a similar but ultimately fruitless experience. I went to Shibuya where I was told by a guy who seems to know his onions (pretty rare for Softbank staff) that the only way I could use my iPhone is by getting a prepaid sim, and that the only place to do that is Roppongi.
So, I went to Roppongi, but was told that they do not give sim only prepaid contracts to people with iPhones. I ended up arguing with various managers and customer service about how senseless this was, but ultimately they refused to give me anything.
Essentially, I gathered that what I have to do is borrow a standard Softbank phone (not iPhone) from a friend, take the sim out, go to the Roppongi shop, get a prepaid sim, leave, give the phone back to my friend and just stick the prepaid sim in my iPhone. Totally ridiculous, but that would appear to be the only way to do it.

So, a couple of questions Sandy... first, was it an iPhone? Second, was it a prepaid? (If not then what was it, and how long for?)

I've been told by lots of people that they simply won't give me a standard (white plan etc) contract without a handset. Another problem is that I can only commit to a one year contract, so that rules out just getting a new iPhone.

Cheers.

i asked my japanese friend to buy me sim pre-paid card at softbank, i gave him money back, put my sim do my iphone( also bought in europe) . this is what i did, and i am using it more than a year now.

I went in with an older(but new) Softbank 705sc, and got a prepaid SIM.
So no, it was not an i-phone. They "registered" the SIM to that phone, so I suspect that if you take a friend's phone in, they may find that the phone is already registered.

I also got a "white plan"(post paid) for my wife, SIM only, but I took in an old (second hand) 805px, that I bought for 3900yen at Akihabara.

I also had to swap out an old PDC phone (the PDC network stopped operating at the end of March), and used another 805px, and got a prepaid SIM at Softbank Yodobashi Camera at Yokohama (the phone was for my daughter. You need to have the old PDC phone and be the owner of the phone to do this)

Oh, and one other thing....

Seeing I had my own handset, the "white plan" was open ended. It could be closed at any time, provided that the person on the post paid agreement closes it.

I just wanted to add that I think there is some sort of handset registration involved linking the SIM to the phone, as I have a softbank prepaid as well as a softbank iphone and it doesn't work when I put the prepaid SIM into the iphone.

"I just wanted to add that I think there is some sort of handset registration involved linking the SIM to the phone, as I have a softbank prepaid as well as a softbank iphone and it doesn't work when I put the prepaid SIM into the iphone. "

That's odd!!!! All of the prepaid SIMs and my wife's post paid can be swapped into the different phones that we have.

I suppose they may have locked the iphone (I presume you have a Softbank iphone?) to a postpaid SIM that includes data services....
In other words, an unlocked iphone should work with your other prepaid SIM.

I suppose they may have locked the iphone (I presume you have a Softbank iphone?) to a postpaid SIM that includes data services....
In other words, an unlocked iphone should work with your other prepaid SIM.

Thats a good point that I hadn't considered. I has assumed that the locking was to the carrier and not the specific SIM. If that's not the case then disregard my post as it wouldn't apply to an unlocked phone.