Temporary cell phone for use in Japan?

I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

My US service is ATT TDMA and probably won't work there. I also have a
triband 900/1800/1900 GSM phone that I use in many Asian and European
countries. However, I have not travelled to Japan since pre-mobile
days, and I hear that Japan has its own technology which is different
from both of my phones!

Please advise on what is the most economical way to have a temporary
cell phone service in Japan? If my GSM phone would work, should I get a
sim card in the US or in Japan? If not, is it pssible to "rent" a phone
in some fashion? Is it possible to either get a sim card or rent a
phone at the airport itself (Narita)? I want to have a functioning
phone as soon as possible after arrival.

Thank you for any help.

Yes, you are correct, Japan uses proprietary cellphone systems, with the
exception of "AU by KDDI" that uses a CDMA system, however I am not aware
that they have any roaming agreements in place.

Prepaid handsets were an option at one time, however it is my understanding
that they now require a foreign resident's card (which you get if you stay
in Japan longer than 90 days or something like that) to establish a service.

So, the two options a

1) Get a prepaid service activated by a friend/associate in Japan.From
memory, the NTT DoCoMo system had the widest coverage and was not restricted
to a particular region
- VODAFONE http://www.vodafone.jp/prepaid_en/index.html
- NTT DoCoMo
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/p.../pc/index.html
- AU by KDDI (Japanese) http://www.au.kddi.com/prepaid/
- General discussion:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/que...ay.html?0+5452

2) Rent a cellphone from Narita Airport
- http://www.vodafone-rental.jp/en/
- http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airp...ex_mobile.html
- http://www1.sonyfinance.co.jp/rental/rte_m_jp_e.htm


"Cell Newbie" wrote in message
...
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

My US service is ATT TDMA and probably won't work there. I also have a
triband 900/1800/1900 GSM phone that I use in many Asian and European
countries. However, I have not travelled to Japan since pre-mobile
days, and I hear that Japan has its own technology which is different
from both of my phones!

Please advise on what is the most economical way to have a temporary
cell phone service in Japan? If my GSM phone would work, should I get a
sim card in the US or in Japan? If not, is it pssible to "rent" a phone
in some fashion? Is it possible to either get a sim card or rent a
phone at the airport itself (Narita)? I want to have a functioning
phone as soon as possible after arrival.

Thank you for any help.

Yes, you are correct, Japan uses proprietary cellphone systems, with the
exception of "AU by KDDI" that uses a CDMA system, however I am not aware
that they have any roaming agreements in place.

Prepaid handsets were an option at one time, however it is my understanding
that they now require a foreign resident's card (which you get if you stay
in Japan longer than 90 days or something like that) to establish a service.

So, the two options a

1) Get a prepaid service activated by a friend/associate in Japan.From
memory, the NTT DoCoMo system had the widest coverage and was not restricted
to a particular region
- VODAFONE http://www.vodafone.jp/prepaid_en/index.html
- NTT DoCoMo
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/p.../pc/index.html
- AU by KDDI (Japanese) http://www.au.kddi.com/prepaid/
- General discussion:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/que...ay.html?0+5452

2) Rent a cellphone from Narita Airport
- http://www.vodafone-rental.jp/en/
- http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airp...ex_mobile.html
- http://www1.sonyfinance.co.jp/rental/rte_m_jp_e.htm


"Cell Newbie" wrote in message
...
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

My US service is ATT TDMA and probably won't work there. I also have a
triband 900/1800/1900 GSM phone that I use in many Asian and European
countries. However, I have not travelled to Japan since pre-mobile
days, and I hear that Japan has its own technology which is different
from both of my phones!

Please advise on what is the most economical way to have a temporary
cell phone service in Japan? If my GSM phone would work, should I get a
sim card in the US or in Japan? If not, is it pssible to "rent" a phone
in some fashion? Is it possible to either get a sim card or rent a
phone at the airport itself (Narita)? I want to have a functioning
phone as soon as possible after arrival.

Thank you for any help.

Cell Newbie wrote:
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

My US service is ATT TDMA and probably won't work there. I also have a
triband 900/1800/1900 GSM phone that I use in many Asian and European
countries. However, I have not travelled to Japan since pre-mobile
days, and I hear that Japan has its own technology which is different
from both of my phones!

Please advise on what is the most economical way to have a temporary
cell phone service in Japan? If my GSM phone would work, should I get
a sim card in the US or in Japan? If not, is it pssible to "rent" a
phone in some fashion? Is it possible to either get a sim card or
rent a phone at the airport itself (Narita)? I want to have a
functioning phone as soon as possible after arrival.

Yes, Japanese cell phone technology is different from both of your phones on
hand. I used Google with search words "mobile, Japan, phone, rental". There
were 445,000 results. The eighth listed pickups at several airports,
including Narita.
http://www.telecomsquare.co.jp/sights/e_hp/e_id2.html

I suggest you repeat the search, and find the current Yen to USD exchange
rate.

John C.

Cell Newbie wrote:
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

My US service is ATT TDMA and probably won't work there. I also have a
triband 900/1800/1900 GSM phone that I use in many Asian and European
countries. However, I have not travelled to Japan since pre-mobile
days, and I hear that Japan has its own technology which is different
from both of my phones!

Please advise on what is the most economical way to have a temporary
cell phone service in Japan? If my GSM phone would work, should I get
a sim card in the US or in Japan? If not, is it pssible to "rent" a
phone in some fashion? Is it possible to either get a sim card or
rent a phone at the airport itself (Narita)? I want to have a
functioning phone as soon as possible after arrival.

Yes, Japanese cell phone technology is different from both of your phones on
hand. I used Google with search words "mobile, Japan, phone, rental". There
were 445,000 results. The eighth listed pickups at several airports,
including Narita.
http://www.telecomsquare.co.jp/sights/e_hp/e_id2.html

I suggest you repeat the search, and find the current Yen to USD exchange
rate.

John C.

Cell Newbie wrote in message ...
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

Japan use a network that is quite different from T.D.M.A. and G.S.M. ,
phones that use these type of networks won't work in Japan.

Please advise on what is the most economical way
to have a temporary cell phone service in Japan?

There are places in Japan that offered cell phone rental. You might
want to look for those places. I assume that they might even had a
branch at the airport.

http://www.docomosentu.co.jp/Web/english/rental/

http://www.pupuru.com/en/pupuru-faq_en.html

http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airp.../19_t2_3f.html

If my GSM phone would work, should I get a sim card in the US or in Japan?

What happen actually might be the opposite:

http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/

If not, is it pssible to "rent" a phone in some fashion?

Yes.

Is it possible to either get a sim card or rent
a phone at the airport itself (Narita)?

S.I.M. card is only an identification of the subscriber, it's useless
to change the S.I.M. card if the phone itself isn't compatible with
the network.

As for renting a phone at Narita, see above.

I want to have a functioning phone as soon as possible after arrival.

There's a cell phone rental at Narita, see above.

Thank you for any help.


And a note for everyone, don't activate your phone during your flight.
It's not because it will disturb the aircraft's system, but because it
will drain your phone's battery. This due the fact that it will always
trying to reach a network that will accept him, however no ground cell
phone tower is capable making a contact with a cell phone aboard the
aircraft flying at high speed and high altittude.

"Cell Newbie" wrote in message
...
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

OK, here's the scoop. Japan uses mostly four technologies: PDC, PHS, CDMA
(J) & WCDMA-2100. There is no GSM, TDMA or any other system used in the USA.
The CDMA they use is incompatible with the CDMA used in the USA. The only
ways for a US customer to roam in Japan is to obtian (rent) a WCDMA-2100
phone and use your GSM SIM or to rent a PDC phone from your carrier that is
linked to your acount. Some customers of Au in Japan have special phone that
allow them to roam on Verizon's 800 MHz coverage but this is one-way
roaming.

The best way to have temporary cellular service in Japan is to check out the
cellular rental places on the Narita Airport website. Notice the ones that
rent prepaid phones. You rent these phones with zero credit then buy a
prepaid top-up card and apply it to the phone. Incoming calls are "free".
This allows you to use a callback service for your international calls at
great savings.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

"Cell Newbie" wrote in message
...
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

OK, here's the scoop. Japan uses mostly four technologies: PDC, PHS, CDMA
(J) & WCDMA-2100. There is no GSM, TDMA or any other system used in the USA.
The CDMA they use is incompatible with the CDMA used in the USA. The only
ways for a US customer to roam in Japan is to obtian (rent) a WCDMA-2100
phone and use your GSM SIM or to rent a PDC phone from your carrier that is
linked to your acount. Some customers of Au in Japan have special phone that
allow them to roam on Verizon's 800 MHz coverage but this is one-way
roaming.

The best way to have temporary cellular service in Japan is to check out the
cellular rental places on the Narita Airport website. Notice the ones that
rent prepaid phones. You rent these phones with zero credit then buy a
prepaid top-up card and apply it to the phone. Incoming calls are "free".
This allows you to use a callback service for your international calls at
great savings.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

"Cell Newbie" wrote in message
...
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

My US service is ATT TDMA and probably won't work there. I also have a
triband 900/1800/1900 GSM phone that I use in many Asian and European
countries. However, I have not travelled to Japan since pre-mobile
days, and I hear that Japan has its own technology which is different
from both of my phones!

Please advise on what is the most economical way to have a temporary
cell phone service in Japan? If my GSM phone would work, should I get a
sim card in the US or in Japan? If not, is it pssible to "rent" a phone
in some fashion? Is it possible to either get a sim card or rent a
phone at the airport itself (Narita)? I want to have a functioning
phone as soon as possible after arrival.

Contrary to some replies, anyone can still buy pre-paid mobile phone in
Japan (did it myself two weeks ago). Go to a convenience store (AM/PM is
good) and ask for pre-paid keitai. They should stock Vodafone Enjorno, basic
set is only 3,990 yen. You have to have a photo ID (foreign passport
accepted) plus a contact address in Japan (friend, hotel, firm etc). Just
buy a top-up card for 3 or 5,000 yen and off you go. For longer than a week,
it's cheaper than rental (rental charge is around 500 yen a day) and phone
number is valid for 6 months (credit for 2 months).
If you intend to rent a phone at Narita, reserve in advance or they often
run out of sets by noon.
As for roaming, there aren't many foreign 3G operators (W-CDMA) that have
roaming agreement in Japan yet, though three Japanese operators (Au, DoCoMo
and Vodafone) now have extensive agreements abroad. This will no doubt
change in time - check with your operator.

Alec

"Cell Newbie" wrote in message
...
I am traveling to Japan for three weeks and would like to have a
cell/mobile phone there.

My US service is ATT TDMA and probably won't work there. I also have a
triband 900/1800/1900 GSM phone that I use in many Asian and European
countries. However, I have not travelled to Japan since pre-mobile
days, and I hear that Japan has its own technology which is different
from both of my phones!

Please advise on what is the most economical way to have a temporary
cell phone service in Japan? If my GSM phone would work, should I get a
sim card in the US or in Japan? If not, is it pssible to "rent" a phone
in some fashion? Is it possible to either get a sim card or rent a
phone at the airport itself (Narita)? I want to have a functioning
phone as soon as possible after arrival.

Contrary to some replies, anyone can still buy pre-paid mobile phone in
Japan (did it myself two weeks ago). Go to a convenience store (AM/PM is
good) and ask for pre-paid keitai. They should stock Vodafone Enjorno, basic
set is only 3,990 yen. You have to have a photo ID (foreign passport
accepted) plus a contact address in Japan (friend, hotel, firm etc). Just
buy a top-up card for 3 or 5,000 yen and off you go. For longer than a week,
it's cheaper than rental (rental charge is around 500 yen a day) and phone
number is valid for 6 months (credit for 2 months).
If you intend to rent a phone at Narita, reserve in advance or they often
run out of sets by noon.
As for roaming, there aren't many foreign 3G operators (W-CDMA) that have
roaming agreement in Japan yet, though three Japanese operators (Au, DoCoMo
and Vodafone) now have extensive agreements abroad. This will no doubt
change in time - check with your operator.

Alec