I’ve been in Japan for a little over a month, and I finally have a prepaid cell phone. This was not an easy undertaking. For other gaijin struggling with the process, I’ll outline my path to success here:
- There is no GSM network in Japan. For that reason, many cell phones from other countries will not work. Moreover, to get a phone on contract requires lots of paperwork, and the contract is difficult to break early. For me, a prepaid plan was the way to go.
- There are two cell phone companies in Japan that offer a pre-paid mobile phone service: au by KDDI and SoftBank. In both cases, the available models of prepaid phones are limited. However, the phone from au does not allow for text messaging – this made SoftBank the way to go for me.
- Not many of the SoftBank stores stock the prepaid phone models, and not many have bilingual staff. The easiest way to find out which SoftBank stores have prepaid phones in stock is to visit one of the five SoftBank stores that have bilingual staff. If they don’t have prepaid phones in stock they will be able to direct you to a SoftBank store that does.
- When you get your phone you’ll need your alien registration card and some cash. For me, the handset cost ~¥5, 000, and a prepaid refill card was ¥3, 000.
- The money from my prepaid refill card is good for 60 days, and I signed up for an automatic ¥300/month deduction from my phone credit to allow for unlimited text messaging.
