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[Darksol]

How did you do that? I was just thinking about what I should do to be reachable by phone while in Japan, since I'm going to get murdered by roaming rates on my crappy Argentine SIM. I had considered stuff such as buying Skype credit and using wi-fi hotspots to do my calls, but I guess getting a SIM I could use on my phone to be more easily reachable would we way better than that.

http://www.jqphone.com/e_japansimcards.html

Same one my teacher uses, and she heads back to see her family every year.

A few important notes:

1. You need an unlocked phone

2. Select the right type of SIM card for your phone

3. This only works in Japan

4. Rates are 85 cents per minute local or international, 12 cents per text from within Japan to someone else in Japan. Texting to someone outside of Japan? Prepare to bleed out of your ass ($1.40 per text). All incoming texts or calls are free.

5. Don't ever use data with this SIM. It's crazy expensive (29 cents per 10Kb!) Stick to wifi, pocket wifi, a data card...anything but this.

6. You'll have to submit ID and credit card info before they activate it.

7. After 5 years it costs 8$ a year. Until that point, nothing more than the onetime cost and whatever you end up using in Japan

In short: great, cheap, easy way to text/be reached in Japan even if you/the person you're texting may not have access online.

Use it in any other way at your own discretion.

 

[JulianImp]

http://www.jqphone.com/e_japansimcards.html

Same one my teacher uses, and she heads back to see her family every year.

A few important notes:

1. You need an unlocked phone

2. Select the right type of SIM card for your phone

3. This only works in Japan

4. Rates are 85 cents per minute local or international, 12 cents per text from within Japan to someone else in Japan. Texting to someone outside of Japan? Prepare to bleed out of your ass ($1.40 per text). All incoming texts or calls are free.

5. Don't ever use data with this SIM. It's crazy expensive (29 cents per 10Kb!) Stick to wifi, pocket wifi, a data card...anything but this.

6. You'll have to submit ID and credit card info before they activate it.

7. After 5 years it costs 8$ a year. Until that point, nothing more than the onetime cost and whatever you end up using in Japan

In short: great, cheap, easy way to text/be reached in Japan even if you/the person you're texting may not have access online.

Use it in any other way at your own discretion.

Sounds great! I even happen to have an unlocked Xperia Tipo I could very well use with one of those, so this is quite a find indeed.

However, I'll be going to Japan in exactly a month from now, so I don't know how I'll be going about shipping the card to Argentina due to the various shipping and custom delays that often happen when packages are sent here... instead, should I get it sent to someone I know who lives in Japan so that shipping is faster and I'm guaranteed to get it in time?

Also, how can I know the phone number attached to the SIM card so that I can update my TGS expositor information with it?

 

[Darksol]

Sounds great! I even happen to have an unlocked Xperia Tipo I could very well use with one of those, so this is quite a find indeed.

However, I'll be going to Japan in exactly a month from now, so I don't know how I'll be going about shipping the card to Argentina due to the various shipping and custom delays that often happen when packages are sent here... instead, should I get it sent to someone I know who lives in Japan so that shipping is faster and I'm guaranteed to get it in time?

Also, how can I know the phone number attached to the SIM card so that I can update my TGS expositor information with it?

I'm not sure on the shipping time. I just ordered it a couple of days ago. This morning they wrote me to say that it has been shipped. I think this place is actually located somewhere in the states if I'm not mistaken. But yeah, a month may or may not be pushing it. I'm not sure. Your guess is as good as mine. I guess you could always shoot them an email if you're concerned about it.

As for the phone number, when they mail out your SIM card they send you an email telling you your new Japanese phone number. That being said, the number is not activated until you receive the card, go to their website, enter your SIM and serial number, and then provide them your ID/credit info, at which point it can take a couple business days before it is activated.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Stay safe Japan GAF. My friend in Kagawa is saying they've been issued evacuation warnings.

I'm still alive in Sapporo.

 

[Fattony12000]

‏@Fattony12000
Watching Japanese TV via Windows Media Player.
8:54 PM - 10 Aug 2014

http://www.myniji.tv/ is great!

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Thirty minutes until boarding. Get excite!

 

[Darksol]

Thirty minutes until boarding. Get excite!

Have fun!!!

 

[JulianImp]

Thirty minutes until boarding. Get excite!

Take lots of pictures when you get there!

...Which reminds me that I should be taking my camera along for the trip, even if it happens to be a really old 7.1MP one. I think none of my test smartphones and tablets come even close to that resolution despite being around ten years newer than it (I don't know about the really worn iPhone 3GS I got a while ago, but I can say the rest of them all have sub-3MP cameras).

 

[Gromph]

From my quick trip to Yakushima.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Man, that flight was an ordeal. But I'm on a bus to my hotel, got my Pocket WiFi, so all is well.

 

[Lazlo]

From my quick trip to Yakushima.

Yakushima is top of my list for my next visit - how did you get there, boat or plane?

 

[Desmond]

Man, that flight was an ordeal. But I'm on a bus to my hotel, got my Pocket WiFi, so all is well.

Was the pocket wifi easy to get?

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Was the pocket wifi easy to get?

Yeah, super easy. Just ordered online and picked it up at the post office at Narita.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

First "culture shock" of being in Japan, no one wears sunglasses. Its super bright out and no one is wearing sunglasses be me.

 

[KtSlime]

First "culture shock" of being in Japan, no one wears sunglasses. Its super bright out and no one is wearing sunglasses be me.

They prefer higasa (sun umbrellas).

 

[Gromph]

Yakushima is top of my list for my next visit - how did you get there, boat or plane?

I was there between two Typhoons, when i arrived the island (plane because the day before everything was canceled ) a japanese old man told me they had been like 3 days without food arriving because of the typhoon.

Plane is around ¥30000 for round trip, but if you get with time is a bit less.

Ferry, you need to reserve the passage too, and is around ¥12000 per trip.

Also you have a slower one, there is one per day and roundtrip is ¥8000.

Let me know if you need to know anything else.

I need to go again, because i lost one day and didn't do the big hiking route.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

First "culture shock" of being in Japan, no one wears sunglasses. Its super bright out and no one is wearing sunglasses be me.

Oh man wait till you see one of the older ladies who wear gloves and separate sleeves and long pants in the middle of summer to make sure absolutely no skin is exposed to the sun whatsoever, topped off with a huge visor that they pull down to cover their entire face. Like some Darth Vader stuff man.


Also random question, do people with blue eyes have a harder time dealing with bright sunlight? I just cannot handle it at all, but my wife has no problems.

 

[Gromph]

Oh man wait till you see one of the older ladies who wear gloves and separate sleeves and long pants in the middle of summer to make sure absolutely no skin is exposed to the sun whatsoever, topped off with a huge visor that they pull down to cover their entire face. Like some Darth Vader stuff man.


Also random question, do people with blue eyes have a harder time dealing with bright sunlight? I just cannot handle it at all, but my wife has no problems.

No, i have blue eyes too and i don't have any problem with the sun.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

No, i have blue eyes too and i don't have any problem with the sun.

Welp, I guess that's the kind of dumb conclusion you can draw when you look at a sample size of just two people! Ha.

 

[abunai]

Doing a project for my MSc degree in japan, have blue eyes. If I don't have my sunglasses I am squinting due to the brightness outside most days. But I'm from Scotland originally so maybe that's why.

 

[Desmond]

Yeah, super easy. Just ordered online and picked it up at the post office at Narita.

Link?!

Is it only for a week or so/ tourist thing?

 

[Trojan X]

First "culture shock" of being in Japan, no one wears sunglasses. Its super bright out and no one is wearing sunglasses be me.

Yeah. Sunglasses are expensive in Japan. No one goes for cheap one, they go for branded goods if they ever want any.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Link?!

Is it only for a week or so/ tourist thing?

There's links in the OP under data. It's mostly a tourist thing.

 

[BronsonLee]

Link?!

Is it only for a week or so/ tourist thing?

There's links in the OP under data. It's mostly a tourist thing.

Yeah, the most important advice I can give to a tourist is GET POCKET WIFI.

It's super cheap (I paid like 60 bucks for a week), is absolutely invaluable (I didn't find a lot of Wi-Fi in Osaka, and I got lost for a half an hour in the rain after getting off the plane/train because I didn't have my pocket wifi and got off at the wrong stop), and is so easy to use. Just pack it in your camera bag like I did, or purse, or jeans pocket.

tldr; get pocket wifi, enjoy the world

 

[distantmantra]

Pocket Wifi is a lifesaver with some of the poorly marked streets in Japan. Both of our AirBNB rentals came with them.

 

[Ayumi]

Also random question, do people with blue eyes have a harder time dealing with bright sunlight? I just cannot handle it at all, but my wife has no problems.

Some do, myself included. The sun doesn't bother me when I'm in Europe, but it's very hard outside in Japan, especially during the summer. Not much else to advice than buying a pair of awesome sunglasses!

Any cool GAF members who live in Japan, specially the Tokyo area?

 

[Desmond]

Balls, that PocketWifi sounds good and all, but I'll be in Japan a year.

I need a handy way to chat to people.

Edit: it seems "let internet jp" allow long periods. Can anyone vouch for it?

 

[JulianImp]

I was thinking about using that free 14-day Wi-Fi pass they hand out to tourists for all my internet needs on the first two weeks of my stay, but all this talk about getting lost got me a bit worried about missing my train stops and ending up in a place with no free Wi-Fi coverage and no way to know where I am other than through my basic japanese. Should I look into getting one of those for my whole stay, or for the remainig weeks after my free pass expires only?

Also, would anyone have some basic courtesy tips for things we normally do in the west, but are frowned upon in Japan? For example, I've heard people don't like it when others talk on the phone while commuting, and the same goes for eating or drinking on the go. Even if they let some things slip due to me being a tourist, I'd rather not be an obnoxious one.

One more thing I've always wondered is how you're supposed to ride trains at times when they're the most crowded. Do you have to let other passengers know you'll be getting off some stops in advance so you can slowly move closer to the exit doors, or do people leave the train and then go back in so whoever wants to get off can do so?

 

[Desmond]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to use phones on trains in Japan.

 

[MikeHattsu]

.

Get a Pocket WiFi. Then you don't have to hunt for access points. So much better.

Do not use your phone for talking (texting and stuff is ok), eat or drink on trains (except for the Shinkansen where you can eat and drink).

People leave and get back on.

 

[KtSlime]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to use phones on trains in Japan.

No. It's not, it's just seen as very rude. And that's only talking or letting it ring. Everyone plays games, reads, or texts on the train.

JulianImp: drinking is fine, but I wouldn't do it during rush hour, food is generally not. Plan your exit before it gets too crowded, people'd rather get pushed out of the way than given a narrative about what stop you are getting off at. Sumimasen is accepted but not always used, so expect to get pushed.

 

[Gromph]

Some do, myself included. The sun doesn't bother me when I'm in Europe, but it's very hard outside in Japan, especially during the summer. Not much else to advice than buying a pair of awesome sunglasses!

Any cool GAF members who live in Japan, specially the Tokyo area?

I live in Shin-Nakano PM if you need anything.

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to use phones on trains in Japan.

No, is not. But you will not see anyone talking over the phone, or hear any phone ring.

People when got a call, step out the train and talk there.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Currently playing the "wait in Tokyo Skytree" line game.

 

[I'm an expert]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to use phones on trains in Japan.

Planning trip to North Korea thread ---->

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Planning trip to North Korea thread ---->

Pretty sure that would be "Illegal to use cell phones, period."

Funny that you mention North Korea, a man stopped me in Ueno Park yesterday and told me how Japan is 100x worse than North Korea and how "brave" I was to come to a country that I didn't know the local laws. He also had some very bizarre theories on the start of the American Civil War. It was a very strange encounter.

 

[Resilient]

Am I fucked accommodation wise if I'm going over New Year for 3 weeks??

 

[ponpo]

Am I fucked accommodation wise if I'm going over New Year for 3 weeks??

Your wallet may be.

 

[KtSlime]

Pretty sure that would be "Illegal to use cell phones, period."

Funny that you mention North Korea, a man stopped me in Ueno Park yesterday and told me how Japan is 100x worse than North Korea and how "brave" I was to come to a country that I didn't know the local laws. He also had some very bizarre theories on the start of the American Civil War. It was a very strange encounter.

This sounds interesting. Since you are waiting at the impossibly long line at SkyTree you should tell us more about this.

 

[Resilient]

Your wallet may be.

How bad we talking here? I want to go the hostel route. There will be 6 of us. I've been to Japan before and an semi fluent. Was thinking of staying at the abundant Khaosan hostels around the place. Is it bad Ponpo?? Is it bad?!? (´･Д&#65381」

 

[ThreePiMatt]

This sounds interesting. Since you are waiting at the impossibly long line at SkyTree you should tell us more about this.

I've long since left the impossibly long Tokyo Skytree line and am currently in the impossibly long Moomin Cafe line.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

I'm looking at AirBnB's and can't decide on which area I want to stay. Is Shibuya a good area to be?

 

[Desmond]

I obviously meant to make calls etc with the phone, rather than complete use of phones. Lol

So it's not an actual rule?

 

[Resilient]

I'm looking at AirBnB's and can't decide on which area I want to stay. Is Shibuya a good area to be?

It doesn't really matter. I recommend Asakusa. It's a cosy little spot of Tokyo.

 

[Ayumi]

I'm looking at AirBnB's and can't decide on which area I want to stay. Is Shibuya a good area to be?

It would depend on what's on your to-do list, and what distance you're okay with when traveling around Tokyo. Shibuya is good, but Shibuya it also a large ward with some areas that make it bothersome to walk to the train station.

You should figure out how far you wanna live from the stations, what stuff you want to do, etc.

 

[red13th]

I'm staying in Shibuya and it's pretty good so far. Close to Harajuku Station, which is less crowded and confusung than Shibuya Station.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

What's a good place for Japan only-Nike shoes in Tokyo?

Or any website where it's written, what's Japan only?

 

[scarlet]

I think I'm going to Japan again for next spring, going to Taipei first and then to Osaka.

Any idea what's the cheaper way to Hokkaido from Tokyo/Osaka?

 

[hwalker84]

It doesn't really matter. I recommend Asakusa. It's a cosy little spot of Tokyo.

Loved that area. That's where the Khaosan I stayed at was.

 

[hwalker84]

What's a good place for Japan only-Nike shoes in Tokyo?

Or any website where it's written, what's Japan only?

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+94911

Be warned if you have bigger feet you're screwed. My US size 13 is like trying to find a unicorn.

 

[Darksol]

It doesn't really matter. I recommend Asakusa. It's a cosy little spot of Tokyo.

Loved that area. That's where the Khaosan I stayed at was.

Happy to hear this. My base of operations will be in Asakusa. My hotel is like 2 minutes from Senso-ji.