Foreigners leaving Japan often sell their wares before they depart and phones often feature prominently in the listings. Seeing as you are buying directly from the owner there is also scope for negotiating your own price, depending on how cheeky you want to be, and how desperate to shift the item the seller is.
Watch out for deals that seem to be too good to be true. Amazon Japan A safer—and in many cases cheaper—option is Amazon Japan. Yahoo Auctions functions in a similar way to e-Bay in that you bid for items, however, the service is only available in Japanese and the sign-up process is rather complex. International search engine Wherever you get your phone from, my final recommendation is that before you complete your order be sure to visit: willmyphonework.
This is an international search engine that allows you to search specific phone model numbers by country to see which networks they will work on. Make sure that you know the exact serial number of the phone you want to order, as even just within Japan there may be several different versions of the same phone. On the face of it, Expansys appears to be selling popular brand SIM-free phones at prices far below the market rate.
However, despite the site being completely in Japanese and clearly targeted at Japanese domestic consumers, many of the phones they sell do not have Japanese language functionality. In addition, they will not function fully on Japanese networks and are in fact not true SIM-free phones, but manually unlocked phones from foreign carriers such as China Mobile that are not designed to work in Japan.
Unfortunately, a few friends of mine have been taken in by these scammers and lost a lot of money in the process. Another place to avoid, simply because of expense rather than a lack of honesty, is the big electronic stores such as Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera, and Sofmap. Another place to avoid, simply because of expense rather than a lack of honesty, is the big electronic stores such as Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera and Sofmap. These places have a wide selection of second-hand phones available, but the prices are only slightly cheaper than you will pay for a new handset.
Amazon has the same items for a fraction of the price. SIM-free phones, like many aspects of life in Japan, are an area where it really pays to do your research ahead of time.
Much like that naive English teacher who leaps at the first opportunity to work in Japan but ends up with a nightmare job because they let their enthusiasm get the better of them, you need to be careful not to instinctively buy up the first phone that you see. Take your time, shop around and see what you can find. Still confused about cell phone use in Japan? Teacher, journalist and now blogger.
More articles by Liam Carrigan. GaijinPot is your best source for English teaching jobs in Japan. Search for a job, post your resume and get your new job in Japan. I have an OCN contract. Companies offer various plans with price plans that vary by phone model and travel destination. Your local carrier network has to also be compatible with the country you are traveling to. Roaming maps and prices are available from most major providers in their respective websites. Check out the following links for reference:.
It can be considered the thin white line that cannot be crossed. In the U. Remember that rural areas use certain cellular bands that may not be supported by many foreign phones. Renting a hotspot that supports these bands will give you peace of mind. Hopefully this post helped you decide how to use your mobile phone in Japan. In conclusion, a prepaid SIM card is the best option if your phone is unlocked.
If your phone is locked, inquire about international roaming plans with your carrier — especially if you prefer the convenience or if you require your original phone number for business purposes. If the international roaming plan is too expensive or if you plan to visit rural areas in Japan, then renting a portable WiFi hotspot is the best option. Japan-Specific Phones Yes, Japan-specific phones do exist.
International Roaming Plans Some carriers offer international roaming plans. For this reason, some foreign phones may have weak signal reception in rural Japan. Pocket Wi-Fi is portable Wi-Fi spot. Of course if you have any questions, our customer support is always available to answer questions. To use the mobile network in Japan, You must have an unlocked phone that can access 3G or 4G networks. Depending on where you are from, your phone might be unlocked already.
If not you will need to contact your carrier to have it unlocked. If you are unsure if your phone will work or not, we have compiled a list of popular phone models and tested them with our network. You can check your model against our list to ensure compatibility. Assuming you have planned where are you visiting during your stay, you can check which frequencies are used and where.
This will help you make sure that your phone will work wherever you are staying. If you ensure your handset is unlocked and can access 3G or 4G services on the frequencies described above you will be able to use a SIM Card from Sakura Mobile for cheap, reliable and fast internet.
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