[Sangetsu]

It depends on the service. Softbank will provide you with a phone if you have your visa and set up auto-pay from a major credit card. A gaijin-card takes about 10 days to process once the application is received.

The Iphone will not work in Japan, not that it matters, Japanese cell phones are years ahead of anything available in the US. The only unique feature of the Iphone is it's interface, which is the same as the LG Prada, which you can get from Docomo for a measly 80000 yen ($800).

I got a new cell phone last month. It has a 5.2 mega pixel camera, 1 seg (television), world wing (5 band, works anywhere in the world), GPS (very handy here), videophone capability (it has two cameras, the main one for regular pics, and small front mounted one so you can see each other as you talk), various video and music download capabilities, and the ketai saifu (cell phone wallet) which allows you to put credit or debit card info on your cell phone; to pay for an item at a store, you merely hold your cellphone near a sensor on a cash register. The manual for this phone is as thick as a bible, by the time I learn to use all the features it'll be time to get a new phone.

It does all this, but I had to pay 55000 yen up front ($550), and service runs about 10000 yen ($100) per month. But the tv feature is a convenient to pass time on those weekly 2 hour train trips to Tokyo.

I recommend getting a Cingular tilt from America, unlocking it, and then getting a sim card from Softbank after you arrive. Softbank's Japanese version of the tilt is much more expensive, and is not unlockable. I liked the tilt because it has wi-fi, and Windows, so you can use Messenger, Skype, or VOIP for international calls.