[dshack]

My situation:
Going to study at Waseda university from September to July, then returning home for my senior year of college. The iphone/ipod touch both look really nifty to me, especially with the kana/kanji entry functionality of the 2.0 software, but the year abroad/year home, combined with the apparent two-year contract required for iphones, makes it seem impossible (or at least impossibly expensive) to use an iphone in japan. I guess this leads to a few questions (and I may need to simply ask these again in a few weeks once the apps store matures and people play with the devices and 2.0 software a little more):

1) Has anyone ever transferred an iphone or its contract overseas? Do ATT or Softbank have any partner companies that would facilitate this?
2) How is the Japanese functionality on the iphone? Can it replace a keitai and a denshi jisho? Or am I better off with each individually?
3) Are there a good number of Japanese apps for the iphone?
4) This one's a general cell phone question: Is there a way to avoid the choice between rental fees and $400-$500 for a phone? could I buy one in the states or order an unlocked one from ebay, then use it with a softbank plan once I'm in Japan?