Cellphone Purchase
 

I'm gonna be going to Japan for a year long Study Abroad in Saitama. I want to get a phone while I'm over there.
What phone service is the most practical?

Which phone is the best to have?

What type of plan will be the most beneficial?

I'm willing to pay mid-range prices for the phone.

sorry i don't know much about which cell phone plan's best over in japan but i'd just like to say congrats w/ studying abroad in saitama ^^ i have a lotta friends that live there

you might want to pm MMM he knows a lot....

I don't live in Japan now, and new phones come out daily.

Don't PM me!

Softbank prepaid phones are how I got by for almost 2 months. My phone was around 6000 yen for a somewhat modern model. I payed 3000 yen for 30 minutes and you don't get charged for incoming calls, only outgoing. Mail is free in and out, so if you need to call someone just send them mail and ask them to call you.

Softbank for me too. If you go to the shop in Harajuku they speak English and other languages so you can make sure you get a plan that suits you - they do many!

Wow, No charge for incomming? Hell, I would just text the person and tell them to call me haha

You can go to Willcom and get a one year contract. The service is cheap (for Japan) about $50 a month. They have an interesting selection of phones and the purchasing process is a little less complicated than Docomo or Softbank.

Your best bet to make cheap international calls is to set up a Yahoo messenger phone account while you are still in the US. If you set up the account in the US, you can call the US from Japan and pay the local rate of one penny per minute. You can also make PC to PC calls for free.

mail is free for softbank - softbank users only, as well as call for a specific time of the day, I think its 9-9 .. but if you mail other providers like docomo or au it is not free.

I don't recommed willcom, the signal is crappy. the worst i think among the provider..

the question right now is how flashy you want your cellphone to be..
most contract on phone is 2 years and if you are staying only for a year i recommend the softbank prepaid phone, its easier to get compare with the contract ones and you don't need to worry if about monthly bills and contract cancellation fee when you go home..

softbank phones are awesome :D

I have a softbank prepaid phone and Mail is not exactly free, you pay 300yen a month and you get unlimited mail (up to 300kb each) and a call will cost you 90 yen a minute. You got to charge your phone every 2 months at least with 3000yen because the credit expieres after that. I dont know whats the deal about incoming calls, in Germany they are free, as they where in Australia. Every japanese mobilephone will get free incoming calls.
The phone itself will cost you betwenn 3000 and 5000yen. There is not much choice for a prepaid phone and you will need a aliencard to buy one! (the donki hote in Harajuku sells them without as i know).
Otherwise you might want to get a contract, but i felt it was quite difficult because most contract run 2 years and they will want you to pay all in advance if you are not a resident.
Have Phun