Travel Technology - Renting a mobile in Japan

I'm in Tokyo for the weekend but need to stay available to the US. Have a T-mobile BB 8700.

Anyone know of options to rent a phone at NRT that I can slip my SIM into instead of having to Paygo?!

T-mobile.com says that if I have the right handset I can call the US for $1.99 a minute but there is not guidance on what handset to rent to achieve this and God knows customer support is useles....

http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/index.html
You should be able to sort it out at NRT
http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/detail.html

I'm in Tokyo for the weekend but need to stay available to the US. Have a T-mobile BB 8700.

Anyone know of options to rent a phone at NRT that I can slip my SIM into instead of having to Paygo?!

T-mobile.com says that if I have the right handset I can call the US for $1.99 a minute but there is not guidance on what handset to rent to achieve this and God knows customer support is useles....

Only some unlocked GSM handsets with 3G capability will work with your T-Mobile SIM card in Japan. Basic 3G phones can be purchased for well under $200 in the US, but be sure to choose one with the same flavor of 3G as is used in Japan. Softbank rents such phones at NRT for under $10US per day. Should find all the info you need here:

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/

Other providers in the airport have similar offers, but I've personally rented from Softbank before and was glad to see that I was only charged the quoted prices - no hidden fees or taxes. Enjoy Japan!

THANK YOU. This is why I love Flyertalk!

I'll rent a handset from whichever of the 2 counters I stumble across first at Narita...looks like DoCoMo at the least has a counter on 4F in terminal 1...

And of course will report my experience...

I always fly on NH and they give me a phone for free that I use while in Japan.
Before I flew on NH I would go to the DoCoMo, they have locations all over Japan if you have problems

I always fly on NH and they give me a phone for free that I use while in Japan.
Before I flew on NH I would go to the DoCoMo, they have locations all over Japan if you have problemsStopped by DoCoMo on the 4th floor of T-1 before catching the limo bus and it went smooth as silk. Only took about 5 minutes. They even swapped out the sim for me and verified that it worked before sending me on my way. ^

Stopped by DoCoMo on the 4th floor of T-1 before catching the limo bus and it went smooth as silk. Only took about 5 minutes. They even swapped out the sim for me and verified that it worked before sending me on my way. ^
Yes! They have stores all over if you need any help. It always amazes me where a cell works in Tokyo.
Have fun.

One last thought on the matter: knowing what I do now I'd have gone ahead and done the DoCoMo internet reservation after which the phone costs 500 yen/day rather than 750. The DoCoMo counter is, it turns out, about 30 feet from the United 1k check-in desk, making for an AWFULLY convenient return.

Although I dont think my company is going to appreciate that hour-long con-call I took saturday roaming at $2 a minute....:eek:

Any unlocked GSM handset with 3G capability should work with your T-Mobile SIM card in Japan.
Are you sure? US 3G networks tend to operate on different frequencies to the rest of the world: for example, the Nokia 6282 operates with UMTS at 1900MHz in addition to its GSM capabilities - but I think such a phone would be useless in Japan where the netwok operates at 2100MHz.

Are you sure? US 3G networks tend to operate on different frequencies to the rest of the world: for example, the Nokia 6282 operates with UMTS at 1900MHz in addition to its GSM capabilities - but I think such a phone would be useless in Japan where the netwok operates at 2100MHz.

Thanks for pointing that out. What a mess of technologies... It appears only some of the 3G enabled handsets will operate in Japan. More information is available here:

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+33535

From personal experience, I can say that the Sony Ericsson P990i, K610i and K618i handsets work in Japan. Good luck with any others!