The only alternative is to rent a cell phone. It used to be possible for visitors to buy a prepaid cell phone, which is cheaper than renting for a long stay, but this is no longer possible unless you can find a dealer who is willing to bend the rules.

You can get American cell phones that work in Europe and most Asian countries outside of Japan, but not in Japan itself. This is frustrating for those of us whose travels take us to Japan a lot.

I've HEARD that iPhones work in Japan, but I'm not sure if these are American iPhones or whether Apple has made a special version for the Japanese market.