Mine didn't complain either, though that's to be expected as it was on the list of "confirmed working" phones on b-mobile's Japanese-language site.

Also, my experience was even worse than beep88's. I couldn't even hold a proper Skype call most of the time.

WiMAX +3G Hybrid
 

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/a...1404621341.png

I am not a tourist to Japan but let me introduce what I think is the best choice for mobile internet access in Japan now.

I've recently purchased au's DATA08W. It is a portable Wifi router, which is WiMAX and 3G(CDMA) hybrid.
The advertised speed for WiMAX is 40Mbps for download, 15.4Mbps for upload and for 3G it is 3.1Mbps, 1.8Mbps each.　

The image above is my actual speedtest.net result. In a building, 3 meters inside from the window. Not bad, is it? Sometimes the speed is much faster than this.

WiMAX coverage has rapidly been improved and it is now 95% on the population basis. So in Tokyo and its surrounding areas, there is almost no problem to connect thru WiMAX. But in rural areas where no WiMAX signal is available, the router automatically switch to 3G.

On the other hand, NTT docomo has lauched LTE, but its coverage is still around 20%. So its hybrid routers don't appear attractive (to me). But, I have read that b-mobile, which is a MVNO for docomo, will soon publish LTE (hopefully hybrid) plans.

When I use this router, I can make very clear VoIP calls and there is no problem downloading Zinio.com magazines to my iPad. I don't have to wait for the next page to be downloaded.^

Micro SIM, no problem working with iPhone 4S. Previously used a U300 with iPhone 3GS and a SonyEricsson dumb phone. The phones could not properly display signal strength, but internet worked fine.

Both SIMs are data-only.

I've rented standard phone from sky cellular at narita for 300JPY per day and 80JPY per min.

4G/3G compatible tourist SIM released
 

b-mobile has released "Chameleon SIM". It is a prepaid data-only SIM for LTE and W-CDMA(HSPA) networks in Japan.

Congratulations, tourists.

The new iPad 4G is not 100% compatible with this SIM because the frequency of LTE in Japan is different from that of the north America. You may need a 4G/3G compatible router for Japanese market. For example, docomo L-09C and b-mobile 4g Wifi 2.

JAPAN-SIM
 

Hi. I'm new to the forum. I read through this thread and just wanted to confirm with you guys...

-I can't buy a SIM card in Jpn to put into a U.S. unlocked phone, right?

-If I were to rent I would need a Japan address to get a dataplan?

-Would you all suggest for a 2-4 week stay to rent a phone and get a dataplan? I'm looking for something cheap so that my teenager can call in case of emergencies etc while in Jpn with his school group. If there's an affordable data plan then I would be interested in that too.

Thanks for any info. Much appreciated!

JAPAN-SIM
 

btw O Sara - Thanks for the info I just checked out the site. Would be interested in that bmobile option too but it doesn't have voice option. Also - I don't think I can make international calls (i.e. back to the U.S.) on it. This may be a dumb question - but can I do skype on it? I would also need to provide them a Japan address which I need to figure out. The school wanted the kids to bring a calling card. In this age of hi tech I just thought there might be better options available. Thanks again.

You only need a j-address if you're trying to mail-order it (and maybe you can use a hotel?) - if not, it's for sale at all the major electronics store chains (Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera, etc). You should be able to Skype/VoIP - but make sure you have a world phone. My friend used a Nokia X8, and it was unable to recognise the b-mobile SIM for some reason :(

Hi.

Yes, you can skype with this SIM. But not with another b-mobile SIM which I introduced here in this forum the other day.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...vered-use.html

I've used them multiple times and always been very happy. One time one of the batteries seemed to not hold a charge very well and they shipped me a replacement the next day. Great customer service in English or Japanese.

JapAN-SIM
 

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Cheap Mobile or SIM Rental
 

Hi,

Is this b-mobile sim available for sale at Haneda airport? thanks