Mar 22, 2016, 3:00 am
Last edit by: RichardInSF
Japan - Prepaid Data SIM Wikia
1) get a SIM before the trip, activate it when you land. you can find japan-specific prepaid SIMs on ebay/amazon/... .Some countries have providers that offer good roaming rates in other countries(eg Starhub in Singapore, Ais Sim2Fly available globally)
2) preorder it, delivered to your hotel
3) preorder it to airport post office, can pick up when you land
4) preorder it, pickup at some airport counter/store
5) at airport/city, find an store/kiosk/vending machine and buy from them
6) Use an app such as Iijmio, Airalo or Ubigi to buy an e-SIM if your phone supports it
If you are arriving at Haneda international terminal without a SIM: Exit customs, turn right, and continue to the BIC camera store on the left side. Ignore any other places and vending machines that will sell you a SIM. BIC has a good selection at regular camera store prices.
1) get a SIM before the trip, activate it when you land. you can find japan-specific prepaid SIMs on ebay/amazon/... .Some countries have providers that offer good roaming rates in other countries(eg Starhub in Singapore, Ais Sim2Fly available globally)
2) preorder it, delivered to your hotel
3) preorder it to airport post office, can pick up when you land
4) preorder it, pickup at some airport counter/store
5) at airport/city, find an store/kiosk/vending machine and buy from them
6) Use an app such as Iijmio, Airalo or Ubigi to buy an e-SIM if your phone supports it
If you are arriving at Haneda international terminal without a SIM: Exit customs, turn right, and continue to the BIC camera store on the left side. Ignore any other places and vending machines that will sell you a SIM. BIC has a good selection at regular camera store prices.
Prepaid SIM discussion (consolidated)
Mar 17, 2013, 7:28 pm
#61
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,853
>> This is a known issue with most Android devices - they show no signal but if you have configured the APN settings correctly they will still get a data connection.
Same for my various iPhone's and Sony Ericsson dumb phone but they all worked fine with the B Mobile. Who cares what the signal meter says. However the phones did show the carrier name "DoCoMo". That's the proof that a connection has been made.
Same for my various iPhone's and Sony Ericsson dumb phone but they all worked fine with the B Mobile. Who cares what the signal meter says. However the phones did show the carrier name "DoCoMo". That's the proof that a connection has been made.
Edited to add: I tried it, it didn't work. I have emailed their helpline (which I forgot to call this morning, it's only open from 7-11am) asking if they have any suggestions. Guess I won't hear back until tomorrow.
Last edited by RichardInSF; Mar 18, 2013 at 1:44 am
Mar 18, 2013, 6:37 pm
#62
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,853
Here is their totally canned reply. I gave them a LOT of information in my email, if anyone who looked at it cared or was knowledgable about anything technical, they could have done a lot better. I would say that if you have an Android phone the odds are reasonably high that you will have wasted Y3,900 since if it doesn't work, you will get no help. Also their list of approved devices is quite short and very dated.
Let's all wipe off our SIMs with a dry cloth!
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for contacting the b-mobile Helpdesk.
Answers to your questions are provided below.
If your device is not on following list,
we are afraid we cannot guarantee the device would work with our SIM card.
<<Supported device list>>
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/visitor_devices.html
As the setting side, please try followings;
-remove from the device and wipe your SIM card with dry cloth
-Reboot
-Reset settings
if you are using SIM free iPhone and cannot receive internet,
your device may not be registering the new settings correctly.
Please reset your network settings and enter the above information again.
To reset your network settings: tap Settings → General → Reset → Reset Network Settings.
If you have any further questions, please do not
hesitate to contact us here at the b-mobile Helpdesk.
Thank you for your continued support of b-mobile.
Thank you for contacting the b-mobile Helpdesk.
Answers to your questions are provided below.
If your device is not on following list,
we are afraid we cannot guarantee the device would work with our SIM card.
<<Supported device list>>
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/visitor_devices.html
As the setting side, please try followings;
-remove from the device and wipe your SIM card with dry cloth
-Reboot
-Reset settings
if you are using SIM free iPhone and cannot receive internet,
your device may not be registering the new settings correctly.
Please reset your network settings and enter the above information again.
To reset your network settings: tap Settings → General → Reset → Reset Network Settings.
If you have any further questions, please do not
hesitate to contact us here at the b-mobile Helpdesk.
Thank you for your continued support of b-mobile.
Last edited by RichardInSF; Mar 19, 2013 at 12:11 am
Mar 27, 2013, 7:04 am
#63
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 3,945
Here is their totally canned reply. I gave them a LOT of information in my email, if anyone who looked at it cared or was knowledgable about anything technical, they could have done a lot better. I would say that if you have an Android phone the odds are reasonably high that you will have wasted Y3,900 since if it doesn't work, you will get no help. Also their list of approved devices is quite short and very dated.
Let's all wipe off our SIMs with a dry cloth!
Let's all wipe off our SIMs with a dry cloth!
Mar 27, 2013, 7:19 am
#64
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 36
I ordered three SIMs from these guys. To get them to work I had to create a custom APN. I'm using a Nexus 4.
Apr 2, 2013, 7:12 pm
#65
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 1,552
Docomo seems to use 800MHz and 1700MHz.
Had a similar problem when I bought the "old iteration" of the bMobile last year as it didn't work with my unlocked HTC Desire. Realized that the Desire didn't operate on Docomo's bands. Had to unlock my Samsung S2x, which I fortunately also brought with me, that is a pentaband phone
Bought the "new iteration" of bMobile's sim this year, plopped it in, and it worked asap as I still had the APN settings from last year.
One of the things that needs to be checked when travelling is the frequencies of the carrier you'll be using vs the frequencies your phone operates on.
Had a similar problem when I bought the "old iteration" of the bMobile last year as it didn't work with my unlocked HTC Desire. Realized that the Desire didn't operate on Docomo's bands. Had to unlock my Samsung S2x, which I fortunately also brought with me, that is a pentaband phone
Bought the "new iteration" of bMobile's sim this year, plopped it in, and it worked asap as I still had the APN settings from last year.
One of the things that needs to be checked when travelling is the frequencies of the carrier you'll be using vs the frequencies your phone operates on.
Apr 3, 2013, 3:23 pm
#66
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,853
As I am in the telecom industry, I asked around a bit and it appears that the owner of bMobile apparently is good friends with the minister of telecommunications. So don't expect them to worry much about you!
Apr 4, 2013, 11:00 am
#67
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 3,945
Nope, despite both me and a Japanese friend talking to customer service. Never again.
As I am in the telecom industry, I asked around a bit and it appears that the owner of bMobile apparently is good friends with the minister of telecommunications. So don't expect them to worry much about you!
As I am in the telecom industry, I asked around a bit and it appears that the owner of bMobile apparently is good friends with the minister of telecommunications. So don't expect them to worry much about you!
Apr 4, 2013, 12:02 pm
#68
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,853
Apr 5, 2013, 11:51 am
#69
Join Date: Dec 2002
Programs: UA MM, Hilton-Dia
Posts: 1,480
Docomo seems to use 800MHz and 1700MHz.
Speeds were not fantastic - about 1 Mbps down - probably because I could not get a good signal strength - around -87dBm
Apr 5, 2013, 1:24 pm
#70
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 1,552
I stand corrected: 800 and 2100. I've just read this previously quoted page more closely:
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/visitor_devices.html
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/visitor_devices.html
Apr 14, 2013, 10:32 pm
#71
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SYR
Programs: US/AA-Platinum, Hilton-Diamond, Marriott-Gold, AVIS-Presidents Club, National-Executive Elite
Posts: 2,755
So, I've read through these 5 pages, which mostly speak to the b-mobile visitor SIM.... What about the rental program from Softbank?
http://www.softbank-rental.jp/e/rental-plan-ib03.php
This seemed like the simpler way to go. I'll be in Tokyo for 5 days at the end of April, and I ordered a SIM through softbank for my iPhone 4S, and it seemed very simple, with pickup at the softbank store at Narita T1.
Is there any reason I should consider going the b-mobile route instead?
http://www.softbank-rental.jp/e/rental-plan-ib03.php
This seemed like the simpler way to go. I'll be in Tokyo for 5 days at the end of April, and I ordered a SIM through softbank for my iPhone 4S, and it seemed very simple, with pickup at the softbank store at Narita T1.
Is there any reason I should consider going the b-mobile route instead?
Apr 15, 2013, 12:39 am
#72
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TYO / WAS / NYC
Programs: American Express got a hit man lookin' for me
Posts: 4,596
The Softbank rental costs $16 a day plus a $3 admin fee for the contract, so it becomes very expensive if you use it for more than a few days. Also no tethering allowed, whereas using a b-mobile MiFi would let you share the connection with your PC and other devices.
Apr 19, 2013, 2:58 am
#73
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: HEL
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Posts: 14,105
I rented at Narita from JAL ABC
http://www.jalabc.com/english/index4.html
1290 Y/day (+210Y/day for insurance, not obligatory) for unlimited data usage. Speeds are quite good, I got up to ca 12 Mbs downstream - depending on signal strength of course. Used it from south of Osaka to north of Sendai, without issues. Got signal everywhere, even on Tokyo metro only in some railway tunnels was the signal dropped. In a few rural areas it dropped to 3G for a while.
The unit is a standard looking Huawei LTE unit - only issue is that battery is rather short lived. After 10-11 hrs it's completetly depleted. Charger is included in the package. It has a standard micro USB port, so if you can also charge it from most (any?) "juice packs"
iPhone 3GS and MacbookAir connects with no issues whatsoever.
http://www.jalabc.com/english/index4.html
1290 Y/day (+210Y/day for insurance, not obligatory) for unlimited data usage. Speeds are quite good, I got up to ca 12 Mbs downstream - depending on signal strength of course. Used it from south of Osaka to north of Sendai, without issues. Got signal everywhere, even on Tokyo metro only in some railway tunnels was the signal dropped. In a few rural areas it dropped to 3G for a while.
The unit is a standard looking Huawei LTE unit - only issue is that battery is rather short lived. After 10-11 hrs it's completetly depleted. Charger is included in the package. It has a standard micro USB port, so if you can also charge it from most (any?) "juice packs"
iPhone 3GS and MacbookAir connects with no issues whatsoever.
