SIM Card at NRT
 

I have an unlocked BlackBerry Bold and I would like to get a 3G SIM card to make local calls in Japan with it. Are there any service providers at NRT that would sell me a SIM Card? What is the associated cost? How much airtime? Thanks!

If this needs to go somewhere else apologies, I am a newbie.

you might try the travel technology forum and do a search?

You should be able to rent 3G sim cards from cell phone rental counters in the arrival section of Narita. You'll typically pay a daily fee and any outgoing calls. Incoming calls are typically free, at least when renting the phone.

I recently researched this as well and from what I understand Japan is very different from, say Europe where you can just buy a sim card, pop it in your unlocked phone, and you are all done.

From what I understand, Japan will not sell prepaid phones or sim cards to non Japanese citizens. The only option would be to RENT. Which yes you should be able to do at Narita.

Not sure of the cost, I think you pay for whatever the rental is upfront
and then pay for whatever airtime when you return. And it seems incoming calls are free usually.

You can also have a residency permit (aka "gaijin card"). But a passport will not do. Same rules apply for getting regular post-paid service.

A few years ago, a little girl was kidnapped, and the perpetrator used a pre-paid cellphone to continually call the parents and the police were frustrated that they had no way of knowing who he was based on the mobile phone number, so they passed this stupid law.

Since the law will still not readily tell them who's calling if they use a payphone, steal a mobile phone, or roam into the country from elsewhere, I'm not quite sure what they accomplished other than reinforcing that Japan can be very foreigner-unfriendly and difficult to deal with at times.

Another reason is prepaid cell phones had been widely used for remittance fraud.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0090203i1.html

SoftBank SIM Rental
 

SoftBank SIM rental information can be found here: http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/phones/sim3g.php.

The charge is ¥105/day. Outbound local calls are ¥105/minute. Incoming calls are free.

SoftBank rental counters are in the arrival halls of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

perfect. this is exactly what i needed. thank you.

Certainly, the advice you have been given about prepaid phones is technically accurate. Without a 外国人登録証明書 (alien registration card), officially, it is not possible to purchase a prepaid (or postpaid) phone in Japan.

However, last April, I walked into a random cell phone shop in Higashi-Shinjuku and signed up for a standard, post-paid SoftBank "White Plan" with 1-year contract using only my passport and credit card, no questions asked. I'd imagine that the experience purchasing a prepaid phone would have been similar.

You're likely to be better off at smaller shops that aren't necessarily trained in the "proper" way to deal with foreigners, but this will necessitate at least some Japanese ability since most such places are unlikely to have English-speaking staff. In any case, purchasing a phone without an ARC is definitely doable, even if not officially permitted.

Finally, depending on how long you will be in Japan, there are reports of people who have been able to get an ARC without a long-term visa if you want to do things the official way. YMMV, of course.

Did you happen to notice if they looked at your immigration status in your passport? In any event, what you describe seems to make a lot more sense. If they're concerned about knowing the identity of the purchaser of a cellphone contract or SIM, then a foreign passport should do. It's not as if lots of Japanese nationals that intend to commit crimes with their own cellphones in the future will have forged foreign passports.

Please don't attempt to apply logic to Japanese regulations. They're not concerned with identity, since purchasing prepaid SIM cards with foreign passports is explicitly forbidden. :td:

I'm almost positive that they did not; the salesman copied something from the passport into his computer (presumably the passport number?) and handed it back within a total of about 30 seconds. If he did manage to find my current immigration status in between all of the other stamps and visas in there that quickly, he needs to be reassigned to give training to immigration officers. ;)

It is not forbidden to buy a prepaid SIM card just because you are a foreign passport holder, as far as I have read. It is just not permissible to buy a prepaid SIM card without acceptable proof of address in Japan and a proof of identity, and if you need an alien registration card if you are a foreign national. It does not mean that you are forbidden from buying a sim card just because you are a foreign passport holder.

Emphasis mine. So do you enjoy splitting semantic hairs, or did you actually have a point? :rolleyes:

I merely wished to clarify things because "purchasing prepaid SIM cards with foreign passports is explicitly forbidden" appeared to me to be open to misunderstanding - it could be interpreted as "buying a prepaid SIM card is forbidden if you are a foreign passport holder", which is not the case.

I do not consider FlyerTalk to be an appropriate forum for somewhat rude response as you have exhibited.