WiFi in Tokyo

talz13 · (#1 (**permalink**))

Hi all!

I was in Japan last August and noticed how many wifi hotspots there were around town. Unluckily for me, they were all subscription services! Does anybody know if a visiting gaijin can sign up for these services before I go back to Japan this August? And what kind of speeds the hotspots have? I have recurring nightmares about the horrendous speed / connection quality I got at the hostels my friend and I stayed at last year...

SHAD0W · (#2 (**permalink**))

If the hotspot at the hostel was free.. you can't really complain no matter how bad it was. I remeber the days when 26k/s was amazing!

Aniki · (#3 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHAD0W

I remeber the days when 26k/s was amazing!

Ah yes those were the good old days. I could go the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea while a page was loading.

talz13 · (#4 (**permalink**))

Well, I can't complain that I had access at the hostels, but I can complain that I'd rather pay $40 a month and get GOOD access from a service and have a good time on vacation without worrying about connectivity!

Having one of those awesome train schedule pages available while out in the city

cridgit001 · (#5 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aniki

Ah yes those were the good old days. I could go the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea while a page was loading.

*Remembers when the AOL dial-up sound was awesome*

dirtyroboto · (#6 (**permalink**))

I am using a neighbours wifi as I type. I have about three unsecured routers near me and have not paid for a connection for over 2 years.

Last time I was here I had about 15 unsecured routers to choose from and had mutiple connections for some very rapid download speeds. I leeched a 970mb file in under 20 mins.

talz13 · (#7 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtyroboto

I am using a neighbours wifi as I type. I have about three unsecured routers near me and have not paid for a connection for over 2 years.

Last time I was here I had about 15 unsecured routers to choose from and had mutiple connections for some very rapid download speeds. I leeched a 970mb file in under 20 mins.

Well when i was ut hunting for access, i only found one unsecured AP on a street corner in akiba, and i was only out there looking because the hostel 'net wasn't stable enough to load gmail

dirtyroboto · (#8 (**permalink**))

go buy yourself a usb wifi reciever. sounds like your pc's one is too weak.
BTW, you was in Akiba so you should have been spoiled for usb reciever choice.

SHAD0W · (#9 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by cridgit001

*Remembers when the AOL dial-up sound was awesome*

I have that as a .mp3, used to be my ring tone

talz13 · (#10 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtyroboto

go buy yourself a usb wifi reciever. sounds like your pc's one is too weak.
BTW, you was in Akiba so you should have been spoiled for usb reciever choice.

Nah, the hostel just had crappy wifi... My x41 tablet gets reception down the street from my house. The signal strength was fine, just couldn't connect to sites worth a damn. That's just one of the places we stayed at. The others (where I could connect decently) could only upload about 10kB/s, which made posting pics in the evening quite a pain.

Anyway, enough about explaining the crappy hostel internet... How can I sign up for like a 1 month subscription to a regular, commercial wifi service around tokyo? Or even what kind of speeds they have for those services?