Quote:
Originally Posted by AlwaysPEPSI
Well, I was told by the school that I am going to that an Alien Registration Card is necessary in order to buy a phone in Japan and I've also read this elsewhere...
So, does anyone else have some input as to my dilemma?
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You do need a ARC to get a phone plan and the regular phone models.
I'm not sure about the prepaid, but last year, my Japanese friend had to buy my prepaid phone for me, I don't remember if it was because of the ARC or not...but Henbaka seems to have had no problems, so...
If you're only going for a week, maybe you can consider renting a phone at the airport? I don't remember the fees, but they're probably on the expensive side, and if you limit your talking time and have friends call you instead of you call out, I don't think it's a bad idea. There are multiple cellphone counters at the Narita arrival halls so you can just shop around there.
I did a quick Google search for "japan rental phones" and tons of sites turned up, but most of have the phones mailed to you within the US before you leave, and I'm not sure where you currently are, so Narita rentals seem the easiest.
Renting might be better than getting a prepaid, especially if you're gonna be in Japan from Sept onwards and plan on getting a regular phone. Last summer, my prepaid cost around 7000 yen for the phone alone, and I could buy talk time in 3000 or 5000 yen increments. That's about 10000 yen for two weeks, which depending on how much you're gonna use it, may not be worth it.
But if you're interested, I used Softbank:
Prepaid Service | SoftBank
And another:
KDDI au: Prepaid Service
I've never used au, so not sure if they work exactly the same as Softbank.
Hmm prepaid and rental are the only two ideas I can think of for now...but hope that helps a little.
Btw, what university are you going to in Sept? Are you going as an exchange student?