Does anyone know if iphones work in Japan? Our other phone is a samsung, both with ATT contracts.

Thanks.

Japan has a different system - most US phones do not work there. However, there is a lot of discussion on this at japan-guide.com. You can just type in 'iphone' in the search box and get a lot of info....

First generation iPhone is GSM only, so won't work in Japan.
Second generation has 3G UMTS (WCDMA) capability, so will work in Japan if your service provider has a roaming agreement with UMTS operators in Japan, namely DoCoMo and/or SoftBank. ATT has with both. But roaming rates are very high, up to $2.29 a minute.

Thank you both. Unfortunately the iPhone is first generation.

Will it not work on a WiFi connection still???

Not sure if you can rent an iphone but you can easily rent a cell phone including blackberry models.

Thanks for the suggestion. If we do rent a phone, we will want to rent the simplest cheapest phone available. Any ideas?

SoftBank Mobile in Japan do a very cheap rental at http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/ at 250 yen a day. Pick up and return at Narita Airport, and everything is charged to youyr credit card. Outgoing calls within Japan are 100 yen a minute, free to receive calls. 250 yen/min to call US isn't cheap, but there are cheaper options using calling cards on sale in Japan. You can even request your Japanese phone number in advance so you can let your family, friends and business contacts know before leaving US.

On my most recent trip to Japan I used Rentafone Japan. The rates were cheap, connections were good, and renting was very convenient. They will have your phone delivered to your hotel the day before you arrive, you will already receive your cell phone number via email prior to your trip, and they respond to your emails very quickly. You won't have to hassle with finding their kiosk inside the airport to pick up and drop off upon arrival and departure. They provide a prepaid envelope and you simply drop it in the mailbox when you are done. My friend also used them and said he was happy to find them and will definitely use them again. This was a referral on the Asia forum.

http://www.rentafonejapan.com/phone-models.htm

Other people I've talked to use DoCOMo, and I believe they rent blackberry phones.

Thanks to everyone for the help. I think we'll go with the option that lets us pick up the phone at our hotel.