Kristina

Just got home from Japan. We also rented a MiFi from Rentaphone for the 8 days we were there. The device was waiting at our hotel and we dropped it in a mailbox in the airport on the way home. We chose the faster one and it worked very well. The only place we could not get a signal was on the Shinkansen train to/from Tokyo-Kyoto. There are just too many tunnels. There were times where the signal was low, but it still connected with our phones and netbook. I was even able to call home, using skype on my cell phone via wi-fi for only 2 cents a minute.

kkukura

I have not been paying too much attention to using cell phones in Japan because I have been busy planning our trip. I have checked with my cell phone company, AT&T, and they confrim I can get a Global Message 50 plan for texting which would cost $10 for 50 texts that I send. Any incoming texts would be covered on my regular text plan(I have unlimited texting). Also I can get the World Traveler plan for making calls which would be $5.99 per month with discounted calls for $1.69/minute (versus $2.29/minute on my regular plan). They said my phone will work fine in Japan. Is there a reason I should get a cell phone from Japan while I am there? I will use my phone to text my daughter in TX and to maybe call her a couple of times. I do not use my cell for the Internet at all. I will use the computer at the places we stay to send emails, etc. Thanks for your help!