Suggestions for temp internet access in Japan

April 1, 2010 9:39 PM

I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for a) a rental phone plan and b) some way of getting internet connectivity during a two-month stay in Japan.

My wife (she's Japanese) will be returning to Japan for two months from the middle of May. She will be staying at her mother's house - her mother now resides in a care facility (she had a stroke but is fine now) and the house has no internet connectivity, cable, or phone connection, and it costs a lot to set those things up from scratch in Japan - more than we can spend.

I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for a) a rental phone plan and b) some way of getting internet connectivity.

We've been looking at this site:

http://tiphone.jp/jp/japan/plan.php

Softbank seems to have the cheapest monthly keitai rental plans, although they have the smallest selection of phones when compared to DoCoMo on that site.

Additionally, renting a 3G internet dongle for a laptop looks like it's going to be 10000 yen a month.

I suggested to my wife that she should just get a phone and not worry about internet (that is, use the phone to access the internet), although lugging along a laptop would be useful to entertain the kids - there's an LCD tv in the house, but no DVD player and, once again, no cable. Buying a functional DVD player in Japan and renting DVDs at Tsutaya would probably be cheaper than one month of 3G internet for a laptop.

So, if we decide on just getting phones, are there any phones (available for rental) you would recommend?

So far, our selection looks like this:

http://tiphone.jp/jp/japan/lineup_softbank.php

http://tiphone.jp/jp/japan/lineup_docomo.php

I'll be joining them later in June, and would like to post photos and videos to Picasa and Facebook, as well as check in on MetaFilter.

Any help (especially cheap internet) would be appreciated.

PS - As I understand it, there are not many wireless hotspots in Japan, and our hometown is a small town (60,000) in Hokuriku. As far as I know, McDonald's only supports free wifi for DoCoMo users.

posted by KokuRyu to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

You're right about wifi. I'm pretty sure most ISPs only set up houses for longer terms, and require bank account info and other forms of ID. Getting it set up involves a lot of paperwork, and can take weeks to get it set up. You mention there's no cable, but you might check to see if the house is wired for it. You might try to find out if the local cable company offers internet, though that can take weeks to get installed (or longer, if no one else in the area has it).

On the other hand, no matter where you go in Japan you'll find manga-kisa/internet cafes. They are literally everywhere, around any decent sized train station. I used one until my internet connection got set up. They're pretty cheap, and if you're looking (at least at first) just to maintain contact, they're not bad.

As for telephone internet connections, I haven't had one for a while, but at least it used to be that, since you were using a phone line, you'd incur the ridiculous (20 yen a minute, roughly) charges for local calls. They did have late night packages (tele-hodai) that allowed unlimited use from 11pm to 7am, but that might not be best with kids in tow.

Will you be staying, KokuRyu, when you join them in June? Just visiting?
posted by Ghidorah at 9:49 PM on April 1, 2010

Response by poster: The house is wired up for everything - phone and cable television - it's just that the service has been cut off. On previous stays cable tv and phone were still connected, and we just ordered Yahoo BB, which connects over an active phoneline, and is cheap, works well, and can be arranged for short stays. It takes about a day to set up, and I would recommend it to anyone. We can't use it because there is no phone connection.

When I lived in Tsuruga we relied on RCN menet for broadband service, and they're really quick about setting up, too.

We'll be going home to Tsuruga. There are no manga kisas if you can believe it - the town is too small. The closest one is in Sabae, about 50 kilometers away.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:55 PM on April 1, 2010

Wow. Sounds like heaven. Where I live (Inage) there are about five directly around the station. If it's wired for cable, and has used it in the past, maybe check with the company to see if they can hook it up again, and if they offer internet. Cable internet speeds here are better than phone speeds, and a lot easier to arrange than fiber optics. If you're going to be staying for a while, cable might be the way to go.
posted by Ghidorah at 11:03 PM on April 1, 2010

My pal just signed up for UQ WiMax and he said there was no contract or cancellation fees, but I doubt it covers your town. Here's the service area map

I use to have Emobile with their 3G USB dongle and that seemed to get good coverage across Japan. It's slow, but passable. Don't expect to watch a ton of youtube videos, but if you give it time you can upload photos and stream radio no problem. I don't know if they would offer a 2 month contract though. Also it would be a whole lot of work signing up for it. The unlimited service with them cost ¥7,000 a month if I remember correctly so spending ¥10,000 a month for a rental with unlimited isn't too bad.

McDonalds is tied up with YahooBB. Here's their list of access points. I think it's something like ¥1,000 a month to use it if you're not a subscriber.

Freespot lists the few places with free internet in Japan.

As far as DVD players go, you can find decent no-brand region free players at some Tsutaya video rental shops or in big electronics districts like Den-Den town. I have a little one the that's about 10 inches square that cost me ¥3,000 and it also plays divx movies.
posted by sleepytako at 12:33 AM on April 2, 2010

We'll be going home to Tsuruga. There are no manga kisas if you can believe it - the town is too small. The closest one is in Sabae, about 50 kilometers away.

Hmm, it may be out of date, but I found this one via this website. If the suggestions above (or my previous email reply) don't help, perhaps your wife can use one of these places.
posted by armage at 10:12 PM on April 6, 2010

Response by poster: Hmm, it may be out of date, but I found this one via this website. If the suggestions above (or my previous email reply) don't help, perhaps your wife can use one of these places.

Actually, this place is new. It used to be a Bob Club big box clothing store.

Thanks!

It seems as though we're going to go with the 3G USB dongle for our laptop, and just rent the cheapest phone possible via Softbank.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:20 PM on April 7, 2010