Life in Japan

Here, I'll be posting about settling the various necessities in Japan, eg. phones, accomodation, entering fanclubs etc. ^^

GETTING A PHONE
First of all, there is only 2 telecom companies that most exchange students subscribe to. AU KDDI or Softbank. In general, AU KDDI offers better and cheaper contract plans while Softbank offers the best prepaid plan.

AU KDDI Contract Plan
At least for me at the point of time during my exchange, there were these services provided:
  • 0yen phones available.
  • Basic mthly fee for Plan E Simple after Everybody discount: 780yen/month
  • Gan Gan Mail: where you can send emails (email-->email)/c-mails (AU phone no. --> AU phone no.) for free to any phones. This is only applicable for Plan E users.
  • Basic service fee + insurance fee: 315yen+315yen / month
  • Gan Gan Talk: Free calls to any other 3 AU KDDI users. 390yen/month
  • Talk charges: For normal calls, it costs about 40yen/minute, regardless of the company.
  • Internet data fee: Charges based on usage but maximum capped at 4410yen/month.
  • Termination Fee: 9975yen when the contract is terminated before fulfilling 2 years.
So in general, the monthly bill would cost about 2000+yen if you don't use the internet data.

I left out AU KDDI prepaid service as it is practically useless getting it. Not really sure about the mailing and talking charges but there's a death flaw with it. And that is, the prepaid service only allows sending and receiving of C-mails which is only possible between AU KDDI phone users. So getting it will make you unable to mail friends or people from Softbank or NTT Docomo.


SOFTBANK Prepaid
I didn't subscribe to this so I'm not really sure about the details but in general, it's like this.
  • Prepaid phones: Unless you already have a Softbank phone, you'll have to get a prepaid phone to go with the card. It costs about 2000+yen for one but it has pretty much limited models.
  • Prepaid card: Either 3000yen or 5000yen prepaid cards which is valid for 60 days. After the 60 days, the card would expire and the amount leftover in it would be erased.
  • Talk charges: About 90yen/min.
  • Mail charges: 300yen/month for unlimited emails. Will have to call to activate this service and the 300yen would be deducted from the prepaid credit.
  • Internet usage: Prepaid phones won't be able to use any internet services.
The reason why I left the Softbank contract plan out is because, it is only really good when you're surrounded by people who are using Softbank. Calling or mailing to Softbank users are free but it costs pretty much when mailing or calling other phone companies users.

NTT Docomo is pretty much the most expensive telecom provider in Japan and they don't provide any prepaid services. So exchange students rarely subscribe to NTT Docomo.

Things needed to get a phone
  • Certification of Alien Registration (It doesn't have to be the actual card. Just the document proofing that you've registered for it is fine. Needed for both Prepaid and Contract)
  • Passport (Both Prepaid and Contract)
  • Home county Identification Card (Just something to show your address in your home country. Needed for both Prepaid and Contract).
  • Credit Card or Japan Bank Account (Only for Contract. The card MUST be under your own name.)
  • Student ID issued by the school you're enrolled in Japan (some needs it and some doesn't. So it depends.)
  • The address and fixed line number of the place that you're staying in Japan (for both Prepaid and Contract).
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