Going to Japan and phone rent
Hey guys , i need help here>.<
Next month, i'll go to Japan for attending an event there. I really look forward to travel around japan. Unfortunately i am going to stay just in Tokyo, but i think it'll be nice too. 8D
I'll stay in khaosan hostel, i think it's around asakusa station. Btw do you know which part of tokyo is a must see and go?
I'll go to biccamera to buy a Panasonic lumix GF1 , it's really cheap if i compare to the price in my hometown.
Btw , do you know any place for buying a photography tools ?
GF1 is really nice camera , "i think" . But recently i think about it, wether i should buy GF1 ,or G2 , or G10 . Because GF1 actually has already 1 year old since it was sold.
But for G2 and G10 , i think it's more like SLR camera rather than like compact.
What do you think folks ?
Actually i kinda confuse now, about communication problem ,i think i want to rent a phone there but it looks like it's not that cheap.
So , here is my question ~~
Has anybody rent a phone when they go to japan ? or do you know any company that renting a phone for foreigner?
actually i browse about that in http://www.pupuru.com/en/ , but is the price like that is normal ? or is it expensive ?
Oh and , does anybody of you are going to Japan to next month ?
I rented a phone when I was in Japan for two months last year, but it was so darn expensive that I would never recommend it (at least not from this American company I used).
Do you have an ipod touch? I'm going to use a skype international plan on mine to make calls through wifi. I don't know how it works through the iphone (or other phones like it), but either way it's worth looking into for how cheap it is!
Anyhow, hope you have fun in Japan!
thanks for the advice ~~~ , btw is it will be difficult if i just use a ipod for emailing ? i mean is there many wifi spot around there?
I'll be using my ipod for emailing and texting to family/friends' cellphones in America too. XD If you're interested in the texting app, there's one called textfree that works great.
And there should be wifi spots around Tokyo. Last year I was lucky to have internet at my place, but I think my classmates went to a hotel or starbucks for wifi. There should be internet cafes all around too. I know I saw a lot in Kanazawa. XD
haha okay , it's just i was afraid when i want to contact my friend in japan but there is no internet service around. >.<
btw , i think i'll try that textfree program, it seems it is a nice program. 8D
When I was in Japan a month or two ago I brought my iphone with me but didn't find too many wifi spots. Saying that, I did turn wifi off for the most part. But even at the Starbucks at Tsutaya in Shibuya I couldn't connect to their wifi properly.
There are lots of internet cafes everywhere in Tokyo. I had trouble at a couple because they turned all my writing into kana and I couldn't figure out how to turn that "feature" off. So I just slept. I recommend trying sleeping in an internet cafe/mangakissen once, and also to try one of the capsule hotels with a spa.
Oh, and that camera sounds good... off to research it now.
Don't be fooled by the outside: on the inside, the GF1 isn't any less like a DSLR than a G2. The G2 has a larger body and a touchscreen on the back, but other than that they're more or less the same camera. Most significantly, they have the exact same sensor so image quality is almost identical, although on VERY close inspection there may be some differences (dpreview.com says the GF1 is actually slightly better in terms of detail).
Basically, it all comes down to your preference of body type. The GF1 is much more discrete, though some people prefer the bulkier DSLR-type body - just don't buy into the idea that bigger must mean better pictures, because in this case it's simply not true.
Yeah koga, it's true , the result seems almost the same. Actually G2 has less noise in higher ISO, but i don't think the difference is that big .
haha thanks btw , after hearing what you said, i'll just buy GF1 . and the lens kit is really nice 20mm f1.7 ~~~~
Hmm... I've arranged to rent a phone through PuPuRu when I'll be in Japan in a couple weeks, but I haven't used them before so I can't quite give feedback on it. I will say that they've been very good with communicating so far. The unmetered plan campaign seems to still be going on - I chose that because I wanted to be able to use data on the phone; lots of places that rent out phones in Japan are using only prepaid models which can't use the internet or sms people who aren't on the same network (AU/KDDI, Docomo, Softbank, etc).
If you just need a phone for calling, there are cheap places like rentafonejapan.com but those are prepaid models which have no data capability. The upside there is you will only pay for what you use and the base price is quite cheap.
As much as people use their cell phones in Japan, if you're only going to be there for a few days or a week you don't NEED one unless you a) must have a Japanese phone number and b) need to be able to call people locally no matter where you are (and/or c) you must have internet access at all times and will pay up for data). There are lots of internet cafes scattered around the place and some locations may have free wifi (although I can't remember if, say, McD's did the last time I was there...) if you need to be sending e-mails or something.
Yeah that's why i was wondering should i rent a phone or just use my ipod for emailing my friends in japan. If there are many place for wifi, i think using an ipod is not a problem .
Asakusa is about 1 station away from akihabara (electric ct)(must go!!) or if u perfer to walk it would be take around 30 to 50mins.....
I was in Japan last year... n got lost from asakusa =P (meant to get off at asakusa bashi) lolz
anyway good luck n have fun thr...
hahaha , i prefer going with train lol.
Thanks btw . 8D
For cellphones, I've purchased my pre-paid phone directly at Softbank. It was a really easy process and they handed me the phone in no time. I think I paid around 10,000 yen for the phone and 3000 yen for the pre-paid card for the minutes. I forgot how many minutes you get but you get unlimited mails!! So there are pre-paid phones as an alternative. If you're going to be in Tokyo, you should visit Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Harajuku, Roppongi, etc, etc. I'm looking forward to your photos with your GF1!! (^^)
Been to Japan for 2 years now and going on my 3rd trip next month as well for Comiket 78. If you want to meet up, that'll be cool!!!!! Just contact me through my blog (email is in my about page)...
Well, renting phones for Japan is pretty easy. There quite a few places that does it. You can rent from Softbank and DoCoMo. They usually have phones ready for rent for visitors to Japan. I suggest Softbank cause it's cheap but you have to watch how much you talk on the phone. Incoming calls are free but outgoing calls cot a good 100yen for calls in Japan per minute and 300yen for calls internationally per minute. All you need for renting a phone is your passport, credit card and address of where you are staying. The main problem about renting phones in Japan is that you have to put in a 40000yen deposit when you rent a phone which I don't like.
Here are the rental sites: http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/ and http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/en/index.html
Another thing you can try (Will try when I arrive in Japan on August 2nd) but might not work is getting a prepaid phone. I haven't tried it myself but I hear you can get a prepaid phone from Softbank (from what I read only in Narita Airport) without an Alien Registration Card. All you need is a Passport and address of your hotel. It ranges from 7000yen to 10000yen and a 3000yen worth of minutes. All I can say is the phones look a lot better, somewhat cheaper overall and that you can keep once leave for Japan.
About sights to go around Tokyo, I say you should go to well, Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ueno and Harajuku. All those are accessible by just taking the Yamanote line (Light Green) which circles around Tokyo.