Softbank

Okay, I am trying to be productive before I head to Tokyo, and so I've been looking in to cell phones and plans. I won't be able to apply for one or anything until I get my alien registration card, but that should happen within the first week after I arrive.

Japan has a lot of crazy cellphones - to the point where they are probably redundantly pimped out, though still better than the iPhone (as of 2007 at least). Really though, I'm not interested in phones that can smell or play TV; however, a phone with Google Maps would be helpful I'm sure.

So I was thinking of getting an iPhone, but that lil dream came crumbling down after I calculated that I'd end up paying $800-$1000 for eleven months of use. (Note: Phone plans in Japan are usually for 2-years, and you have to pay a cancellation fee if you terminate your contract before that period).

Still, I will probably end up choosing a Softbank phone, as the English version of their website is very efficient (it's more or less a translation of their Japanese site). Most people text/email in Japan, as regular calls are super expensive, so I'll have to keep that in mind.

Waseda did send me an advertisement for a Piccell international phone (which is a free phone with a $25 per month bill), but I was searching online for reviews of Piccell and it seems like a lot of students did not have a very good experience with them (there is even a lawsuit against Piccell it seems). My friend Natasha (whose blog is linked to mine) used them though, and did not have any problems.