When you have to newly make a contract with a mobile carrier in Japan, you have various conditions to decide to select provided plans. In this post, I want to introduce cheep mobile plans for those who stay in Japan for relatively long term like 2years to 3 years for the purpose of studying abroad or business trip.
For introduction of mobiles and its plans, I decide conditions below
- whether phone connection is stable
- whether functions of mobiles are minimum necessary
- mobile carriers that provide significant discount by long term contract
- mobile carriers available to contract with a feature phone.
Please read this post on the basis that you stay in Japan for more than 2 years. I introduce plans and mobiles for basically Japanese major mobile carriers along the conditions above.
Contents
Feature Phone + SIM
Feature phone and Sim card. This combination is one of the best way to save your budget.
Out-of-date mobiles costs you one-fifth of smart phones. Thousands of reasonable used feature phones are on the market.
The cost of a feature phone body and monthly flat charges is overwhelmingly cheaper than that of only regular charge plan for smart phones provided by major mobile carriers.
Of course, compared with smart phones, not a few restrictions is put on feature phone’s plan. However, if you think a mobile phone as a stripped-down tool to make a contact to someone, this gives you already sufficient functions.
You have two choices to make with this combination.
- Used feature phone + SIM
- Brand-new feature phone + SIM
Used Feature Phone + SIM
Things you should do are
- Buy a used feature phone at a electronic shops or an online shop
- Take it to a mobile carrier agent shop.
- Apply for a certain plan at a mobile carrier agent shop.
If you buy a used feature phone, you take the trouble to look for it in online shops or electronic shops. Then, you need to select the sim-unlocked one or the one sold by a mobile carrier that you’re going to apply to.
For example, if the future phone’s sim lock is not unlocked, SIM card and mobile body need to be from the same mobile carrier. Otherwise, if you insert other mobile carrier’s SIM into it, it will not activate the SIM. In that case, you should buy one sold by the mobile carrier that you are going to apply to
Things to be careful when you buy a used feature phone
You will have to make sure
- if the used feature phone’s sim lock is unlocked
- if its telecommunications standard corresponds to a SIM of a mobile carrier you would apply to
- if the feature phone was sold by a mobile carrier you would apply to (if SIM lock is not unlocked)
What is telecommunications standard?
Telecommunications standard is a communication system standard conformed with “IMT-2000” regulated by International Telecommunication Union. We have 3G (Third Generation) and 4G (Fourth Generation).
| Telecom standard standard | Availability of other carrier’s mobile | |
|---|---|---|
| AU | 3G, 4G | Feature phone body need to be from AU regardless of whether it’s SIM locked or SIM unlocked |
| DOCOMO | 3G, 4G | Any SIM unlocked feature phones |
| SOFT BANK | 3G | Any SIM unlocked feature phones |
Where to buy
- Online shops
- Electronic shops
When you buy a used feature phone online, you must understand Japanese. 80 to 90% of website you can buy one is written in Japanese and it doesn’t have translated page. It is not impossible to traslate product pages in your language by way of Google Translate. However, whether you can understand the translation of pages is quite doubtful even in your language.
If you want to buy a used feature phone by all means, you probably need your Japanese friend to support you to buy. You should search at
Yahoo Auction is online commercial transaction service between individuals. I never recommend that you buy something from individuals. There are various risks you should take if you buy something from someone who is not guaranteed credibility.
You should know the tendency of users of Yahoo auction before using. There are so many people not responding to a claim for damages or troubles to the product you bought if trouble happens to you after you buy something through this Auction.
You should buy a used feature phone at a credible shop that guarantee the quality as much as possible
If you search used feature phones online, paste the following words in search windows of online shops
ガラケー 中古
“ガラケー” is what we call “Garake”. Which literally means Galapagos feature phone. Nowadays, people shift their mobile from feature phones to smart phones.This name comes from banter to old fashioned mobile.
“中古” is what we call “Chuko”. Which means “used”. So both words indicate literally “Used Galapagos feature phone.”
If you want to buy at electronic shops, connect to the link I pasted down below.
→Used feature phone retailers lists
Basic plan of each major mobile carriers for feature phone
Basically, major mobile carriers suggest you a plan based on this formula. You need to decide each options of these 3 categories of charges.
When you make a contract with 3 Japanese major mobile carriers , essentially, you need to make 2 year contract.
| 934yen to 1,868yen | ||
| 372yen | ||
| 4200yen to 9900 yen | ||
| 5,506yen to 11,768 | ||
| https://www.au.com/english/mobile/charge/featurephone/plan/plan-ss/ | ||
| 1,550yen to 3100yen | ||
| 372yen | ||
| 4200yen to 9900 yen | ||
| 5,750yen to 13,000 | ||
| https://www.au.com/english/mobile/charge/featurephone/plan/plan-s/ | ||
| Smart phone (3G), iphone 4S, feature phone (3G) | ||
| 22,00 yen | |
| 1,200yen | |
| 300yen (monthly) | |
| 2,900yen (pay as much as you use) | |
| 0 to 4,200yen (pay as much as you use) | |
| 1500yen ~ 6700yen | |
| https://www.softbank.jp/mobile/campaigns/list/garake-tuuwa-shihodai/ | |
| Other mobile carrier’s feature phone (3G), Y!mobile feature phone or PHS, MVNO feature phone. | |
| Contract Type | Monthly basic charge | Call charge per 30 seconds |
|---|---|---|
| 3600yen (free call: 1000yen) | 20yen | |
| 4600yen (free call: 2000yen) | 18yen | |
| 6600yen (free call: 4000yen) | 14yen | |
| 9600yen (free call: 6000yen) | 10yen | |
| 14600yen (free call: 11000yen) | 7.5yen | |
| 3600 yo 14600 | ||
| https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/charge/bill_plan/plan/index.html | ||
If you want to know more about these plans, you should pay casual visit to mobile carrier shop and ask staff
| Price Range of major mobile carriers | ||
|---|---|---|
| AU | SOFT BANK | DOCOMO |
| 5,506yen to 13,000 | 1500yen to 6700yen | 3600yen to 14600yen |
Brand-new feature phone + SIM
There are no major mobile carriers that are selling brad-new 3G flip type feature phone now. A type of feature phone you can buy at each major mobile carrier is only a feature phone called “Garaho”.
Garaho is a Japanese unique coinage of “Galapagos” and “Smartphone”. This is a domestic feature phone developed with OS and semiconductor for a smart phone.
Garaho’s technical basis is the same as that of smart phone but specification design for functions is mostly for feature phone users. Considering operatability for those users, although this feature phone conform with a smart phone, its function is limited to
minimum necessary
The market price of Garaho is 30,000yen to 50,000yen. Any of major mobile carriers provide two types of payment method which are
- Lump sum payment
- Divided payment
If you select divided payment to get Garaho, a certain amount of divided payment for Garaho will be tacked on to monthly basic charge. Averagely 2000yen to 3000 yen will be tacked on and is SIM locked for 100 days.Garaho’s market price is from 30,000yen to 50,000yen
If you make entire payment for Garaho on the spot, you can SIM unlock on the spot.
| Lump sum payment | Divided payment | |
|---|---|---|
| When to be SIM unlocked | on the spot | 101st day from the day you contract | Condition |
A condition to apply for divided payment is that you must apply for 2 year contract because the term of divided payment is 24 months, which means you spend 2 years to pay off all.
Basic plan of each major mobile carriers for feature phone
| 1,200yen to 2,700yen | ||
| 300yen | ||
| 0yen to 4200yen (pay as much data as you use. even if your data usage amount is exceed 4200yen, your payment is fixed in 4200.) | ||
| 1000yen to 3000 yen (24 months) | ||
| 2,500yen to 8,700 | ||
| https://www.au.com/english/mobile/charge/4glte-featurephone/plan/s-kakeho-k/ | ||
| 27,00 yen | |
| 3,132yen to 3780yen | |
| 0yen | |
| 5,832yen ~ 6,700yen | |
| https://www.softbank.jp/mobile/price_plan/products/#/ (Japanese) | |
| 1,200yen to 2,700 yen | |
| 3,500yen to 8000yen | |
| 1000yen ~ | |
| 4,500yen ~ 9,000yen | |
| https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/charge/recommend_plan/feature_phone/index.html(Japanese) | |
I introduced here the cheapest plan. Depneding on the combination of the reasonable discount plans for 3 basic charges of “basic charge “, “Internet usage charge”, “Data flat rate plan”
Moreover, depending on the season, a mobile carrier will launch a discount campaign to collect users largely. Especially April is the season of new fiscal year and school year in Japan. Almost all the mobile carriers will start battle fiercely for new users.
I recommend you to contract in this season. But when you decide to make a contact, you should consider comprehesively every aspects of the services they provide becuase you have to continue a contract for 2 years no matter which major mobile carrier you choose.