Communication

Internet

Internet is difficult in Japan. There is almost no free wifi to be had, and your options are limited and expensive.

The best option while on the go is starbucks. They have free wifi, and it actually works. There is a starbucks in the totsuka train station, and one in Kamakura very close to the train station. There are many others.

Most Japanese carry “Pocket wifi”. It’s a device that uses the cellular network for data, and functions as a wifi hotspot 1. You can rent one of those at the airport (price about 970 Yen per day of use), and share it with your group, since many people can use it. Some companies to compare are softbank, rentafone, econnectjapan and japanwifibuddy. Search for “Japan Pocket Wifi” a few weeks before your trip to find the available options at the time.

You might also be able to achieve the same functionality with your phone, or with a rented one, but it’s more limited. See below for a summary.

SIM Rental

You can rent a local SIM card at the airport. This allows you to use your existing phone in Japan, with or without data.

Most companies mentioned above that rent out pocket wifi will also rent out a SIM card. Incoming calls are usually free, which is ideal for people to find you if needed.

You can also get a data plan with your SIM card, for about the same price as the pocket wifi. You might be able to turn your phone to a hotspot (I believe for iphone 5 or higher, not sure for android), which is almost the same as the pocket wifi, but with the additional benefit of having a local number. There are some limits to this option though, see the table below.

Most modern phones from respected companies will work in Japan. However, if your phone is of the cheaper or less popular kind, it might not (this happened to me), and you’ll have to rent a phone instead.

Phone Rental

You can also rent a phone per se, but that is more expensive. In order to get a phone with a hotspot, you’ll have to opt for the more expensive model.

Only do that if your phone won’t work with a local SIM card.

Calling Home

It’s best to call home using the wifi. In the US and Canada, free phone calls can be made using Google Hangouts. Install this app on your phone and call away (use 10 digit numbers, no need for “1” at the beginning).

Google hangouts works surprisingly well on low bandwidth, so even if you are slowed down by your pocket wifi, there’s a good chance you will be able to make calls. It’s been my experience that the best quality is achieved if both parties are in a quiet room.

You can also call using various other options, like Signal, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype etc.

Summary

If you find this pocket wifi vs SIM card quite confusing, that is quite understandable. I hope the following table will help you make a decision. Please ask me if some things are not clear and I will make the adjustment to this information.

Feature	SIM Rental	Phone Rental	Pocket Wifi
Price	~100 yen/day	200-400 yen/day	~1000 yen/day
Data price	~1000 yen/day	~1000 yen/day	no extra cost
Hotspot	Requires iphone > 5 or Android > XX	Yes, in the more expensive option
Hotspot limit	Check your phone. 4 users for iphone ?? for android	4 users	around 14 users
Battery life	Same as your phone Much shorter if hotspot is used	Short if hotspot is used	almost a full day
Area covered	small	small	larger
Other devices	Can be used only with hotspot function	Can be used only with hotspot function	Can be used
Data limit	Check with rental company	Check with rental company	Check with rental company
Local number	Yes	Yes	No
Incoming calls	Free	Free	N/A
Calling home	Prefer to Use data	Prefer to Use data	Yes, using wifi

Overall I believe the best option is to get a pocket wifi, and share the cost with the group. However, make sure to read the fine print for data limit. They usually say it’s “unlimited”, but the fine print has something like “Data rates will be limited if using more than 3 GB over 3 days”, or similar.

While using the Internet, it is best to avoid activities that take up a lot of bandwidth. That includes downloading or watching media, like movies or podcasts, or even large image galleries. Some apps (like the facebook app) are known to be a bandwidth hog, so it’s better to avoid these alltogether. For facebook for example, you can use the browser on your phone instead.

Also, devices like to perform background updates, so it’s a good idea to turn updates off and put your device on airplane mode while not using it. This will also help if you choose the option of using a hotspot with an iphone, as there is a limit on the number of simultaneous users.

Kanex, the company that owns the Totsuka house, might have a pocket wifi for rent. We had one that cost 216 Yen per day, but we very quickly went over the data limit and had to endure very slow connections after that, or top it up with 500 Yen per additional 500 MB. Check with them when or after you arrive.

Make sure to arrange that before leaving though, since most options are only available at the airport, and not while in the city.

Footnotes

1

A hotspot is a device that allows Internet access through wifi