Getting a Japanese mobile phone

[Shagwell]

I am a gajin living in a foreign country. Can I get a Japanese mobile phone (to be exactly a mobile phone operated by a Japanese company) ? It seems like that to join deai sites or cafes, you need mobile phone number to confirm your identification and communication.

There must be some ways to get a phone for short-term visitors. For example, pre-paid phones.

 

[krdxgm69]

I thin you can find helpful information in the following threads:
Japanese SIM cards
SIM card rent
Best Option For Phone?
Cafe Kirari with foreign phone number

 

[Shagwell]

@krdxgm69

Thank you very much. I should have checked old threads.

 

[ichigopantsu]

Just want to add that as noted in the threads above, prepaid plans only include data and no voice service. You can however get a 050 area code IP phone service like Smart Fusion (https://ip-phone-smart.jp/) which has an app you can install and provides passable voice service for 0 monthly fee.

Foreign credit cards seem to work (just tried to register another account now to test) but you need to be able to fill out the Japanese form and have a Japanese address you can put in during registration.

 

[impish]

Just want to add that as noted in the threads above, prepaid plans only include data and no voice service. You can however get a 050 area code IP phone service like Smart Fusion (https://ip-phone-smart.jp/) which has an app you can install and provides passable voice service for 0 monthly fee.

Foreign credit cards seem to work (just tried to register another account now to test) but you need to be able to fill out the Japanese form and have a Japanese address you can put in during registration.

Skype can also provide a 050 number...

 

[Lukes]

Skype can also provide a 050 number...

This is true. I believe though that some places are picky about the prefix. 050 is indicative of IP numbers (I think) and some places aren't cool with that based on what I've read. Anyone have insight on that?

 

[ichigopantsu]

This is true. I believe though that some places are picky about the prefix. 050 is indicative of IP numbers (I think) and some places aren't cool with that based on what I've read. Anyone have insight on that?

I've reserved at numerous providers with my 050 number with no issues. They do want a number that shows on their Caller ID that they can call you back at.

Back then a SkypeOut call would just give a caller ID of "123456" or something and I've been rejected from making reservations using that. If Skype now can give an outbound Caller ID of a valid 050 number that can be called back at, I think that should work.

SmartTALK in the meantime has been good to me because they ONLY charge for outbound usage, so my cost for when I'm not using it for outgoing calls is zero. App integration is real slick too and it works just like a real phone.

For those who know their telecom, they also support direct SIP access. However I recommend using a SIP client that supports iLBC if you do because iLBC works a lot better when you're not on Wifi. Android's native SIP client only supports G.711/G.729 IIRC.

 

[Lukes]

I've reserved at numerous providers with my 050 number with no issues. They do want a number that shows on their Caller ID that they can call you back at.

Back then a SkypeOut call would just give a caller ID of "123456" or something and I've been rejected from making reservations using that. If Skype now can give an outbound Caller ID of a valid 050 number that can be called back at, I think that should work.

SmartTALK in the meantime has been good to me because they ONLY charge for outbound usage, so my cost for when I'm not using it for outgoing calls is zero. App integration is real slick too and it works just like a real phone.

For those who know their telecom, they also support direct SIP access. However I recommend using a SIP client that supports iLBC if you do because iLBC works a lot better when you're not on Wifi. Android's native SIP client only supports G.711/G.729 IIRC.

Thanks. I'll keep it in mind for next time I'm in town. I still don't have a Japanese cell phone since I'm only in town a few weeks of the year. I usually just go around with a wifi hotspot and my own phone.