japan :: tokyo :: general

[herpsky]

I had no idea b-mobile offered SIM cards for visitors. I've been using their prepaid SIM cards for domestic customers. 

They are borrowing docomo's network so the coverage is great. It used to be hard to get my phone to triangulate my location but it's gotten a lot better. The only problem is that depending on the model of your phone, you might encounter serious battery issues. 

 

Why? The phone is always trying to search for regular telephone signal. There are ways to turn it off though. 

 

I also have used a Nexus 4 with b-mobile cards. They have worked perfectly. I have used apps that shut off the regular phone connectivity to save battery. I think Kasper had used a visitor bmobile SIM. He had his card sent to his hotel, I believe.

 

The advantage of bmobile is that you don't need to carry around a pocket wifi. The disadvantage is that the data transfer rate is extremely slow with the 14 day card. I usually used to compensate for this by signing up for a domestic monthly wi2 wifi account. 

 

You actually don't need a Japanese address to sign up for the monthly wi2. Just enter the address of your hotel or whatever. No contract. You can cancel via their online form. The wi2 for visitors is the biggest ripoff ever. Wi2 access points are literally everywhere in Tokyo. There is an app that authenticates you automatically. take advantage of it. It's a pain in the ass to log in every time.

 

With this said, I think it's just easier to get a pocket wifi with LTE. Both classicmrip and 1995chardx used them. I used their routers a fair number of times. They were very reliable and most of all, super fast. I think they are usually 5-8 dollars per day. 

 

In summary, I think pocket wifi is the way to go if you are only visiting for a few days. 

Bmobile SIM was more feasible for me because I'm usually there for multiple weeks at a time and didn't feel like paying the daily rate of a pocket wifi.

[herpsky]

http://300.wi2.co.jp/en/

 

380 yen per month. No contract. Engrish page for your convenience.

[Kasper]

I had no idea b-mobile offered SIM cards for visitors. I've been using their prepaid SIM cards for domestic customers. 

They are borrowing docomo's network so the coverage is great. It used to be hard to get my phone to triangulate my location but it's gotten a lot better. The only problem is that depending on the model of your phone, you might encounter serious battery issues. 

 

Why? The phone is always trying to search for regular telephone signal. There are ways to turn it off though. 

 

I also have used a Nexus 4 with b-mobile cards. They have worked perfectly. I have used apps that shut off the regular phone connectivity to save battery. I think Kasper had used a visitor bmobile SIM. He had his card sent to his hotel, I believe.

 

The advantage of bmobile is that you don't need to carry around a pocket wifi. The disadvantage is that the data transfer rate is extremely slow with the 14 day card. I usually used to compensate for this by signing up for a domestic monthly wi2 wifi account. 

 

You actually don't need a Japanese address to sign up for the monthly wi2. Just enter the address of your hotel or whatever. No contract. You can cancel via their online form. The wi2 for visitors is the biggest ripoff ever. Wi2 access points are literally everywhere in Tokyo. There is an app that authenticates you automatically. take advantage of it. It's a pain in the ass to log in every time.

 

With this said, I think it's just easier to get a pocket wifi with LTE. Both classicmrip and 1995chardx used them. I used their routers a fair number of times. They were very reliable and most of all, super fast. I think they are usually 5-8 dollars per day. 

 

In summary, I think pocket wifi is the way to go if you are only visiting for a few days. 

Bmobile SIM was more feasible for me because I'm usually there for multiple weeks at a time and didn't feel like paying the daily rate of a pocket wifi.

 

i did have the b-mobile sent to my hotel and it was perfect. i ended up getting the 1gb rather than the 14 days plan as i was afraid the 14 day plan would be too slow (they're the same price anyway). As long as you're in Japan for over 5-7 days, it end up being cheaper than a pocket wifi and it has the benefit of being always on (useful for OCD ppl like me how need all pictures perfectly geotagged...)  i didn't know you could turn off the cell tower triangulation thing so battery life was definitely an issue, but then it forced me to buy a portable battery which i could literally not live without now. signal also always shows up as 0 bar which is slightly annoying. i have an Iphone 5 btw

 

you can pick up the sim at the airport, but you have to order in advance. if you are from the state, you could also get a t-mobile and prepay a month before leaving and just use that, data roaming is now free so it's a pretty trouble free solution. texts are also free and calling is only 20 c / min which is useful to have although i used skype quite a lot with bmobile without any issue. 

 

and yeah, a wi2 is much cheaper and is what most of my friend did when i got fed up of sharing my connection, but then we had to stop for "internet break" every so often which was a little annoying lol

[herpsky]

how much is a tmobile card

[Kasper]

starts at $50 / month. you can get everything unlimited for $70 which is a pretty good deal, but although rapidly improving, i had issue with coverage (would often not work well inside building in NYC) so i switched to AT&T. But they're spending a lot on infrastructure and LTE and this free roaming make it very attractive, i would never bother to get a sim when travelling.

Edited December 10, 2013 by Kasper

[DaBestSpoona]

Just switched to Tmobile from ATT just for the unlimited data, international data and text roaming and it is awesome.    My reception at home improved, was only getting 2bars on ATT, now 4,  but at the office it switches to HSPDA when I in the center of the building, but back to LTE near windows.  I think the international roaming is 2G/3G speeds, but with an option to buy tiers of LTE when you roam overseas, they said it will prompt you on your phone.  My LTE speeds are faster than my Time Warner speeds, kinda sad.

[herpsky]

Do you have an android or iPhone?

[DaBestSpoona]

Nexus 5

[Walt Thizzney]

Can you buy those portable wifi things at the airport with a deposit on your credit card im guessing? Is it truly city wide or am I gonna be walking around searching for a a connection. Also when you go from one area to another does it automatically stay on the network or do you have to sign back in again

[herpsky]

Can you buy those portable wifi things at the airport with a deposit on your credit card im guessing? Is it truly city wide or am I gonna be walking around searching for a a connection. Also when you go from one area to another does it automatically stay on the network or do you have to sign back in again

You RENT a pocket wifi router and need to return it on your way out. They take credit cards.

It is NATION wide because it's just using cellular signal and redistributing the signal to your phone via wifi signal.

You NEVER need to sign back in. It functions just like a regular wireless router except it's smaller and has a battery.

[DaBestSpoona]

so tmob only does minimally 2g when you roam with an option for 4G that you can buy via text when you roam.

 

This is Tmob roaming partners in Japan

 

Carrier Frequency Data Speed NTT DoCoMo 2100 (3G) 3G Softbank Mobile 2100 (3G) 3G
 

 

Seems like Japan has no 2G, so I guess Tmob users will roam on 3G?

 

    

 

T-Mobile is, of course, willing to sell you a much faster international roaming plan: The carrier offers Speed Passes that can be used to access faster data. It charges $15 for a daily pass that gives customers up to 100MB of 4G data, where available. The weekly pass costs $25 and includes up to 200MB of 4G data, and the monthly pass costs $50 and includes up to 500MB of 4G data. 

Edited December 10, 2013 by DaBestSpoona

[Fycus]

I got this when I was in Japan:

 

http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html

 

 

It was like $50 bucks for 4 days or something. So freaking worth it, incredibly fast. Only thing is the mifi module was the size of a wallet, so when we went out to the clubs we had to draw straws because nobody wanted to haul it around. 

[Walt Thizzney]

You RENT a pocket wifi router and need to return it on your way out. They take credit cards.

It is NATION wide because it's just using cellular signal and redistributing the signal to your phone via wifi signal.

You NEVER need to sign back in. It functions just like a regular wireless router except it's smaller and has a battery.

 

thanks... for this one you recommended  -> http://300.wi2.co.jp/en/ , would I still need the wifi pocket router?

[herpsky]

you don't need a pocket router for wi2. wi2 is a company that sets up hotspots throughout big cities. the hotspots are literally everywhere in the city. 

 

if you have a pocket wifi router, do NOT sign up for wi2. you will get reception EVERYWHERE with a pocket wifi router.

 

wi2 is recommended if you get a SIM card.

Edited December 11, 2013 by herpsky

[herpsky]

option 1) LTE pocket router from the airport

option 2) bmobile SIM card + wi2

option 3) tmobile roaming

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

I had wi2 for a couple of months.  slow, but usually reliable.  if you are using it perpetually you'll probably be annoyed though.

[1995chardx]

The LTE pocket wifi is the best thing to have and you can connect multiple devices to it...I would recommend a portable battery pack so you can charge your pocket wifi and your phone if you're planning to stay out for the whole day

[mrip]

did the same as chard and was pretty happy with it

[herpsky]

I was going through honeyee for the first time in months and found an interesting blurb:

 

http://blog.honeyee.com/ttakashiro/

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I feel like Peruvian food has been a pretty big buzz word of 2013. The guy says the same.

 

Kaname-cho. That's like near Ikebukuro. Kinda surprised. I guess a lot of OG Tokyo-ites have always made fun of the Jyohoku area because of its close proximity to Saitama. 

 

Any thoughts on this? 

 

The east side of TYO also blew up (the right half of Yamanote-line) in 2013. 

[savage science fiction]

I walked kumano kodo this past spring. Beautiful, strenuous hiking. Switchbacks don't exist on Japanese trails, so there are lots of peaks to climb and descend, back-to-back.

 

I just visited last week and walked a few trails. I agree it is really strenuous! although it was a mixed of semi paved tracks most were rocks and very steep! Really beautiful part of Japan and even more enjoyable as it is not ridden with tourists. Kawayu seninburo was a good experience

[herpsky]

The new Norikiyo album is out. It's amazing. 

[pooMonger]

http://zakai.jp/?pid=64605380

 

Is it really ~$30 for the album?

 

 

The new Norikiyo album is out. It's amazing. 

[herpsky]

i know it's cray

[Appleseed]

Always been like that for CDs tho....

[djrajio]

The new Norikiyo album is out. It's amazing. 

 

Where can I buy online?

[herpsky]

Where can I buy online?

 

Amazon: 

http://goo.gl/l5g2Co

[pooMonger]

you know, I actually ran into some money recently and was thinking about kopping it at the $30 pricetag.

 

but then I realized that I would have to wait some time for an actual physical copy of the CD, at which point I think to myself, is this 1997?

 

after this train of thought, I headed over to ongaku eternal and found the album for dl in 320kbps within 23 seconds.

 

I ain't stating this to brag, but it's always left me baffled as to why Japan seems to be so reluctant to adopt new technologies, and accept all the advantages that these technologies have to offer.

 

I read a nytimes article about how FAX MACHINES are still well-utilized in Japan, and so now, I feel like I have 2 data points that creates at least a linear narrative.

 

obviously not enough to draw a strong enough conclusion, so I ask you senpais, why is Japan so 'slow' in regards to this kind of stuff?

 

or am I completely off the mark?

[pooMonger]

ps, album is dope.

[djrajio]

you know, I actually ran into some money recently and was thinking about kopping it at the $30 pricetag.

 

but then I realized that I would have to wait some time for an actual physical copy of the CD, at which point I think to myself, is this 1997?

 

after this train of thought, I headed over to ongaku eternal and found the album for dl in 320kbps within 23 seconds.

 

I ain't stating this to brag, but it's always left me baffled as to why Japan seems to be so reluctant to adopt new technologies, and accept all the advantages that these technologies have to offer.

 

I read a nytimes article about how FAX MACHINES are still well-utilized in Japan, and so now, I feel like I have 2 data points that creates at least a linear narrative.

 

obviously not enough to draw a strong enough conclusion, so I ask you senpais, why is Japan so 'slow' in regards to this kind of stuff?

 

or am I completely off the mark?

 

Thanks for the online dl link.

 

No thanks to Herp.

[1M]

why is Japan so 'slow' in regards to this kind of stuff?

 

or am I completely off the mark?

 

it's not that they're slow because if they really wanted to, they'd trump everyone in teh techzzz.

people like physical things, it's just a cultural thing.