Pocket Wi-Fi or Sim for Budget Japan?

Thenarrator on 25/10/2015 - 14:16

Hi

I will be stopping over at Japan for 5 days in Osaka in march. A lot of people say pocket wifis are a must to get around Japan however it seems very expensive!

This is going to be a budget japan trip where I would probably get by with just google maps to get around the place. Dont need any of youtube or facebook (or do i?). The cheapest I found is

econnect SIM card: 2980 Yen for 7 days for 100Mb/day
econnect pocket wifi: 2575 Yen for 5 days for 300kbps/day

All of the other pocket wifis (ie global advance) are around 3000-5000 yen! is econnect sim the best way to go?

Travel

Comments

  • Chickenleg on 25/10/2015 - 16:32

    Doesn't really seem like you'll be able to get much cheaper than that. I hired a LTE pocket wifi for 15 days for 7450 yen through Japan Wireless

  • DrPotato on 25/10/2015 - 19:07

    Not sure about using pocket wifi but have a look at this

  • Grillman on 25/10/2015 - 20:56

    I paid about 15000 Yen for 2 wifi devices for when my wife and I went off to do our own thing and I couldn't have been happier and I'll do it again next time. I'd happily pay more(I think the deals are even better these days though).

    In saying that, 5 days in Osaka, if you aren't stretched for time and can afford to get lost sometimes then it is kinda hard to justify one for a budget trip.

    Are you sure you don't need facebook just so you can check in with Osaka Castle in the background while all your friends are slaving away at work?

    I find it indispensable to be able to quickly look things up, or to pin point exactly where you are, street view etc, msging friends and family in real time to show off cool pics, or to find an alternate venue/destination when the original plan goes down the drain. I'd be lying if I said typing something into google translate and handing the phone over to a Japanese person didn't happen once or twice.

    Look at it this way, is it worth not having internet in your pocket 24/7 just to save 30ish bucks?

  • Lee Gee on 26/10/2015 - 09:24

    when in japan a year ago i used this with no problems at all http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/

    i arrived too late at night to pick the sim card up from the airport so arranged for it to be delivered to my hotel, upon arrival at the hotel i was passed the envelope containing the sim card with instructions to set it up.

  • jeffjj on 11/01/2016 - 21:22

    I am on Telstra pre-paid and used my accumulated credit to " buy" roaming data on my trip to Japan last year… worth looking in to. In any case, we had no problem finding free wi-fi in Japan.

  • Thenarrator on 14/02/2016 - 16:37

    looks like this: http://rental.cdjapan.co.jp/index_en_jpy_10.html
    is cheaper

  • negger on 14/02/2016 - 16:46

    I am planing to use Vodafone roaming($5/day). Not sure if that the cheapest or best though. Any thoughts?

  • [Deactivated] on 15/02/2016 - 09:55

    having been there a few times now i always use this mob.

    never had an issue you have 2 choices pick up from the airport of they will deliver it to your hotel so when you check in it's already there.

    http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/

    • Thenarrator on 15/02/2016 - 20:23

      yeah i duno, seems dodgy you have to enter your passport number, name, nationality, birthday just to use a sim card and its pretty dirt cheap compared to market.. so maybe something fishy is going on

      • [Deactivated] on 17/02/2016 - 08:18

        i use it all the time, as you can't just rock into a shop over there and buy prepaid credit.

        they provide a great service each timei've arrived at my hotel to check in the card has been there waiting

        • ckcc44 on 17/02/2016 - 13:29

          I have also used bmobile several time when I travel in Japan, the service is good and reliable, however the speed can be a bit slow.
          It is ok to use it for google map or facebook post, but not really good for youtube or facetime/video sky call.

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