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Japan Travel Thread

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sushislut604 wrote: I am going to Japan in two weeks and I'm just wondering where can I order a pocket wifi? The OP listed a few but does anyone have any experience using them?

Also, is there a cheap way to use my cellphone in Japan?

Thank you!
I have used https://www.japan-wireless.com/en these people twice.

Do you want to use data cheaply? If so, doubt it. Possible texts are not that expensive and calls might not be too bad. Depends on your plan at home.
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If you are worried that you won't have enough, you have the option to use the ATMs.
lapsapdeal wrote: Anyone know if it is better to exchange currencies before going to Japan or exchange when over there?
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mkjr wrote: I have used https://www.japan-wireless.com/en these people twice.

Do you want to use data cheaply? If so, doubt it. Possible texts are not that expensive and calls might not be too bad. Depends on your plan at home.
I second this, I also used these guys on two seperate trips to Japan.

I went from Tokyo all the way down to Hiroshima and everything in between and pretty much had consistent signal and battery was decent.

I read there are cheaper options, but not significantly from what little I read up on
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Feb 7, 2019
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mkjr wrote: I have used https://www.japan-wireless.com/en these people twice.

Do you want to use data cheaply? If so, doubt it. Possible texts are not that expensive and calls might not be too bad. Depends on your plan at home.
Thank you for the information. I will use them!
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Oct 3, 2011
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no idea... what time do you arrive? you can always rough it for the night and go out to bic, sofmap or yodobashi in the morning to pick up a sim. KIX into dotonbori is pretty straightforward, Either haruka to tennoji and take the subway like 1-2 stops or rapit to namba station.


edit: worst case scenario get a couple hundred bucks worth of yen exchanged to bring with you for the vending machine. I think though the card from bic camera is the cheapest. I ended up with a card from softbank when I went last time and it was ridiculously expensive in comparison... like 8000 yen.
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i'm getting my parents to buy me prepaid sim card from HK

unlimited 10 days for $220 HKD which is $30 CAD. i've used it on two separate occasions before in tokyo/hakone and osaka/kyoto/kobe no problems
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May 14, 2008
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actng wrote: i'm getting my parents to buy me prepaid sim card from HK

unlimited 10 days for $220 HKD which is $30 CAD. i've used it on two separate occasions before in tokyo/hakone and osaka/kyoto/kobe no problems
O wow. Can I get more details if possible! Any website I can check?
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maggieandyaothecats wrote: O wow. Can I get more details if possible! Any website I can check?
it's a shop in SSP. There are tons of shops all around but i've bought from them many occasions. Usually if i fly to Hong Kong first i go there to buy all sorts of SIM cards (HK, China, Japan, Thailand) for the rest of my trip.
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lurkknight wrote: BIC tourist sim is like 30 bucks. https://www.biccamera.com.e.lj.hp.trans ... m/5974243/

Pretty sure if you buy it in japan, you can get it tax free as most of their stores are designated duty free. You need to pay consumption tax if you order online and there's the issue of shipping. There's a BIC camera in Namba.
Keep in mind it's only tax free if the total purchase is more than 5000 yen.
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Going back to Japan this coming June. Loading up the stomach!

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I bought a AIS Sim2Fly from Bangkok for around 400Baht = 16.82CAD that gives you 8 days of High Speed Data up to 6GBs. I believe you can get it from SSP in Hong Kong or various sources online. The best part about this card is you can keep it active for 5 Baht a month, and you can do up to a Years Validity from Today (so if my Sim2Fly expires tomorrow I can reload 5 baht onto it 12 times to keep it alive until the same time next year). And then you can use that balance + the difference = 300Baht (only 300 for the package vs 400 for package + card) to activate another Sim2Fly package the next time you're in Japan.

Unfortunately all the tutorials online are in Chinese or Japanese.

https://www.3cblog.idv.tw/2018/08/AIS-S ... 6.html?m=1
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SIM Card for Iphone or Wifi Egg in Japan? Which one is better?

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Homer88 wrote: I bought a AIS Sim2Fly from Bangkok for around 400Baht = 16.82CAD that gives you 8 days of High Speed Data up to 6GBs. I believe you can get it from SSP in Hong Kong or various sources online. The best part about this card is you can keep it active for 5 Baht a month, and you can do up to a Years Validity from Today (so if my Sim2Fly expires tomorrow I can reload 5 baht onto it 12 times to keep it alive until the same time next year). And then you can use that balance + the difference = 300Baht (only 300 for the package vs 400 for package + card) to activate another Sim2Fly package the next time you're in Japan.

Unfortunately all the tutorials online are in Chinese or Japanese.

https://www.3cblog.idv.tw/2018/08/AIS-S ... 6.html?m=1
I want to order this Sim card online. I need to get two cards. Our trip is the end of October. How can I ensure to get a Sim card that won't expire yet.?
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Just a reminder that if you plan to shop at Yodobashi, they offer a 5% discount if you pay by VISA (in addition to tax free if you spend over ¥5000 pre-tax). Use a no currency exchange fee card like the Home Trust Preferred cashback VISA for this.
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ChinpokoMon wrote: Just a reminder that if you plan to shop at Yodobashi, they offer a 5% discount if you pay by VISA (in addition to tax free if you spend over ¥5000 pre-tax). Use a no currency exchange fee card like the Home Trust Preferred cashback VISA for this.
What's actually worth buying and bring back to Canada? There is a C$800 limit before taxes are applicable when coming back to Canada.
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Don't forget that 5000 yen is like $50usd. I bought a fancy Japanese hair dryer last year, apparently shoots ions out lol. Works pretty well from what I can tell and Yodobashi was just fun to shop at in general.
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doctorcru wrote: Don't forget that 5000 yen is like $50usd. I bought a fancy Japanese hair dryer last year, apparently shoots ions out lol. Works pretty well from what I can tell and Yodobashi was just fun to shop at in general.
I think Costco sell something like that as well.
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First time going to Japan, going to be there from May 15, to the 21st. Very excited! A few questions...

1. Does anyone have any insight into the area around Sugamo station? I've reserved a hotel (smile sugamo hotel) there through Agoda for just $75CAD/night after fees. Seems like a great deal compared to others that I've seen. This price includes the service fees and tax. Any chance to get those reduced or waived? Also, it seems like a random hotel with pretty good reviews, but would it be worth paying around $110CAD/night for an APA Hotel instead? Was considering the one in the PRIDE building but this deal popped up. I usually go the AirBNB route but Japan seems like a bad place for it.

2. Being the first time in Japan and only having six full days, should I just stay in Tokyo the entire time? And if so, is there any reason to consider the rail pass? I see everyone buying one!

3. Any suggestions around these dates would be great. Randomly booked these days on a great deal from United and ANA. It seems to fall in line with the sumo show and the Sanja Matsuri. If anyone has any experience with these two events, please do share.

Thanks everyone.
Last edited by Coolcicada on Apr 21st, 2019 10:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

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