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Cheap mobile Internet in Japan - Makku - 2014-01-04

Hello everyone,

I'll be in Japan for a few months and was wondering what is the cheapest mobile Internet provider. I need unlimited data (or at least 3GB/mo) and since I'm looking for something cheap I was thinking SIM rental. MiFi is just too expensive.

After some Googling here are the two solutions I'm trying to decide between.

econnectjapan -> 4100円 up to 30days. Unlimited data capped at 300kbps (32kB/s) at best effort. http://www.econnectjapan.com/products/sim

OCN モバイル ONE -> 3500円 for the SIM card + 2000円/mo for 7GB/mo capped at 500kbps. http://service.ocn.ne.jp/mobile/one/

The only reason why I haven't ordered a OCN one is because I'm not sure they accept foreign cards even though it says they accept VISA, American Express and MasterCard here... https://mypage.ocn.ne.jp/ksupport/bill/cre/index.html#cre

Any advice?

Cheap mobile Internet in Japan - drdunlap - 2014-01-04

I don't know about these services as I used wired internet at home and my smartphone on the go, but..
Most any place in Japan that takes Visa and the like should take your non-Japanese version as well. I've used my Visa card a few times over the years here online, in restaurants, to pay a phone bill...

Cheap mobile Internet in Japan - tokyostyle - 2014-01-04

I've paid for my cell phone service using a US issued credit card (Mastercard) for seven years now. The clerks might not know it will work but if they try it it and call the local credit card center it will work and continue working.

There is also b-mobile although the prices and service seems to be a variation on what you've already linked.
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/

Cheap mobile Internet in Japan - Makku - 2014-01-05

drdunlap: Thank you! OCN is far more convenient than econnectjp so it's good to know that they accept foreign cards. It also doesn't look like I need to be a resident so it's even better.

tokyostyle: Thank you! So the payment always went through even though the clerks thought it wouldn't? Good.

Cheap mobile Internet in Japan - tokyostyle - 2014-01-05

Makku Wrote:tokyostyle: Thank you! So the payment always went through even though the clerks thought it wouldn't? Good.
Yes, I've had success with Docomo, au, OCN, and YahooBB so I would say outright failure is pretty rare.

I do occasionally run into online services that will only take Japanese issued cards but these tend to be things like iTunes, PSN, and other region locked services which of course isn't actually relevant to your question.

Cheap mobile Internet in Japan - ktcgx - 2014-01-07

tokyostyle Wrote:I've paid for my cell phone service using a US issued credit card (Mastercard) for seven years now. The clerks might not know it will work but if they try it it and call the local credit card center it will work and continue working.

There is also b-mobile although the prices and service seems to be a variation on what you've already linked.
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/
Bmobile is the best deal, but the minimum contract length for the cheaper Japanese residential version is 3 months, so unless you're here for at least that long you'd have to pay for the more expensive tourist version.