which service is the best

[lilsaito2]

I am going to Japan in August on a high school study abroad and I want to get a cell phone. I don't want to get a prepaid cell phone because I heard they are really expensive. So I want to get a plan, which carrier is the best for price and service? I am also aware that au offers a student discount but I am not sure if I can get that because I am an exchange student. I will pay by credit card.

[GaijinPunch]

Will you have a student visa? That will have a bearing on your service. If you don't have a gaijin card, many services (all?) will tell you to get a prepaid phone.

[Uncle Frank]

I was already to vote for the Navy !

Frank

:p :blush:

[Iron Chef]

"If you don't have a gaijin card, many services (all?) will tell you to get a prepaid phone."

He's right. Depending on your length of stay, chances are you'll better off getting a prepaid keitai to use (and use it sparingly unless you want to fork over some major ￥).

[512kb]

You can sign up at NTT DoCoMo. I don't know how much it is, but their phones are awesome.

[lilsaito2]

I will be on a one year student visa. A gaijin card is the same as a alien ID card right? I think I have to apply for it when I get to Japan.

[-Rudel-]

Docomo is expensive. I would go with AU. Very cheap and inexpensive. Especially since you are just going as a student. AU has a reputation with Bi-lingual phones. They have more to choose from.

But if you want Docomo. Go for it. They have some awsome phones though.

[Iron Chef]

"A gaijin card is the same as a alien ID card right?"

Yuppers. I prefer DoCoMo myself btw, been using them for about 1.5 years now. Just picked up a brand new Premini-II (Bronze) this week actually. 8-)

*Wishes he could've afforded the new AirH model though...*

[512kb]

Just picked up a brand new Premini-II (Bronze) this week actually. 8-)

Are you serious?? I have been drooling over a Premini-II for a long time now. How much did it cost?

[Silverpoint]

AU used to have a 50% discount on call costs for students although I don't know if they still do this. I'm not sure if it's only for Japanese students or not.

[Iron Chef]

One of my students happens to work at the local DoCoMo parlor and she used her pull to get me 50% off the initial cost so I ended up paying about ￥6000 instead of the ￥12000 standard. I was using an old Mova prior to that, was fine and all but a bit clunky. The Premini is nice and sleek and fits snugly in the palm of my hand with half the weight of my old phone. I went with Bronze because it's a nice match with the liquid blue neon back-lighting not to mention black and silver are so common nowadays. So far so good, no problems whatsoever. You should get one Yekita. You won't be dissapointed. 8-)

[openup]

If you have the student card with ailien registration ID, then go for AU. They have 50% discounts for students. And I'm sure many other ryugakusei (exchange students) use AU, so it will enable you to easily communicate with others.

[DoctorP]

Docomo is expensive. I would go with AU. Very cheap and inexpensive. Especially since you are just going as a student. AU has a reputation with Bi-lingual phones. They have more to choose from.

But if you want Docomo. Go for it. They have some awsome phones though.


Rudel your kidding right?? I just switched to DoCoMo because they had like 50 Englsh display models. Au only had 2 or 3. The cost was about the same for calls and emails. Au was a bit cheaper, but I got DoCoMo on a family plan. If I don't use all my minutes, and the wife needs more, I can move them to her account...After studying the big three (Vodaphone included) I decided that DoCoMo was much better!