Friday, May 16, 2014

Which service in Japan has the best SIM cards for foreign tourists?



According to a survey, the difficulties to find internet connection is what dissatisfies foreign tourists the most during their stay in Japan.

Following such issues, many companies now offer SIM cards.
There are prepaid SIM cards and rental SIM cards.

But which one is best for your stay in Japan?
Lets compare SIM cards chosen by foreign tourists which can be
picked up at popular airports, in the chart below.

Prepaid Sim CardUseable periodData speedData amountPriceshipping feeMemo
b-mobile VISITOR SIM 1GB14Max 150mbps1GB4094216no activation required
eConnect Standard Speed30?1GB4100790no activation required
sonet 500M *160Max 150mbps500MB30000activation required
sonet 100M *130Max 150mbps100MB50000activation required
*1 sonet sim cards can be purchased in a vending machine at the airport.


Rental Sim CardUseable periodData speedData amountpriceshipping feeMemo
CDJapan 7 days *27Max 150mbps *3unlimited2300540no activation required
CDJapan 14 days *214Max 150mbps *3unlimited3500540no activation required
CDJapan 30 days *230Max 150mbps *3unlimited5900540no activation required
*2 Return is required. Return fees are included in the shipping fee.
*3 When the total data traffic reaches 30MB, the maximum traffic will be limited to 200kbps until 11:59 PM for that day. However after that LTE/3G high-speed data transmission will become available again.

SIM cards in the chart above are all from the same carrier, Docomo.
Therefore there are rarely any differences in the quality of data communication. The only difference is the price, data amount, and period.
The max. data speed of 150mbps is only based on a theoretical value but in reality, should be around 1mbps.

If we only compare prepaid SIM cards, "b-mobile VISITOR SIM 1GB" has limited data usage up to 1GB, but has hi-speed data communication and should be enough for a 14 day stay.

The max. data speed of "eConnect Standard Speed" is unknown but 1GB is probably not good enough for 30 days.

Sonet can be easily purchased in a vending machine at the airport. However the set up can be quite troubling. Also while the useable period is long, the data amount is very little so you will probably end up charging your battery many times.

Overall, if you are staying around 2 weeks, we think b-mobile VISITOR SIM 1GB is best out of the prepaid SIM cards.
If your stay is over 14 days, we recommend "eConnect Standard Speed".

The downside of prepaid SIM Cards are, while you can extend the useable period and charge if you exceed the data amount, it can be a hassle to cancel the contract, and may have to purchase any unused amount of data.

Rental Sim Card
CDJapan offers the rental type SIM cards, which is the best SIM cards for tourists in Japan.

Why we have the best service

  1. Best price in the market.
  2. Comes with a SIM card holder to keep your SIM cards safe.
  3. Unlimited data. No need to additionaly charge data.

The downside is that you have to return it, but the return fee is free.
If you are visiting Japan, why not use your rental card service.

http://rental.cdjapan.co.jp/

Monday, May 12, 2014

CDJapan Started a service "Rental Mobile Wifi & Sim Card"



Hello,

The number of foreign tourists to Japan exceeded 10 million visitors in
2013.

As Tokyo was selected to host the 2020 Olympics, we expect the
number of visitors to rise even more as Tokyo will be preparing to
create a tourist-friendly environment.

However, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Tourism Agency,
the internet connection topped the ranking in what they were
dissatisfied about Japan.
Source: http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000205584.pdf

In Japan, LTE network is available throughout the country, allowing
high-speed
internet connection even in the subway or bus.
We are called the country with the fastest internet connection.
However you can not use the service unless you have a contract with a
Japanese carrier,

Although we do offer WIFI which allows internet connection, but
it will require registration, or ask to download a dedicated app,
make you go through troubling procedures, or limit the connection to 30
minutes, which are all too inconvenient for users.

As a result, most tourists will use WIFI provided by their hotel, or
go online at internet cafes.

As a measure to resolve such dissatisfactions, we see SIM cards and WIFI
routers sold or offered as a rental product at the airport. If you have
an SIM card or a WIFI router, you will be able to connect to the
internet almost anywhere in Japan.

More and more tourists are starting to use this service as you will
rarely find any such rental services once you are away from the airport.

However, to us Japanese, the rental costs are surprisingly expensive at
the airport.

CDJapan started a service offering SIM cards and mobile WIFI which have
the same data communication quality compared to our competitors, but
offers a much more reasonable price.

If you make a reservation before coming to Japan, we will drop the
products at your hotel or hand it to you at the airport post office

We hope to serve you if you will be visiting Japan.
http://rental.cdjapan.co.jp/

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