Prepaid SIM for 3G iPhone?

[bebox]

Hmmm... I'll be heading there for 3 weeks in late Dec 2008 -> early Jan 2009. I'll see how I go with finding a Softbank store where the staff have a clue. I plan to be meeting up with about 25 of my friends throughout Japan, so I plan to be using my phone extensively. When I was in Egypt for 3 weeks my roaming bills were horrendous. I am also from Australia, and also with Optus- I don't think that makes any difference but an interesting coincidence!

Out of curiosity bebox... you wouldn't be from Perth, right? If you are... I may have even bumped into you at a J-related event here I guess...

Sorry Khyron - forgot to check back for a while. No I'm from Brisbane so wrong side of the country. Strangely enough the Japanese guy who helped me at the Harajuku Softbank store had spent a year in Perth on exchange...spooky!

As a rabid user of my mobile phone for 15 years this hurts me to say but I have to agree with JWLeggroan. When I couldn't get the 3G SIM it meant that I had no phone for 2 weeks in Tokyo and apart from having to make exact meeting places and times with my wife so I could wander off and look at electronics rather than just txting each other, I didn't miss the phone at all. I had a laptop back at the hotel so got my email etc that way at night.

Having said that I'll be jailbreaking my iphone next time I return so I can use the SoftBank SIM

[Khyron]

Well, my experience was this: I went to a Softbank store in Shibuya, and they knew about the SIM card. They also said they were out of stock and it would take 2-3 weeks to get it in. I asked them if there might be another nearby Softbank store with stock, and so he rang around and found one. I went there, filled out all the paperwork, used my passport information (which on the website it says is enough to apply) and...

...

The application failed! I did not understand the explanation, but with my passport, they couldn't successfully apply for the card details via the software interface. It said my passport number was invalid for some reason. Which essentially limits it to those who have other methods. Luckily I had a friend with me who bought it in his name, and 'permanently lent' it to me (since I would pay everything for it anyway). The risk was that if the phone was lost/stolen, it could be used for criminal purposes and would be tracked back to him, not me.

Anyway... the summary is that even if you meet all the criteria and can find it, you may still not be able to get one. If you have a cool japanese friend then you might just be able to get one, though!

[jellybellyratz]

Rental phone experiences...
I rented for 7 weeks, then 2 yrs later, for 5 wks. It was a good move. I used Rentafone & only paid AU $120- the 1st time (for 7wks). this included rental, all calls & emails. Can't remember what I paid for the 5 wks, but it wasn't much. I used emails mostly & only made a couple of local calls. Customer service was brilliant. The phone was delivered to my hotel (can also pick it up at the airport & there is a stamped addressed envelope for returning the phone - just drop it in a post box). Too easy! \ (*0*) /
www.rentafonejapan.com/