You'll need to apply the visa at the Japan Embassy and get it approved before you fly. And yes, it's pretty serious business as you might get denied entry at Japan if you do not have the visa. If you do not have your visa now, I'm afraid that your plan to fly this Sunday might be calling it too close.

Oh well, guess I'll call it off then (damn, I should've read up on all this months back, when I was still interning and had some free time at work).

Will travel later with a bunch of friends next year :3

Thanks for the replies!

yeah! thats what the real thing of Japanese School Girl!
WATCH THEIR SKIRT!"
It would be your unforgettable moment in Japan ya Aichiban!

fly fly fly flying tomorrow!! yay XD nippon e ikimasu!! Bijin tachi, matteru yo!

Nihon yokoso!

Guys ... correct me if I'm wrong but if you are a tourist you are close to impossible to obtain a Japanese mobile number.

What about mobile Internet (or anything similar)? Basically if the hotel provide for free then that's fine but I remember some hotel charges you for Internet connectivity. It'll be great if can obtain Internet on the go.

I heard can, wat i gonna do is buy a jap phone there cheap one with prepaid card. Correct me if I am wrong

Hai all....Long time no see all guys....very busy lately plus Going Outstation.........

Soon will be V3 on this thread......ANy big new news in here? How Tanoshi? Continue buaya?

hisabisa RegentCid-san!

Yup, the thread will soon be v3 haha... Big news? Not much... but I guess we'll see some pics posted soon as Tokyo Motor Show will take place end of the month.

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Added on October 15, 2009, 7:15 amYes, you're quite right... you can't sign up for a line if you're a tourist but I've heard that there are certain kombini (convenient stores) that do sell prepaid phones with line and they'll accept your hotel address for the registration. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if how/where to get this done.

Also, if you plan to use Mobile Internet; take note that if you're not on their unlimited packet usage - it's really expensive and not worth the money.

Actually, I think now most hotels in Japan will provide free Internet (either WiFi or wired) but the thing is if you do not have a LAN cable and ask from the reception; then they'll usually charge a fee... so, just bring your own LAN cable and you should be fine.

I would recommend you to activate your Intl roaming on your Malaysian line and roam in Japan for emergency calls or the occasional texting. Just make sure your phone is a 3G-enabled phone.

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Oct 15 2009, 07:15 AM

Thanks for the confirmation. I'm aware certain kombini can accomodate tourist but possibly the language barrier will be a slight problem and of course locating one that's willing to do is already a major exercise on its own. Nvm ... I'll just hang around and see whether anyone could offer a solution prior to my trip next week.

Yes, I remember about the LAN cable part but I also remember about some of the hotels that I went to their Internet is not free. I was hoping that I could possibly do rental of a Wimax equivalent or something similar. Yup ... will have my phone ready for roaming. Thanks!

Both of my friends bought their keitai at Don Quijote (called Donki) at Roppongi. Based on other forum guides, you can buy it at Softbank shops at Shibuya, Omotesando and Roppongi. But like PsyCHZZZ said, you should not use internet with it.

http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?t=54950
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?1+51856
http://www.donki.com/index_en.php?lang=e

*Note : Most keitai doesn't work out of the box in Malaysia, though there are modding services to get it work.

If you really need internet on the go, take a look at this http://www.hotspot.ne.jp/en/

a minor correction here..u r very lucky foreigners if u can get the prepaid phone (Softbank) its damn hard to get it now days!
As you can see I'm selling very high price for the prepaid phone includin the number heheh...
Its just a marketing from Softbank, you can go to any Softbank shop and ask for the prepaid phone..for sure they will reply 'nai'

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Added on October 15, 2009, 10:07 amI' cool!
just got 'minah salleh' lah plak...an Aussie lah..ok ka?

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Added on October 15, 2009, 10:11 amBro...as I said, Softbank now 'main2' only with the prepaid phone.....even conbini also...you very very lucky one...can consider in 1000 conbini you only can found 1 last stock of prepaid phone 'may be' sharing an info bcoz I did sold more than 12 units prepaid phone to gaijin almost tourist in Japan.

This post has been edited by tanoshi: Oct 15 2009, 10:11 AM

That's what I thought when reading the forums, but my friends got theirs without any hick-up from Donki Roppongi. The only thing is that, you need to ask the shops whether they sell for passport only or they need ARC to sell it. So, it is definitely doable.

Price wise, 15K yen for Samsung 821SC including 6000 yen prepaid.

yeah bro...as the link stated...most of the thread its long time ago hehehe...not this year stories hehehe...so now it will be different.
serious want a prepaid you can try with docomo...and they have only built SIM and 2 models only...but the prob is customer service is in nihon go lor...thats why Softbank is 'No 1 gaijin's choice' itu dalam iklan softbank daaaa!

err...we bought ours 2 weeks ago

wow very lucky!
you bought 'yours' at conbini or softbank Ometosando and bla bla?
or you bought Docomo?

To quote heterosapien "Both of my friends bought their keitai at Don Quijote (called Donki) at Roppongi. "
This is the place he's referring to - http://www.donki.com/en/ You can find this chain in a few places around Tokyo.

Thanks for sharing the info heterosapien.

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Oct 15 2009, 03:07 PM

ouch...I missed that...
arigato dude!
Now got new source to get prepaid keitai...hehehheh!
thanks!

damn... extends again.. when this project gonna finish!!