Cell Phones in Japan

Japan is very unique in many ways... Cell phone system is one of them. Our "regular" American 3G and GSM phones will not work over there. The only way that I could maintain some conectivity over there would be to rent a local 3G phone in Japan and slide in my 3G SIM/Chip in it. I checked the AT&T (my wireless provider) website and their roaming rates are very expensive ($2.29/min). The rental itself is $8/day. That solidified my decision that I do NOT want to be found while on vacation.

So I decided to go with myjapanphone... They deliver the phone at your hotel ($15 service) and you can return it in a pre-paid envelope. First week is for free so I decided to go with it. Another fellow traveler has recommended rentafonejapan. I guess both alternatives have their merits. Just the fact that I don't have to waste my time after landing in Tokyo in one of those cell phone rental kiosks at the airport is worth the $15 delivery charge.

The phones will be used for emergencies and to provide a way to contact my wife and daughter in case we decide to visit different places in a same city (ex.: My wife is taking cooking classes in her 2nd. day in Japan. I do NOT plan to join her!).

The thread below contains some inputs on this subject:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=27&tid=34868591

Side note: We got an automatic gold fish feeder for our little fat swimming friend. Mail will be on hold for the duration of the trip... Have not paid all bills yet.

I think my next post will be written from the airplane, offline of course. I have not packed a single pair of socks yet. But my wife made sure we got bright new luggage for this trip. Apparently the old ones were not good enough... Who am I to argue that? Important to note: my daughter's luggage is "barbie" pink. The right way to qualify that is "Perua". (if you did not understand, ask a Brazilian friend. He/she will get a crack out of it).

See ya.