Last month, I visited Tokyo and rent a from www.tourfone.com. I found renting a phone with local numbers are very convenient and cheap. The phones can be delivered to the hotel in Japan. And cost only $2/day for rental. The one I used has a 3Million pixel digital camera. So if you forget to take a camera, the phone can be used as a camera and send the snap shot instantly. Sending and receiving emails. Only $0.5/min for local calls, and $0.9/min for int'l calls. Incoming is free. No deposit. And I also agree it's probably cheaper to rent when you get to Japan than in another country beforehand.
And I think you can visit www.tourfone.com to get more details.
Have a good trip, all!
Reply to this or you can buy a prepaid phone .. for 8000 yens if you're stayin longer ! and buy units from convenience stores, its good if people need to contact you .. but communication by the min is very expensive ...
Japanesen people use it ... when they forgot their mobiles at home for instance !!
http://www.horizontaltravel.bravehost.com
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