Hey guys, current CIR here. I’ve just seen an email from CLAIR that’s been sent to all COs, they seem to have partnered with two mobile companies named Mobal and Sakura Mobile, to offer “discount” SIM cards for JETs. The physical SIM itself is discounted from 3000Y (Mobal) or 5000Y (Sakura) to 100Y! Mobal offers 1GB for about 1500Y/month, or 5GB for about 3000Y/month. Sakura offers 4GB for about 3000Y/month.
Sounds enticing? Not quite. Their pamphlets look nice, but the current market rate for ordinary mobile companies is much lower. I’m on Rakuten Mobile and the amount I pay changes from month to month depending on how much I actually use. I pay 1000Y/month if I stay under 3GB (most months I do) and up to 20GB it’s 2000Y. If you pass the 20GB mark it caps out at 3000Y and you can use as much as you want. There was no sign-up fee. I’m fairly sure other companies offer similarly-priced plans.
Yes, the sign-up process for ordinary companies is probably a hassle and all in Japanese, but if you can find a Japanese-speaking JET friend or a co-worker at your workplace to help you through it, you’ll probably save some money. Just sharing this information because I hate these Japanese companies with dishonest business strategies to prey on foreigners and people who can’t navigate paperwork/contracts.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Japanese SIM cards or mobile plans, I’m not responsible for what you do with this information. There are people who say Rakuten has crappy coverage but I’ve had very few problems
edit: Upon further inspection of the email, it seems that it’s up to the CO as to whether they even share these “offers” with you or not, and if they do, they have been instructed to not pressure you or coerce you into these options. So feel free to turn them down!
5 comments
Your CO will probably pressure you to sign up with these companies first because then you’ll have a Japanese phone number for banks, apartment contracts, etc. You might want to check if Sakura / Mobal support Mobile Number Portability (MNP). If yes, sign up for it first, use it for the mandatory however many months contract, request for and pay for the MNP issuance fee so you can bring your phone number to your carrier of choice.
I have Sakura Mobile and I just want to say as someone who came to Japan speaking 0 Japanese, it was worth it to me to pay a little bit more to have the English support. A lot of folks don’t have anyone in their BOE who speaks English and JTEs are often too busy to help. Nearby ALTs may not have the time, inclination, or Japanese ability to help you. Sometimes the nearest CIR is over 4 hours away.
For loads of people, especially in rural areas, there isn’t someone that they can turn to to translate everything for them. I have a friend with low level Japanese and all of her set-up stuff was done through Google Translate because there was no one at her boe who could speak English. She ended up having to pay extra for things she didn’t actually want because of failures of Google Translate. Sometimes its a million times easier (and in the long run cheaper) to pay a little extra for English support so you can do it yourself.
I think it’s worth it to be aware that there are cheaper options, but I don’t think these companies are shady for charging for the very valuable service of having English support options. I knew there were cheaper options, but I chose to go with Sakura Mobile because I wanted to be able to talk to the company myself if need be. The English support option was something I really valued and was willing to pay more for.
Maybe overpriced but I’m willing to pay that extra for English support. Doesn’t bother me.
I’ll have the 30G sim plus the 100G wifi hot spot. I doubt I’ll go through 130G of data in a month (my average was 80G when I lived in Taiwan.)
I might switch later when my Japanese improves and I’m switching to a new job/city. (A perfect time to get a new number since I’ll be filing out paperwork anyway.)
They are charging you extra for that sweet sweet English support. It’s definitely a viable option if you dont have the language skills to get another plan or you just simply want the English support. It’s also nice to have a phone # upon arrival and if you choose Sakura, you can always transfer that number to another plan down the line.
I came in with Mobal and ended up switching over to Rakuten once I got all settled in and such. Made it much easier to have a number to begin setting things up with city hall/bank accounts.
Hi yes, Mobal has a special that runs for New JETs. If you go to Mobals website every once in a while, the special comes up. It usually happens in Late Aug, Early September to accomodate the new JETs. They deliver to your hotel, and is cheap.
the downside is they use Softbank towers. Here in Kochi, Softbank sucks. I need to ask if they can change the towers, or if they are stuck with them.
edit: my plan is 40gb, and with internet at home, its more than enough for the month. I don’t have a hotspot, but if It doesn’t run on softbank towers, I might get it.
edit2: [This is the website with the JET offer.](https://www.mobal.com/japan-sim-card/?source=3013)
edit3: If you want to get a phone from your country, make sure its unlocked. IE, if you have a verizion/T-mobile phone, you have to ask them to unlock it. usually they do this after you have paid off your phone. iPhone 9 and up can also use the IC card functions that allow you to use things like mobile Suica. Japanese Phones will always have the camera shutter sound on.