Hi,
I finished my exchange and about to leave Japan. But I plan to visit Japan every now and then for live concerts, but the online lottery requires SMS verification. Furthermore I want a flexible plan so when I arrive Japan I can opt for data, but when I am overseas the fees are low.
Here is some of my current status:
* I have a valid Zairyu Card and a residential address for now, but soon to be expired
* I have a Japanese phone number
* I don’t have a Japanese credit card or any sorts of bank card
What I am looking for:
* Receive SMS from outside of Japan
* Cheap fees
* Flexibility to add in data plans once returned
I did some research, povo2.0 seemed to be a good choice with 330yen/180days, but seems like does not support international roaming. Then my second option comes straight to LINEMO with 990yen/month but does have free international roaming.
So what are the options? Any other recommendations?
3 comments
rocket mobile unlimited plan with sms is like 500 yen a month. it’s docomo network, wonder if it would sms roam?
https://economical.zendesk.com/hc/ja/articles/360033215812
looks like it does.
>I have a valid Zairyu Card and a residential address for now, but soon to be expired
I do not think that there are a lot of carriers that will allow MNP or sign a new contract with the soon-to-be-expired Zairyu Card.
>I don’t have a Japanese credit card or any sorts of bank card
That does not matter. Most likely your bank account will be eventually locked anyway due to absence, Japanese credit cards will be also locked when they fail to receive money from your bank account.
Your only realistic long-term option is a carrier, which allows payments with foreign credit cards (assuming you have one from back home). Back in 2017, I was able to sign a contract with IIJmio using a foreign credit card, not sure if they still allow it. But the cheapest plan is 850 yen per month.
The list of cheapest carriers to keep a Japanese phone number will be:
1. povo2.0 – 37 yen per month (does not support roaming tho, so not an option)
2. 日本通信SIM – 290 yen per month
3. Excite mobile – 495 yen per month
4. Linksmate – 517
5. OCN Mobile ONE – 550
6. nuro mobile – 792
7. Aeon mobile – 803
8. IIJmio – 850
If you use one of these carriers, then I would recommend trying to change the payment method to a foreign credit card and eventually switching to the cheapest plan before leaving Japan.
If not, then receive the MNP number from your carrier and try to apply to MNP to these carriers one by one using foreign credit card as payment. But honestly, I would avoid carriers #2-4, since they do not have a particularly good track record. More likely MNP application will fail when you try a foreign credit card as payment, after that they will likely be rejected because of a soon-to-be-expired residence card, but who knows, maybe you will get lucky.
I’m pretty sure your phone number would just be disabled once they can’t verify residency anymore. That’s the reason for the whole fuss about showing one’s residence card when creating a contract.