RResidents in Japan

Questions about feature phones & data-and-voice SIM cards in Japan 2022

Hello everyone,

I have been living in Tokyo for over a year now and I have been researching Japanese mobile phones and contracts, but I am a bit “handicapped” as I don’t read or speak Japanese. I would kindly like to ask for insight from someone living in Japan and knowing the language and how things work over here.

I basically want to switch from an iPhone with a UK number to a feature phone like the [Nokia 100 4G](https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_gb/nokia-110-4g?sku=16LYRB01A02) with a Japanese number.

When I left London I switched from my Vodafone contract to a prepaid plan, and been using it without any issues. Currently I am using an iPhone 12 Pro with my UK number. That being said, my smartphone addiction is real and got even worse in the past three to six months. Now it’s time for some tougher measures. I reached a stage where I want to buy a feature phone and use it as my main phone instead of my iPhone. My last digital detox was in 2013/14 and back then I switched to a Nokia 100 for six months and it was a blessing. I want to buy a feature phone with a Japanese data-and-voice SIM that I can carry with me at all times for emergencies and only share with family and close friends. I will still keep my iPhone with UK number but have it turned off most of the time especially for the first few weeks.

Is it possible to get a phone like the Nokia 100 here in Japan? Would you recommend a data-and-voice SIM card from one of the big Japanese networks or does a contract with one of the MVNOs like for instance IJmio make sense as well for my purpose?

Thank you for reading. I will appreciate any insight into the topic.

7 comments

  2. >my smartphone addiction is real

    I was anti-smartphone until I moved here, got my first one just prior to coming to Japan so I could have Google Translate, a camera and the a convenient way to keep in touch with people back home.

    I suspect you are feeling more attached to your phone because it is a life raft – you do not read or speak Japanese and you are in a foreign land. Having your phone keeps your head above water. The same happened to me.

    Keeping my smartphone on me kept me from having to go into the “deep end” and improved my quality of life in some ways. Basically, I could mentally stop being in Japan for a bit by texting friends back home etc. when I could not do so physically.

    What I did, and what I recommend to you, is to keep your smartphone, to get a SIM (or eSIM) and to just exercise self control. Turn off data from time to time.

    You can get/make texts and calls so you’d accomplish the same thing as you can with a feature phone while keeping access to the camera and other handy functions. Will probably also save money.

  3. 1. Buy desired SIM-free phone online (has to support ~~3G~~ 4G)
    2. Get iijmio SIM card
    3. Profit

  4. I haven’t seen Nokia phones here in a long time, but I did get a Nokia (bought from overseas) running Kai OS earlier this year. It’s not great, and doesn’t have Japanese input at all, although it will display the characters.

    I also picked up a used Sharp Aquos SH-01J on Amazon which I really like. I can still run some Android apps, such as WhatsApp and Facebook messenger which I use to communicate with friends and family here and back home. I use this phone when I’m super busy as it limits how much I use my phone. This phone is 4G, not 5G.

    My regular phone is a Pixel running GrapheneOS, which is really private and secure. I can still install a sandboxed version of Google play or I can choose not to, and so I have a separate profile on it for a couple of apps I don’t frequently use.

    There are options available.

  5. > I am using an iPhone 12 Pro

    Why switch?!? Use that phone–just get an IIJmio SIM.

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