It pays to do your research
In personal finance it pays to focus on the big wins. For most people, the biggest expenses are accommodation, transport, insurance. In Japan for a lot of people mobile phones are expensive enough to make it into the ‘big cost’ category.
Most people are aware of the ‘big three’ in Japan: Softbank, Docomo, and AU.
The big providers have extremely opaque and expensive pricing, and seem to focus on acquiring new customers over taking care of old ones. In some ways, if you don’t jump provider every couple of years you are losing out on bonuses, discounts, and incentives.
The big three also lock your phone to their network, although people with newer phones (my iPhone 6 is too old to qualify for this) can get them unlocked at the end of a contract. Having an unlocked phone is really useful when travelling abroad, as you can pick up a cheap SIM and use it for data and the odd phone call.
I am a classic sucker in this market. I have been with Softbank for a long time, tend to keep my phones for 3-4 years, and never look at other options. I find my monthly bills tend to range from 6,000 to 9,000 yen a month, more expensive when I am paying off a handset and cheaper when I have paid it off in full.
I am a light user, with wifi at home and work. I rarely make calls and when I do they are short ones.
Recently (?) in Japan a number of smaller, less well-known companies have entered the market, offering more choice and much cheaper plans.
Of course, they don’t advertise as widely or have the market power of the big three, but seem to offer cheaper services. There is an interesting thread in the Forum on this.
I’m currently working on a post about alternative mobile providers. Please tell me about your experiences in the comments below! Any good companies? Any problems with the service?
The biggest caveat about using any of the MNVOs is about the age verification feature within LINE, which only recognizes SIM cards from the big three at present.
This feature is mandatory when switching to a new phone or ecosystem (e.g. iOS to Android). Unless verified, the LINE account is unable to set a custom ID, nor able to search for other accounts using the other party’s ID.
Interesting. Just asked my daughter (who changed from iOS on Softbank to Android on U-mobile) and she didn’t have any problems.
Anyone else run into this?
Your daughter had probably already verified while on Softbank. It’s true you can’t use the age verification on MVNO providers, and thus can’t get a publicly accesible Line ID. However for all practical purposes the QR code feature works just as well – you can even take a screenshot and send it to someone to scan on their computer.
Line recently started their own MVNO service. That is the only MVNO provider where you can do the age verification and get a Line ID.
I pay around 1,700 yen a month under BIGLOBE, having bought my SIM-free phone off Amazon. The connection is slower than with one of the big 3 but as I don’t watch a lot of videos, for a 4,000 yen/month saving it’s well worth it. I would say the same applies to LINE unless making new friends on there is worth paying that much extra… (Having switched to Android, I had no difficulty in reconnecting to my former LINE friends anyway). One caveat: you have to have a Japanese (not foreign) credit (not debit) card, which will be a significant obstacle for some.
I’ve used two different MVNO providers, and with both I was able to pay with both a debit card, and a prepaid card (not credit). I’ve noticed many people say “Credit Card” when they actually mean “Card”. The only time I’ve really encounterd a true restriction to credit only has been with car-related stuff.
Specific details:
umobile (used both Rakuten Debit, and Line Pay Prepaid)
Line Mobile (using Line Pay Prepaid)
umobile was painfully slow. Line Mobile is much better, but is also very new so is probably running way under-capacity at the moment.
Timely post Ben! I am going through the change process just today. So far it has been fairly painless. Like you, I am a light user, tethering mostly, and almost never calling. About three months ago, I went into the local Softbank shop and tried to get my monthly prices reduced (about 9,000yen/mo). We pared what I thought were unnecessary extras of about 2,000yen. But, my monthly bill is still about 9,000yen/mo! So, last week I bought a new iPhone 5SE through the apple site for full price but unlocked. (the big three aren’t required to unlock phones sold before ???/2015) After it arrived in the mail, I popped out my old Softbank SIM from my 5S and slipped it in my new phone with no problems. Today I contacted Softbank’s English support and told them I want my MNP (Mobile Number Portability) number. A very pleasant (I believe Filipino) lady took care of me in less than 5 minutes. (I may have been able to do it entirely by push button had I known the correct PIN code…). I am going with Rakuten (for a SIM card only). Rakuten uses the DocoMo network so I should find even better reception where I live. I have opted for the 2,150yen/month course which includes phone services, SMS and 5GB/mo data (I use my phone to tether my iPad mini when I’m out of the house and have gone over 3GB just once in the last two years). They have plans ranging from 525-3,000yen/mo. After getting my MNP, I went to the Rakuten mobile site and filled in all the required information in about 10 minutes with a little help from my Japanese wife on probably 5 questions. I had already scanned my Gaijin Card front and back so when the application process was finished, and I was directed to the verification page, I uploaded the files and now am waiting for my SIM. It should arrive in a couple of days. After I receive it I am supposed to insert it and call Rakuten. They will flip the switch for me to be able to use my new SIM.
Service charges: I have to pay Softbank a 10,000yen contract cancelation fee (I inadvertently got locked into another 2 year contract when I tried to reduce the unnecessary extras.) 3,240yen for MNP and the full non-prorated last month of services. I had to pay Rakuten a 3,150yen general service fee (I get the first month of phone service for free…). I hope to save over 7,000yen monthly x 12… I am looking forward to reasonable prices. Last summer a Tokyo friend of mine went through a similar process and is paying under 2,000yen/mo. He went with MINEO (also using the DocoMo network) which has a physical presence in a couple of Electronic shops in Tokyo. He says he will never go back to any of the big three. I hope my experience goes as well as his.
I’m also planning to leave Softbank after 10 years of crazy expensive service.
I’m going to try aeon mobile. Or maybe iijimo ( both are docomo resellers)
But my 5s is locked to Softbank (the staff said form iPhone6s can be unlocked)
So I’ll have to buy a new sim free or docomo handset.
But my charges should be 6k less a month (not including the handset)
Seems I am not the only person that has noticed the attractive opportunities beyond the big three.
Over lunch today those of us with SoftBank phones had no data coverage while my daughter with her U-mobile phone had 4G 😉
I’ve been with Softbank for 2 years, paying between 7,500 and 12,000 JPY, even though I make very few phone calls (that aren’t VoIP) and use mostly the prepaid 7GB internet package.
When the end of my contract came closer, I went to a Softbank shop to ask them if my monthly bill could be decreased, they gave me another option, but it was basically the same.
I decided to switch. I had about 1 week to go until I could transfer my number, and then my Sharp Softbank Android phone started acting even crazier than before. So I took out my Softbank SIM card and put it into an older SIM-free Nokia phone. I used it for 3-4 days without problems, sent a few SMS and used a few hundred MB mobile internet (I had a prepaid 7GB package), when I received a notification from Softbank that… my account balance has reached 120,000 JPY!
I went to a Softbank shop to ask them what is this nonsense. They told me that they can’t do anything until my bill is finalized at the end of month. I told them that I will not wait until they finalize a 120,000 JPY bill for nothing.
Then they made me call the phone support from the shop. I explained everything and asked what is this huge amount? They told me it’s because I’ve put my SIM card in a non-Softbank phone. I told them that there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s completely acceptable that you switch your phones. The explanation: this is Japan, here it’s not acceptable…
But they said they’ll make an exception and reduce the “fine” to 10,000 JPY, because I didn’t know about this rule and it’s my first time. So in the end my final Softbank bill was almost 22,000 JPY. For putting my SIM card in another phone…
I wanted to switch anyway, but this made me 100% certain that nobody should choose Softbank (or any one of the big 3). I’ve been telling this to all my friends since then.
Long story short, I switched to Freetel and I’m super happy.
I could transfer my number and the Freetel staff at BIC Camera Yurakucho was exceptionally kind (a young guy who made the effort to explain everything in English and even wrote English explanation on the contract).
The bill changes based on how much internet I use (I use quite a lot) and I’ve been paying around 2,000-4,000 JPY. There are even some campaigns regularly with which you can reduce your bill even further for 1-2 years. The internet speed is the same or better than Softbank. The Line verification is not an issue (the only limitation is that I can’t search or be found by ID).
I can only recommend Freetel!
Looks like I’m in for quite a surprise. OUCH. The new SIM can’t come quick enough.
Woah, that’s crazy! Did you set up the correct APN on the new phone? If you didn’t do that, it’s possible you were on a data-roaming package, not your actual contractually agreed data plan.
I confirm the APN setting thing. On some phones that thing is locked, I remember in the early Android days it was difficult to get softbank to run on non softbank phones for this very reason. Not the first time I hear a nightmare story like this, although at the time Softbank pretented it was because the SIM believed it was in roaming mode. At least this time it seems they’re honest: “this is Japan”
Your experience mirrors mine as well.
Was fresh off the boat in Japan and went into a 2 year contract with SoftBank on one of the cheapest Android phones of the time.
Got fed up with the horrible network coverage and decided to change to AU during a period where the big 3 were literally giving away cashback rebates.
Was told that I had to pay full price for the Android phone again, despite it already being prepaid in full before signing the contract, and the monthly fees did not reflect any handset subsidy at all. This on top of the cancellation charges and horrid attitude of the service staff!
Did not want to make a huge fuss and just threw the cash in their faces and left.
Fool me once, shame on you. Never SoftBank again.
Richar: yeah, do watch out with what you’re doing until you terminate your Softbank contract!
MVNOer, Stockbeard: True, I didn’t mess with the APN settings, which might have been a mistake. According to my previous experience, if the APN settings weren’t correct, internet didn’t work, if internet worked using the default/automatic settings, everything was fine.
But it still doesn’t make sense to me why/how they would charge roaming fees when I’m in Japan. And if it’s not roaming, then how is it possible to reach 120,000 JPY with 3-4 days of minimal usage… anyway, stay away from Softbank and the other 2.
Desmond, that does also sound like a shameless ripoff!
We’ve both been MVNO for a couple years here: I have GMO Tokutoku BB, and she has Rakuten Mobile. Both required cards to set up, and both are fairly inexpensive DoCoMo-based MVNOs. As a note, you don’t have to unlock your phone when switching to an MVNO if their network is the same as your original network. Our phones have DoCoMo SIMs, so the phone doesn’t know the difference after a few settings. Hers isn’t even unlocked.
When the wife ran the numbers and switched last year, Rakuten came out the winner, but my plan’s cheap enough already that it’s not worth it to switch. I don’t have broken down figures in front of me, but our communication for the month (2 phones and the portable wifi) runs 9,000/mo. on average.
One thing anyone can do is look up the Rakuten Denwa app for voice calls. You sign in your Rakuten account and it’ll let you make VoIP calls for like half the normal rates at pretty good quality. You don’t have to be a Rakuten Mobile user to use it.
I’ve been using a docomo based MVNO for about a year now with an ocn card. Have no problems at all and the Internet speed is pretty fast (can slow down at some points in the day, but not a major problem.)
Have used the sim in several phones (and a tablet) but am now using an iPhone SE which I got unlocked direct from Apple.
I can vouch for the terribleness of SoftBank, and it is a company I will never use ever again, horrific service and customer relations.
Docomo have been great and I still keep my flip phone around for emergencies and things like line verification. I only pay about 2000 yen a month, but have considered swapping it to the ocn service, will get to it eventually no doubt.
I pay about ¥1200 for 3gb of data with my ocn sim, and total for the two phones is about ¥3000. I struggle to understand those that pay ¥10,000 and upwards for their big-3 contracted phones..madness.
Highly recommend ocn (get your sim from Amazon) and will never go back to a contract.
Has anyone switched to Y mobile? The softbank staff suggested I switch to them. No transfer fees as it’s the same network (softbank), I will get an iPhone 5S in the package, I’m currently still using a 4S. First year will cost about 1,500 yen per month (2GB), 2nd year 2,400 yen (again 2GB data).
I’m looking at Aeon. After thirteen years with Softbank, I don’t have a great impression of them, so happy to switch completely 😉
Hello there. If that is what they told you (those numbers seem to be somewhat competitive…(iijimo and Rakuten are less than 2,000/mo from the start, with 3GB data and no phone)) then you should be good to go. My experience at Ymobile was just the opposite. After being mostly ignored until there were no other customers in the shop, the lady finaly told me that Ymobile prices would be just a little more than my then ~8,000yen monthly bill. She explained that Softbank and Ymobile were the same company and didn’t want customers transferring from Softbank.
My friend in Tokyo is usnig iijimo and gets2 or 3 Gb data and phone calls for ~1,600yen per month. He has been with them since June and is quite satisfied. From September, I switched to Rakuten and my bill including 5GB data has been 2,200 yen per month. There are no yearly contracts for either company. Both companies piggy-back off of Docomo’s network. So, you would need either a Docomo phone or a sim-free type. My engineer friend tells me that Docomo only leases 1 of the ~5 available lines so people in highly populated areas notice a slower speed for their data (even when they have 4G connections). This hasn’t been a problem for me in the inaka. Lastly, if you are not in the ~1 month window of your bi-anually contract then they charge you a 10,000yen cancelation fee. Double check the Ymobile info then go for it. I will never look back.
Travelers going to Japan, if you are using LINE on your phone this is how to verify FREETEL cards.
I have over 10 email accounts but for those of you who do not,
1)When you try to verify line your phone number will show even though it is inactive. Use that phone number for Facebook.
2)Make a new Gmail account!
3)Make a new Facebook account!
4) Try and verify with Facebook. It will but you will not be allowed to add friend.
5) Download Google Drive app
6) export contact. vcf to Google drive.
7) import to New phone
8) now you’re ready to start the magic
9) try and verify using your own cell phone from YOUR COUNTRY!!!!!!
10) MAKE SURE YOU SELECT (NEW USER ACCOUNT) I do not remember what it said exactly. DO NOT CHOOSE THE SECOND CHOICE. IT WILL TRANSFER YOUR ORIGINAL LINE TO YOUR BE PHONE and you could lose contacts if you do not have their phone numbers in vcf file.
11) you will have 2 accounts verified to one phone number. Line doesn’t use data not Facebook. Use Skype and you have a fully functioning phone while in Japan.
Seems really complicated 🙂
Hopefully it will be useful for someone though!
I just signed up with rakuten mobile and am happy so far. It costs me around 1500yen a month for 3.1gb but calls are extra. I have used b-mobile in the past but wouldn’t use them again due to confusing services and poor customer service.
I came to Japan in July as a student and the school suggested using Y Mobile. I brought my Android from home and the lady at the store inserted a SIM card into it. It worked fine. My monthly bills hover around ¥3,000, as long as I won’t go beyond the 2GB of included data. However, I just noticed yesterday that I couldn’t add friends on Line and it was impossible for my friend to add me from their side either. Today I opened the Line app on my ipad and it worked. Anyway, I might have to have the age verification thing figured out sooner or later.
Hi Robin
As far as I know, the only MVNO that gives you full LINE functionality is…. LINE.
Funny that.
All the others don’t allow you to add friends, etc. If it bothers you a lot you might want to look into getting a contract with LINE to replace your Y Mobile one.
My wife and I just switched over to Rakuten Mobile from Softbank this week. The switch is saving us about ¥10,000 a month. I read the “how to” on the Rakuten site, which was helpful, but lots of unnecessary information, as Rakuten does. I ended up following your blog post.
Thanks as always
Great to hear!