If you are living in Japan or are planning to visit soon and if you are not a fluent Japanese speaker, you might be unsure of how to sign up for ever-important mobile services. Even if you are proficient in Japanese, the vocabulary you find in contracts, application forms and such, is quite specific and the requirements are troublesome for foreigners (the need for a credit card or a long-term visa and other issues). Furthermore, we all now also need extra data to use for remote work and online meetings.
JSelect has found three mobile service providers that make available for you a multilingual support and hassle-free application so you can get your data and be able to make calls as soon as you need. Get a full multilingual support and a smooth understanding of your bills. Check out the details below.
DHA Mobile
DHA Mobile is a registered mobile virtual network operator in Japan, specializing in prepaid data SIM service. They design, sell and market under the “Nippon SIM” brand for Japan use and the “DHA SIM” brand for overseas use. Since its establishment, DHA has focused on supporting foreign visitors to keep connected while in Japan. They expanded their reach to the corporate and government markets to support remote and study since the pandemic.
Benefit of Using Prepaid SIM With the prepaid format, there is no contract, registration fee, activation nor required minimum use period. Users pay a one-off fee for the usage period and predefined data amount, so there is no hidden fee or monthly payment.
Starting from ¥1,980, it is ideal for overseas visitors and locals who want to cut down their communication costs. It is also great for companies, as they can distribute SIMs to staff when required while knowing the expense ahead of time.
Introducing Nippon SIM for Japan
They provide three different plans: 1) Standard Plan provides a no-frills service, using either docomo or Softbank networks, the top mobile carriers in Japan. Users can choose from 5, 8, 15, 30, 60, 90, 180 to 360 days and 4G/LTE Data from 3GB to 50GB to fit their requirements. 2) SNS APP Data Count Free plan provides unlimited 4G/LTE speed use of Apps including LINE, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Google Maps, Wechat, messenger, Skype and Kakaotalk as long as the purchased 4G/LTE data for other Apps are available. It is ideal for heavy users of the 10 Apps. 3) Unlimited Plans come with Daily 2GB 4G/LTE data for 30, 60 or 90 days. It is the best fit for users who use it for work or studying that requires a huge volume of data.
All SIM cards can be used on SIM-free devices including smartphones, tablets, mobile Wi-Fi routers (Mi-Fi) and LTE-enabled laptops.
Easy set-up and peace-of-mind support All packages come with a multicut (standard/micro/nano size) SIM card, a SIM pin to help you to eject the SIM tray, SIM plastic bag to keep your old SIM, and a multilingual setting guide (English, Japanese, Mandarin, Hangul and Thai). All users need to do is set up the APN, and they are instantly connected to our service!
For visitors and locals, DHA SIM is also available for overseas communication use from Asian countries to Europe and North America. Ideal for you to call back home for private or business use when needed. DHA SIM for USA is the best seller and includes data, 50 hours of voice calls to the USA and 100 minutes of free calls to 10 Asian countries, including Japan.
DHA Mobile provides our own in-house email support by our experienced engineers in English, Mandarin and Japanese. They provide end-to-end support from pre-purchase consultation to post-purchase technical support.
To celebrate the 47th anniversary of JSelect, They are happy to provide readers a special 10% discount code for purchases on their official home page.
Eshop Coupon code: JSelect10%off
JP Smart SIM
It is so popular that it has been awarded No.1 in “the Most Popular SIM Card Service among Foreign Nationals,”* making it a reassuring ally for foreigners staying in Japan.
* According to the Japan Marketing Research Organization findings. Investigation outline: Brand name and Brand Image Investigation (March 2019)
Its main features are as follows: – Multilingual support (English, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Japanese) – Contracts can be made without a credit card or bank account. – No contract term constraints or cancellation penalties
If you are a foreigner looking for a Japanese SIM card, the most important thing to consider is whether the service is available in languages other than Japanese. JP Smart SIM is available in English, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Japanese, so even those who are not familiar with Japanese can use it with ease.
Another advantage is the wide variety of payment methods. Even if you are new to Japan and do not have a Japanese credit card or bank account, you can easily apply by choosing to pay at a convenience store. Of course, once you get a credit card or a bank account, you can change your payment method from MyPage.
Also, there are no contract term bindings or cancellation penalties, which is a good point for foreign residents. Even if you suddenly decide to return to your home country, you will not be charged a costly penalty fee to cancel your SIM. This means that even if you don’t know exactly how long you will be in Japan, you can apply without worry.
JP Smart SIM is available in two types, CALL SIM and DATA SIM, each with different data plans, so whether you use a lot or not, you can find the right plan for you.
For example, if you need a Japanese phone number and use a good amount of data, the JP Smart CALL 6GB plan is recommended. Its basic monthly fee is ¥2,178 (tax included), so even those who watch many videos, which use a lot of data, can use the service with peace of mind. The first month’s basic monthly fee is free with JP Smart SIM, so why not give it a try?
And for those who are staying in Japan for a short period, a prepaid SIM is also available. With JP Smart SIM, regardless of the type of SIM plan and length of your stay in Japan, you can always have multilingual support.
GTN Mobile
Mobile Services Since April, Advance 5G plan and Lite plans are provided as their main products, with pricing starting from ¥858. Advance 5G supports 5G networks and includes unlimited 10 mins free domestic calls allowing users to have a comfortable use experience. On the other hand, the Lite plan is a low price plan that fits the needs of budget-conscious customers who might not need 5G or free calls.
For customers who need a large data capacity, pocket Wi-Fi and home internet are also available to fulfill customers’ needs of staying home for work or study.
Optional Services
In addition to mobile services, they also provide a wide range of services that make foreigners in Japan live easier and better. These services can rarely be found with other mobile companies.
GTN DIAL lets customers make cheaper international calls in which the call rate is more than 50% less than typical fees. GTN MOBILE TOP UP allows users to recharge the mobile of your family overseas despite living in different countries. The latest service GTN Assistants provides you with English interpretation service and living support information to bring you a more comfortable life in Japan!
Credit Card Most surprisingly, you can even find that GTN MOBILE offers a credit card service! Cobranding with a main Japan credit card company, EPOS, GTN Mobile provides a GTN EPOS Visa card to their customers. Foreigners in Japan usually find it difficult to obtain a credit card from most Japanese card companies.
Although the screening is still conducted by the credit card company, the GTN EPOS card screening is easier for foreigners to pass.
Here are some useful tips. By using a GTN EPOS card to pay for your mobile bills, an extra ¥220 discount will be applied monthly. Luckily, from Oct to Dec 2021, if your credit card is issued during the promo period, you can get up to 4,000 credit card points, worth ¥4,000, which can be used to pay for bills or to purchase gift cards.
Contact and Social Media GTN MOBILE provides several ways to contact for customers to make inquiries. Customers can receive support via email, phone or SNS, including Line and Facebook.
Follow them on Facebook or Instagram to get the latest updates!
Line ID: gtnmobile
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