Best pocket WiFi rental for Tokyo?

We will be in and around Tokyo for a week precruise in April followed by port stops in another 4-5 cities around Japan before a transpacific voyage.

My iPhone 6 “should” work while visiting the country according to all online sources I have found but many seem to find their USA phones do not work once they arrive. We are probably going to rent a pocket WiFi gadget so we can have unlimited data service for trip research and other trip related info as well as using Skype and other means to communicate with others back home.

Has anyone used a supplier of these gadgets in Japan? Which service would you recommend we use or avoid?

Thanks

try doing a search on this forum for more information, also try youtube,

Here is one that covered your question along with other information

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2457354&highlight=wifi+in+Japan

try doing a search on this forum for more information, also try youtube,

 

 

 

Here is one that covered your question along with other information

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2457354&highlight=wifi+in+Japan

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed advice but I did search this forum before posting this question.

The thread you linked has no references to which provider might be preferred or worked well based on personal experience other. I was attempting to get help from those who hadn’t used a particular Japanese service that worked well so I might decide which one to use or perhaps avoid. Hence the original question above.

But thanks anyway.

We will be in and around Tokyo for a week precruise in April followed by port stops in another 4-5 cities around Japan before a transpacific voyage ... Has anyone used a supplier of these gadgets in Japan? Which service would you recommend we use or avoid? Thanks

General info as FYI -

iPhone 6, like my Nexus line of Android, do work in Japan ... except that it doesn't have ALL of the bands or frequencies to take full advantage of the current 4G/LTE services available for roaming travelers, let alone their 5G services, at quantum speed compared to ours in the USA. We're in Taiwan & South Korea 3 years ago, airport's free WiFi was 75 mb/+ compared to ours @ 5 mb, if we are lucky, hotel's included free/WiFi was as fast as 125 mb ... a tech-cultural shock to many.

Japan, like Korea, it's best to use a MiFi/portable hotspot with an extra power/battery bank for all day usage, supporting up to 5, as much as 10 devices sharing all that bandwidth. Look for a plan with no data cap & based on a flat rate, easy 24/7 airport pickup on arrival or delivery to the hotel & return with airport dropoff or in the mailbox - it's pre-configured with English instruction for the user and helpline if needed for tech support.

Costs varied for a 2 week rental, which is fairly close to a full month's worth of rental (no early return fees, deposit is released/refunded back to the credit card account used for the charges upon receipt) - from what I see, about $6 to $10 USD per day x 15 days, depending on the device/bundle you select and the vendor/carrier.

You can buy/pickup at the airport upon arrival a prepaid nano Sim card to use in your unlocked iPhone 6, if it support 4G's 1500 and 2500 Mhz (LTE) - customer services should be able to help you get it activated - assuming you are familiar with and can turn on its mobile hotspot feature ... could be more complicated than you are comfortable in dealing with. Hence, a MiFi portable router is a simple alternative - I always travel with a high output battery pack, very important to keep the devices charged up and/or a quick boost toward the end of the day/evening.

Take a look at these links below - and, confirm that they have a counter/kiosk at the airport; or, can validate & have it ready at the hotel where you will be staying:

https://tokyocheapo.com/business/internet/rent-wifi-router-japan/

http://japan-wireless.com/aboutus.html

With the above info, you can do a bit of comparison and see what work best for you ... the major carriers online site do support English, it's easier to switch/read than clicking thru the Korean vendor's site.

FYI - one of our line is on Google's Project Fi and international roaming is cheap, just like home, at $10 per 1GB of 4G data used, so we don't need to deal with this traveling abroad (good in 135+ countries) and I have a dual sim Huawei Honor 5X smartphone that serve as a hotspot = no rental ... ("Fi" has a data-only sim option as add-on, which is great as I had that on an iPhone 5S for travel backup.)

I used a pocket wifi last fall for pre-cruise, during the cruise when in port, and post-cruise travel in Japan. I booked it through Japan Rail Pass. I worked great!

I picked it up at Haneda airport, but they would have also delivered it to the hotel too. Turning it in was equally easy as they provided the envelope to mail it back before flying out. Instructions on using it and signing in were clear and easy to follow. It as small enough to just put in my purse and pretty much ignore it. Both my SIL (who was travelling with me) and I were able to stay connect the entire time we were in Japan (except when out to sea); she did have to be within so many feet of my, but not right next to me. She didn't have an international plan on her phone and left it in airplane mode the entire time with wifi on; I had an international plan ($5 for a month with Sprint), so if she and I weren't going together, I just handed her the pocket wifi. In the hotels and on board ship at the ports, I could even connect my laptop to the pocket wifi and it worked fine. I'm definitely renting another one on my next Japan cruise in 2019.

Excellent. Thanks for the helpful replies.

Chris