Going to Japan? Gotta stay connected? A portable wi-fi for your smartphone is just the thing.
Sim-card rentals are limited by how much data can be used, and is only workable depending on cellular coverage. The Yelp reviews are really taking off in Japan. And if you also want to avoid the overages dealing with your phone while reading said Yelp reviews, you'll need a mobile wi-fi hotspot to rent for your phone while in flight-mode.
Vision Mobile Hawaii is the spot to give you that hot-spot as you plan your trip. I've found that searching for free wi-fi spots in Tokyo is a challenge and frustratingly slow, with everyone within earshot trying to connect to the same public wi-fi spot.
Vision Mobile Hawaii is located on the third floor of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, right next to Tanaka's. It's a nondescript office room, which specializes in serving Japanese visitors to Hawaii and those who are going to visit Japan.
I often go to Japan to visit family and take a few days to unwind from the daily work here. I don't particularly call anyone while I'm in Japan, so I've never really found much use for a mobile phone rental being marketed at the airport in Japan, nor found it particularly comforting knowing that my rented sim-card might suddenly not work, or exceed my data limits.
The mobile wi-fi hotspots made available for rental are:
- Convenient,
- Last a full day before having to re-charge again,
- Fast, and
- Incredibly easy to operate; it's just on and off.
- If it freezes, turn it off and on again.
Koji was very friendly and polite, and answered all of our questions about the terms of rental, and how to operate the mobile hotspot.
Data usage is not figured into the rental cost of the unit. Rates are on a sliding scale, depending on how long you are going to be in Japan - anywhere from a day to longer (who in their right mind would take a 9-hour flight to be in Japan for just a day). The rental rates are not cheap, but for the convenience this product offers, I think it's worth saving for - a week for $50.00, two weeks for $100, 3 weeks for $110. All the streaming cute-kitty videos you'll ever need, and all the time in the world to read, and make your Yelp reviews.
Reservations may be made over the phone, and you just pick it up and pay the day before your flight out.
If you do need to make a call from your cell phone, you can use any of the apps that are available that connects calls via data, such as Facetime, Skype, or Line.
Unfortunately, the rental units are only available for use in Japan; and are not rented for use in any other country. I think if those units are available for use in other countries in Asia, Europe or South America, they'd have a real resource for Americans going abroad to stay connected. I'll be going to Europe later this year, and I'm already struggling to find something as useful as this.
Rentals are only limited to the portable hot spots, and nothing much else. But for this reason alone, this is my spot to go to before I fly out to visit the Land of the Rising Sun. Thanks, Vision Mobile! You've been a real help!
- One tip: if you're going with others, consider getting a mobile wi-fi PER PERSON. Avoid arguments about who gets to keep it if you want to explore. read more