I am going to be moving to japan with my family in June 2011. I am constantly texting on my cell phone and I was wondering if once I move to japan if this will still be possible? I will be getting a new cell phone and service provider when I move to Yokosuka but was curious if I can still text friends who are stateside?

The texting feature is different in Japan and I'm sure Wilson or Adam can explain it to you better than I can, but you can't text your friends from a japanese cell phone like you could back in the states. They do come with email addresses (that you can personalize) and you can email your friends back in the states from your phone. The service providers aren't the same as the states either so be on the look out when you get here, but it seems like you have another year and a half before you come to Japan, so you have plenty of time to get things sorted out.

If you have Softbank, you can do international texting (at least to the US). NTT Docomo does not support int'l text. Not sure about AU/KDDI or Willcomm.

All JP cell phone support mobile email as well.

Kevin, hate to call you out, but I text my sister in the US all the time with my DoCoMo phone...

Really? That's good to hear - I have both DoCoMo and Softbank phones and the Docomo one never worked for me. I have the Blackberry Bold 9000 on docomo. Do you have the settings you use for the SMS center, etc? What phone are you using?

I can always receive SMS on docomo, but can never send!

another note, if I switch the blackberry network to Softbank (same device, just change service), SMS works for both send/receive. so i know it's not the hardware

If all parties have smart phones then just e-mail eachother, that's what I do (or use blackberry messenger since everyone I actually text has a BB)...

My SMS Settings from my F905i (Foma):

Font type = Japanese
SMS report request = not request
Keep in SMS center = 3 days
SMSC = DoCoMo
Address =
Type of Number = International

I have never had a problem with sending/receiving to from my sister or a friend of mine, but have had problems sending to people on Softbank (odd huh!). I, too, prefer the email capability so I try to use that mostly.

I have a docomo - blackberry.

NTT Docomo does not support int'l text.

What you said was incorrect. I use international text, email, bb, and surf the internet using my hotmail, japanbases.com email, etc.. Its all supported. My wife also has a cell phone from docomo, and hers supports email as well.

Adam, if you could help me out by reading the settings off your Blackberry, I'd really appreciate it. Under Options --> SMS, here is what I am showing:

Data Coding: 7 bit
Service Center: +12099042010
Disable Autotext: No
Leave Messages on SIM Card: No
Network to Send Over: Circuit Switched Preferred

Would appreciate it, I haven't been able to figure it out for the past year.

Thanks,
Kevin

Delivery Report: Off
Validity Period : 3 days
Sent As: Text
Data Coding: UCS2
Service Center: +81903101652
Disable Autotext: No
Leave Messages on SIM Card: No
Network to Send Over: Circuit Switched
Number of Previous Items: 7
Retries: 3

kevin, hope that helps.

Thanks Adam. I tried the settings and no luck. Maybe it's because I have an unlocked BB I brought back from the US and docomo doesn't want to play nice... will troop into the docomo store and see what they can do. thanks for the help -

Is Docomo the name of the cell phone service?sorry im a little slow haha.im about to be in yokosuka feb 12th and i dont know what i would do without my texting.I need any info i can get on what cell phone/cell phone service i would need to allow me to do so.also,are those plans that allow texting expensive?or is it less expensive to just get a with internet and email,and if that's the case,whats the best phone service and phone for that?thanks so much for any info : )

I remember when we used them to talk into, instead we take a 2minute conversation and turn it into a 20 min text session...

@britne31337

DoCoMo is a division of NTT & is one of the major providers in Japan for mobile services.

There is also AU & Softbank. Softbank currently holds the contract for iPhone and has a booth available at the Navy Exchange in Yokosuka if you need a new contract. I believe you are able to get them practically free if you sign a two year contract.

DoCoMo has been my service provider since 1993 and I have no reason to switch. They are; however, one of the more expensive service providers. Their phones are usually more expensive, but I have been with them long enough my contract is quite cheap. I can't speak as to how good/bad AU or Softbank are so I'll leave that one open to one of their subscribers.

There are other providers out there, but those three are the major players in our region. (Yokosuka)

@Wilson,

   Alot of good info here.  Thanks.  Do you know if they have "pay as you go" phones?  I really don't want to get locked into a contract.  Since I will be reporting to a ship there and we are almost always gone, there's no sense in keeping an active phone if I am always deployed somewhere other than Japan.  Thanks

Posted By navybabe on 19 Jan 2010 10:46 PM
@Wilson,

   Alot of good info here.  Thanks.  Do you know if they have "pay as you go" phones?  I really don't want to get locked into a contract.  Since I will be reporting to a ship there and we are almost always gone, there's no sense in keeping an active phone if I am always deployed somewhere other than Japan.  Thanks

you can always get a prepaid phone

THANKS WILSON
that helps a lot!one more question...do you think its more simple to get a phone with internet and email people since its basically the same as a text,or is it more simple to get a nationwide texting plan?it seems as if people think its complicated to do the country to country texting...any input?

Definitely email. You're guarenteed to get through to any email address.
Don't forget the time zones; "constantly texting" could really torque some folks when you wake them at 3 am!

haaa yeah your prolly right.any phone to recommend with a good keyboard or just easy to write email and such on?and what company its with?

Here's a crazy idea. You've got a phone.... CALL THEM.

Ok, not sure if this is the best place to ask this question, but here goes....

I have an American Blackberry. Can I take it to Japan and get it put on a Japanese cell phone providers service or do I need to but a new phone?. Like if I have Verizon here in the states, I can take a phone and move it to Sprint?

Just be very careful about understanding what service plan you have. SoftBank had a deal of unlimited calling to the states on your mobile for a fixed price. Not sure if that deal is still on. It comes up from time to time.

At the other extreme, my friend has 2 daughters. They recently figured out how to do international texting and promptly ran up a $500 phone bill. They are now working it off in doing chores. Ditto with international roaming. You can take your Japanese phone to Hawaii and find out it still works so you call around to your friends. When you get back to Japan you find a bill for $1000 waiting for you. I've got international roaming disabled on my phone.

I just bought a sweet Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro (unlocked) smartphone in Hong Kong for a great price. It uses the Android operating system. Does anybody on this board have any ideas about the best way to set it up for use here in Japan? I know that this is a similar question to some other threads, but they all seem to involve Iphones.

I took it to AU today and they wouldn't touch it. I saw an American at a neighboring independent cell phone store on Blue Street and he said to buy a used Docomo phone and take that in to a Docomo shop, buy a service plan including data, then just switch the SIM card to my smartphone when I get home. Any ideas on whether or not that plan would work?

I'm attached to the DESRON, so I'm gone a lot and visit many different countries, thus the rationale for getting the unlocked phone - including using it in the States when I get back.

Hi RV, welcome to Japanbases! I wondered if you would join. :-)

I know at Softbank, there are different kinds of SIM cards. They have a special one for iPhone such that a "normal" SIM will not work in it. This is because they know iPhone users consume a great volume of data, and it helps prevent people from doing exactly what you suggest.

I can't say about other smartphones, but only that they are wise to the scheme and it's a risk. If you can try it out cheaply so you won't lose much if it doesn't work, that might be one solution. Maybe take over someone's existing contract if they have a non-smart phone and PCSing with a couple months left on the contract. That would be a cheap way to try it out.

ThaiGuy I'm pretty sure that the sim cards for iPhones and iPads are actually micro sim cards, so they physically are a different size. It isn't just a matter of them trying to restrain how much data people are using.

Wikipedia says of that phone: The Xperia X10 uses the 850/900/1800/1900 frequency bands for GSM.[14] As for UMTS frequency bands, there are two variants; the X10a uses 800/850/1900/2100 bands, and the X10i uses 900/1700/2100. The X10a is used by AT&T Mobility in the USA, Telstra in Australia, and Rogers Wireless in Canada. It is also used in South America. The X10i is used by T-Mobile in the USA; Wind Mobile and Mobilicity in Canada; Optus and VHA (under both the Vodafone and 3 brands) in Australia; Singtel, Starhub and M1 in Singapore; and through the rest of Asia, Europe, and Oceania. In Japan, it is called the SO-01B and sold by NTT Docomo, using the X10a configuration.

So it looks like Docomo would likely be compatible (AU uses a completely different type of frequency, what they use is similar to Verizon in the states). Here's some suggestions on getting it working once you get your hands on a sim card (most likely from another phone): http://androidforums.com/android-lo...japan.html  I think if you have issues it may be easier to go to a forum like that one for a response since it's a lot of tech savvy folk and they enjoy fixing things like that.

I think myself I'm going to try the opposite, buy a Docomo phone when I get over there and then unlock it and get an T mobile pay as you go sim for when we visit the states.

This is what my new contract with Softbank says (I have a iPhone 4s): "A special microUSIM cars is required for iPhone 4. The special microUSIM cards do not work in other Softbank models."

When I first got my 3GS 2 years ago, they explained to me what I said above: That iPhones being more data-intensive than other phones, I could not swap SIM cards from another phone.

I know this doesn't exactly correlate to RV's question, but it suggests to me that the phone companies are wise to this scheme and try to clamp down on it. Perhaps jailbreaking and/or unlocking would help, but I'm not an expert on that. And I don't know how this impacts Android phones.

Transfering to Yoko in FEB 2012. I have that if I get my Iphone unlock code then I will be able to use it with certain carriers. Does anyone know if this is true? If not, what type of cell phones are available in Japan that are bilingual?

Pretty much all phones can be set to English, at least smart phones. You'll have many to choose from. I haven't seen anyone yet who claims to have gotten an unlocked phone set up with a Japanese carrier.

Correction -- Kevin says he's using an unlocked BB with Docomo.

John B, if you have AT&T iPhone, do not count on them unlocking it. Although it can be done, AT&T has not unlocked an iPhone yet. I ran into that in San Diego. I did use my orders to discontinue the service and they let me out of my contract even though I had 11 months obligation on my iPhone 4 from Aug 2010. Free, no penalties whatsoever. I was pretty surprised I got off so easy. I don't know about Sprint or Verizon, but you need to consider if you have a CDMA or GSM iPhone - depending on your company. Your type of phone will determine most likely, which company in Japan you go with. For me, I plan on selling my older iPhone 4 to recoup some cost on my new 4S.

I believe if you can get it unlocked ( and to see if you can I would check on http://www.iphoneforums.net for your version of the iPhone to see if it's something you can do yourself) than Docomo may be able to help you. Since they don't have the iPhone and they want it, they have more incentive than anyone else.

We arrived in Yokosuka about a week ago and still have not been able to figure out the phone options. I wold love to find a phone that I will be able to use in the states while back over the summer.

We kept our plan in the states with Verizon. They allowed us to freeze it for up to 39mo with no fees. We can turn it on whenever we are back in the US, keep the same numbers, etc. Works great for us since my husband travels back and forth a lot.

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd add that if you get Google Voice before you leave the US, and then have an Android phone in Japan, you can make and receive SMS from US cells with Google Voice App on your cell for free. We plan to actually migrate our US cell numbers to Google Voice so people will text us as normal and we'll get them right on our new phones over there. Of course if you do this you may want to add an app that automatically turns your text notifications sounds off while you'd be sleeping given the time change.

Posted By mirdreams on 07-02-2012 11:04 AM
I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd add that if you get Google Voice before you leave the US, and then have an Android phone in Japan, you can make and receive SMS from US cells with Google Voice App on your cell for free. We plan to actually migrate our US cell numbers to Google Voice so people will text us as normal and we'll get them right on our new phones over there. Of course if you do this you may want to add an app that automatically turns your text notifications sounds off while you'd be sleeping given the time change.

wouldn't you need wifi signal? unless you have a gsm phone from tmo,at&t 

I'm assuming the Android Google Voice app will still work normally over data. If not one could use the website interface with Opera or Skyfire. And we won't be using our old phones, just porting our old numbers to Google Voice. Wifi would only come into play if you were using GChat to place actual calls, since VOIP is very dependant on bandwidth and latency. Texts shouldn't be effected by data speeds.