It has been a big headache for me to use mobile networks in Japan for many years as a short-term visitor. In many countries, it is relatively easy to purchase a prepaid SIM card, but not in Japan. They are often unavailable for security reasons and to prevent criminal usage. Another option is to rent a SIM card, but this is not simple either. It is actually illegal to use mobile phones with local SIM cards without the regulatory approval stamp. However, it is legal to use international roaming with foreign SIM cards. What is the difference? None. You just fall into a crack of outdated regulations. The Japanese rules simply can't keep up with technological advancement.
International roaming can solve some of my problems, but it comes with a hefty price tag for both myself and the people I contact in Japan. For many years, my solution has been digital detoxing: no phone calls, no texting, no looking things up on Google, and no Google Maps navigation.
Recently, T-Mobile started offering free international roaming texts and unlimited data at 2G speeds. This is fantastic news, so I decided to take advantage of it. As soon as I landed in Japan, I turned on my phone — not literally the moment the plane touched down, but as soon as I was allowed to do so. I got a message from T-Mobile. It looked like my phone automatically picked up SoftBank's 3G network. I could send text messages, but I realized I couldn't use the internet. Based on my previous experience with T-Mobile and a bit of research, the problem was that my APN settings were not compatible with the network. I changed my APN settings based on the instructions found on T-Mobile’s support page, and it worked fine.
The speed is not the best you can get, but it is enough to upload photos to social media, send messages, search on Google, and navigate around town using Google Maps. It’s without any extra charge, so I can't complain.
