Visa requirements for working remotely from Japan

[Bueller_007]

The cell phones are another story.

Needless to say, most foreign phones don't work in Japan, even if they are supposedly "global roaming". If it ain't 3G, it ain't gonna work in Japan.

Go Mobile (http://www.gomobile.co.jp/index_in.html) and some other companies do phone rentals for non-residents, but the price is somewhat prohibitive.

Yeah, when I first visited Japan I met the demon that is "pay-as-you-go". 100% not worth it. And forget about using your "international" cell in Japan.

Although a lot of the phones from Vodaphone are now GSM NA acessable. Infact, quite a few of the Sony Ericsson models can now be unlocked on the GSM networks outside of Japan. I believe mine can be GSM enabled if I was to take it to the shop.

Luckily, I think UMTS 3G tech is rolling out across the globe, so soon, we shouldn't have to deal with the pesky GSM/PDC issue anymore.

I used my 3G (Vodafone) Japanese cell when I was in China and SE Asia with no issues. And unlike most Japanese phones, mine has a readily accessible and removable SIM card in it, so I assume that I can switch it over to a foreign company, if I ever want to do so.

[optics]

The cell phones are another story.

Needless to say, most foreign phones don't work in Japan, even if they are supposedly "global roaming". If it ain't 3G, it ain't gonna work in Japan.

Go Mobile (http://www.gomobile.co.jp/index_in.html) and some other companies do phone rentals for non-residents, but the price is somewhat prohibitive.

Yeah, when I first visited Japan I met the demon that is "pay-as-you-go". 100% not worth it. And forget about using your "international" cell in Japan.

Although a lot of the phones from Vodaphone are now GSM NA acessable. Infact, quite a few of the Sony Ericsson models can now be unlocked on the GSM networks outside of Japan. I believe mine can be GSM enabled if I was to take it to the shop.

Luckily, I think UMTS 3G tech is rolling out across the globe, so soon, we shouldn't have to deal with the pesky GSM/PDC issue anymore.

I used my 3G (Vodafone) Japanese cell when I was in China and SE Asia with no issues. And unlike most Japanese phones, mine has a readily accessible and removable SIM card in it, so I assume that I can switch it over to a foreign company, if I ever want to do so.

Go and check to make sure it's can be unlocked for the North American GSM network. When I was here last was when they first introduced the SIM card Vodafones. I asked if I could unlock in a GSM900 (can't remember the signal number) and they said no. Even though it had a sim card slot, for some reason the phones couldn't be unlocked for the NA SIM cards (studid I know). I know now they can though, but yeah I'm waiting for the UMTS 3G to be rolled out. Finally, we can buy those sexy Japanese models and use them where ever!

[Bueller_007]

I imagine Motorola etc. will not be too pleased about that. Japanese phones do twice as much for half the price.

[optics]

I imagine Motorola etc. will not be too pleased about that. Japanese phones do twice as much for half the price.

Motorola sucks anyways, their cell phones are absolute garbage. Sony will be very pleased i'm sure.

[nutts]

Hey everybody, sorry I haven't checked back for a while as I've been busy with work.
My plan now is to apply for the Working Holiday Visa in January (my 30th birthday is in February so I have time in theory) and to go on that at some point next year.
If I don't get that, I'll resort to renewing the tourist visa every 90 days (argh!) until I can find another way.

Until then I'm off to Japan for another holiday next week, to spend the holidays with the girlfriend and her family
Looking forward to seeing what the Japanese new-year celebrations are like!

Regarding mobile phones, the times I've been to Japan before, my Nokia phones have worked fine while there because they support WCDMA (3G), as some (most?) of the new Nokias do. I have the N70 at the moment, and the 6630 before that.
Although of the networks there, only DoCoMo works for me, VodaJP doesn't seem to support text messaging (which is a problem for us europeans who send lots!)

The costs while roaming on 3G though are VERY high, with text messages costing about 50p and calls costing about 80p/minute to receive and over 1 pound a minute to call out! Hence I only mostly use it to send occasional texts (and receive them, which is free).

Thanks for all your help!