Bad news on the cell phone front: it looks like most places now require some form of official Japanese documentation even for prepaid phones, which would be an Alien Registration Card for a foreigner, which you won’t have (only being there for a few weeks). However, some stores **may **accept a foreign passport in conjunction with a hotel address.
Good news on the cell phone front: 3G phones probably have the best chance of working, so call your provider and they’ll be able to tell you if you can just use your iPhone.
Well, my provider says that it won’t work there. I don’t quite trust this, though, as their website mentions roaming agreements with two Japanese carriers on 2100-MHz third-generation GSM-family digital cellular (which is what 3G really means), also known as UMTS, and the iPhone is sold in Japan, and Apple’s website lists 3G/UMTS compatibility on the 2100-MHz band, but the website treats the iPhoen as something different from other smartphones, so it’s a bit misleading… but everything I’ve learned technically indicates that it ought to work.
I correspond with someone who used his iPhone when he went to Japan, but only for email and the web, and only on a Wi-Fi signal. He didn’t mention anything about using it to make calls, and I suspect he couldn’t.
It’s quiet pleasant here in October, and even November has some nice warm mornings. The nights start to get cooler around this time, but that just means you can start wearing your fancy jackets and scarves.
