cell phone rental and questions

got a few questions about this, i know u can rent cell phones in airport

1) how much do they charge for renting the cellphone?

2) how and how much do they charge for the airtime?

3) whats the air rate for calls from Osaka to Tokyo?

4) I heard u can return the cell phones for cash back, can u do this in a diff airport? im arriving at Osaka and leaving at Tokyo

I haven't seen any places in airports where you can rent a phone. Though I have personally rented a phone that came in a package for me to pick up at the airport.

I'm not sure about the availability of cellular rentals at Narita either but there are many Japanese cell phone rental businesses. Here are a couple you may want to consider. They each have different policies, rental rates and services offered so contacting them directly may be best. Can't really recommend any as I don't have any experience with them but you may want to shop around and ask questions. Hope this helps.

gomobile.co.jp

myjapanphone.com

cellularabroad.com

I wasn't going to rent on my next trip to Japan this Saturday, but at the last minute I did just to be sure some folks at work can get in touch with me if needed. I've rented 6+ times from Narita, always from JAL ABC (http://www.rental-mobile.com/en/domestic/). 250 yen/day for rental, incoming calls free. Domestic calls are like 80 yen/minute and international 200 yen/minute.

All it takes to find a phone is a google search - "narita rental phone" and the first link is ... Narita phone rentals!!!

For Kansai, just do the same kind of search, and what do you know, you'll find http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/service/rental/index.html

FYI, JAL ABC's online application does have various airports listed for arrival and departure, and you can select different ones, which implies you can pick up in Osaka and return at Narita.

What about Prepaid phones? When I was living in Fukuoka a few years back there weren't any restrictions on them, but now I've heard a rumor that you need an Alien Registration Card. I'm going to be on a trip there in a few weeks and probably want to buy a new one. Is there any truth to this, or would I be able to use my passport to buy one?