MEXT Scholarship for Postgraduate 2009: Post Application
- Thread starter jim84
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #503
oh, i forgot to mention this one. Thanks menrui.
About the luggage insurance, is it automatically included in our flight tickets or we have to purchase it separately?
yeah i know.. but the national insurance thing is compulsory and i think for that is necessary because it covers part of the cost when we visit clinics or something which i think we will be visiting there at least once..haha.. other than that , like u said 20k yen per year is not bad
without it i heard that the medical cost even for simple sickness is quite expensive..
for insurance that scare u witht he phrase when you die nobody takes care of your parents and when u get into accident they pay u the medical fees.. i think thats bullshit... do they mean that we gonna get into accident and break our legs if we dont buy from them..
yup im bringing cash.. i read somewhere in this website before that japan is a very cash based society and although they do accept crdeit card/debit card not all will work and there are few few places that accept them.. though im not sure the year they write the guide..it might be very different now..what i read might have been a few years ago..lol
menrui
先輩
- 24 May 2008
- 428
- 0
has anyone started looking up cell phone plans yet?
http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/price_plan/index.html
Charges | NTT DOCOMO
http://www.au.kddi.com/english/charge_discount/index.html
My head is starting to spin... I only make like 1~2 calls a day here, no texting. But I think that might change in Japan, so I have no idea which plan to get. All the plans seems rather expensive too.
http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/price_plan/index.html
Charges | NTT DOCOMO
http://www.au.kddi.com/english/charge_discount/index.html
My head is starting to spin... I only make like 1~2 calls a day here, no texting. But I think that might change in Japan, so I have no idea which plan to get. All the plans seems rather expensive too.
>menrui
I think Japanese use their mobile phones at web-surfing...
Some are saying that au has a special student discount... I think you can only get that once you have finished with your alien registration and university registration, 2 or 3 days after you settled down?
I think the cheapest one would be around 3000yen? With free calls? And if you sign up for 2 years, you get a free mobile phone. You can't bring your cell phones from the states, if you are signing up for au or docomo. I heard you can use iphone, but the thing is, is iphone sim-locked in US?
>c0ok1e
Where do you have your money-changing?
I think Japanese use their mobile phones at web-surfing...
Some are saying that au has a special student discount... I think you can only get that once you have finished with your alien registration and university registration, 2 or 3 days after you settled down?
I think the cheapest one would be around 3000yen? With free calls? And if you sign up for 2 years, you get a free mobile phone. You can't bring your cell phones from the states, if you are signing up for au or docomo. I heard you can use iphone, but the thing is, is iphone sim-locked in US?
>c0ok1e
Where do you have your money-changing?
I'll go for softbank and white plan.
I'll go for softbank and white plan.
yeah i'm gonna sign up for the white plan with softbank as well...
some friends were saying that there are free in network calls and that most international students use it...so that's definitely a plus
- Thread starter
- #511
well, just any licensed money changer will do. I used to do it in SS15. But i heard Mid Valley and Sungei Wang/Low Yat area have very good rates as well.
Just survey around, and the yen is dropping, you might want to wait till Sept.
I'll bring some cash, I hope TT works well between our local banks and japanese banks, never tried that before, hope the charge's not too high.
Traveller's cheque is kinda troublesome, if i don't use it, it has to be mailed back to my family, if it gets lost, more trouble.
menrui, don't worry bout the phone, we shall go phone shopping together. We'll have an advisor and translator for that. =)
You can bring your phone from U.S. if you're retaining your U.S. sim card and allow it to roam. I'm doing that cause i wanted to keep my number.
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oh if you're bringing your phone from home to roam in japan make sure the phone itself will work in japan...japan is very picky with phones so a lot of them won't work even if you're using a working sim card
i know for sure all 3g phones work there and newer models that are wCDMA
like i have a nokia prism...which is fairly new...like a year old...and it doesn't work in japan...so if you're planning on roaming for a while make sure your phone is japan-friendly
- Thread starter
- #513
thanks for the tip,abeeyo.
My aunt work in a hotel she help me change with the money changer there.. but then any money changer will do.. the rates do not differ much..
I have the same problem of not knowing which phone provider to go but then all seems alien to me so any will do.. I plan to go for softbank since everyone says that its good and they have the phone contract thing..
menrui
先輩
- 24 May 2008
- 428
- 0
ooiling,
we have a translator? you mean those international volunteer people?
yeah, softbanks white plan and au's cheapest service + student discount both look good. they both start at 980yen. big difference is, softbanks gives you free in network calling/email, and au gives you a better minute/usage rate.
a free phone for signing a 2 year contract? that seems like a bit too much. How much are phones anyways? Japanese phones seems so fancy, I'm guessing they are really expensive.
we have a translator? you mean those international volunteer people?
yeah, softbanks white plan and au's cheapest service + student discount both look good. they both start at 980yen. big difference is, softbanks gives you free in network calling/email, and au gives you a better minute/usage rate.
a free phone for signing a 2 year contract? that seems like a bit too much. How much are phones anyways? Japanese phones seems so fancy, I'm guessing they are really expensive.
- Thread starter
- #516
No, he's actually my high school friend. Don't worry, he speaks english. He's been in Osaka U for 4 years, should know the place pretty well.
The phone costs are incorporated in the monthly subscription. You can check the websites that you posted earlier. Most phones are free except some really advanced or new models, such as Iphone. But i heard the IPhone 3G is now on promotion, 8GB comes FOC with white plan. 16GB costs bout 500yen difference every month. Kinda attractive, i'll definitely check out the Iphone before looking at others.
- Thread starter
- #518
I thought there's a one year contract package, whereby you pay higher subscription monthly.
- Thread starter
- #521
Of course there's a difference!
1 year contract - you can sign up with another service provider sooner if they are offering better rates/phones. I assume there will be penalty charges if you wish to end the service before the contract expires.
THough price wise (in totality) it may be almost the same for either 1 or 2 years.
MakKuro
先輩
- 17 Jan 2009
- 36
- 0
I cannot wait to meet you guys! (we'll be with so many at the Frankfurt airport!)
The same eagerness here. ^^
@oronen, @DaiUso I'll pick you guys up, just give me the exact flight details. Then we'll meet up with maaya and her friend. And then ﾂ….. hello Frankfurtﾂ….^^
If someone doesn't get along with the group we'll meet at the gate for the Japan leg of the trip at 1400! Is it OK with you guys?!
Mobile Phone
The phone is service-specific, in the sense that you will use specific phone for DoCoMo, au and Softbank respectively. Changing from one service to another, you will have to change your phone as well. Some phones are just costing 1 yen, if you look at the kakaku.com website. But I suppose there will be some 'hidden' fees. I think it is sort of like SIM-locked situation in other countries.
Monthly Stipends
We have not received any formal notice yet. I suppose they will announce it in our send-off ceremony. But just to assure you, the stipends would be enough for our daily usage, just that we might not be able to save much for our travelling.
The phone is service-specific, in the sense that you will use specific phone for DoCoMo, au and Softbank respectively. Changing from one service to another, you will have to change your phone as well. Some phones are just costing 1 yen, if you look at the kakaku.com website. But I suppose there will be some 'hidden' fees. I think it is sort of like SIM-locked situation in other countries.
Monthly Stipends
We have not received any formal notice yet. I suppose they will announce it in our send-off ceremony. But just to assure you, the stipends would be enough for our daily usage, just that we might not be able to save much for our travelling.
ya most of the phone are locked.. but it hink i saw in softbank website that they offer phone that can be used in other countries as well.. i think they call it international phone or something.. not sure if i got misunderstand their meaning.. u guys can check it out
