Re: [tlug] Wifi hotspot access in Tokyo

[Stuart Luppescu <slu@example.com>]

On Sun, 2014-03-09 at 11:22 -1000, David J Iannucci wrote:
> Hi all.... I'll be visiting Tokyo soon, and thinking about how I'm
> gonna
> get my Net fix while around town with my laptop. I know this has been
> discussed before, but the tlug archives don't seem to be searchable
> and
> google is not being my friend in this respect.... so here I am
> asking.... and maybe something new has developed.
> 
> So.... I gather I need to pay for a wifi hotspot service if I don't
> wanna trudge around in frustration looking for where the free ones
> are.
> Found this page, but... does anyone know how up to date it is?
> 
>   http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2279.html

I was in Japan last Fall for a bit and found it very hard to get
internet access. I tried to rent a SIM card at the airport but was told
they only had SIM cards for iPhones (I have a Samsung Galaxy S3). I went
to the local AU, NTTDocomo and Softbank stores but none would rent me a
SIM card on a short-term contract (I was only there for a couple of
weeks). Another excuse was they only had rental SIM cards for phone
models that they sell and they don't sell the Samsung Galaxy S3. While
traveling around Tokyo I found that many, many stores provided Wifi
access but you needed an AU, Docomo or Softbank account to authenticate.
All in all, it was pretty frustrating. 
-- 
Stuart Luppescu <slu@example.com>