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Suica and Passmo are cross-connected (as are most, if not all, of the other similar services outside of Tokyo) so it really doesn't matter which one you get. Of course, now that almost everyone uses one or the other, there aren't usually any lines in front of the ticket machines, if you really wanted to keep doing things the old way. The only downside is when you're with other people who look at you askance for making them wait while you buy a ticket ;-).

BTW, many smartphones have the FeliCA chip built-in but I think they're limited to carrier-based phones and setting all that up for a short visit doesn't seem like much of a win to me.

You can buy unlocked phones cheaply (5~6000 yen)in Akihabara. You can get them a little less cheaply (maybe 2~3-man yen) in any of the discount shops (Bic, etc). If you're in the States, try BLU phones on Amazon. I have a dual-SIM one that I use on my trips back home but I've tried it here and it works great. That also allows you to have your home SIM and a cheap local data-only SIM in the same phone. There are also shops that sell no-name unlocked phones but the last I looked, they weren't that much cheaper than Amazon or Bic, etc.

On Thu, Jun 16, 2016 at 4:44 PM, David J Iannucci <jlinux@example.com> wrote:

Hi folks,

I know I have asked you questions like these in the past, usually before
a visit to Japan, but here I am to ask you again (esp. because details
change over years, and different people are reading :=) I will be
visiting Tokyo later this month for a couple weeks and this time in
particular, I want to have a very efficient visit in which I have easy
access to info on-line while on the run, and easy communications with
people (incidentally I have signed up for the upcoming nomikai, my first
TLUG meeting in probably 18 years - yikes. Looking forward to it!)

I really am a bit of a dinosaur: I don't have a smartphone even at home,
and so only use "traditional" computers for Internet access. Normally.
But for this trip I will want to go beyond my comfort zone :=) So I'd
like to know:

* Recommendations on renting a smartphone. I guess an iPhone, because
I've heard iOS is better than Android. I have an Android tablet for
the kids, and think the UI is dumb and unintuitive. Update: I spoke to
my very untechie wife, who's over there already, and she apparently
bought a sumaho very cheaply. Probly not iPhone, I guess. But if
buying makes more sense, then bring it on.

I had a favorite phone rental place before, Rentafone Japan, but it
seems they still have not caught up to the smartphone world. Probably
by their own strategy, but that doesn't help me.

* I found this: http://flets.com/freewifi/. Looks good, and there are a
bazillion places to access it, apparently. I also know about JR East's
free wifi service. Any personal experiences with either of these that
it would help me to know?

But I would be grateful for ANY other advice on easy and convenient
access to free wifi, esp. places where I can put a laptop down to work
other than on my lap. I know about Starbucks, of course :=)

* Suica vs Pasmo. Which one should I get? Is it sixes? My usual stomping
grounds is centered roughly on Ikebukuro, if that makes a difference.
I've never had one of these cards before, preferring to stick, even
over many visits for the last 15 years, with the old paper tickets
from the machine, that are so familiar and comfortable: remember,
dinosaur :=) But it's time to get with the times. Is there any
concern about having money stolen off the cards by people standing
close to you?

Thanks much in advance, and if you prefer to respond off-list, I'll do
my best to summarize.

Dave

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Re: [tlug] Best communications-enabled, efficient visit