Making phone calls in Japan

I don't use a landline service.

Mobile Carriers are: AU, Docomo, Softbank
I've heard that Docomo is the best quality, but the highest price. AU follows, and Softbank is last.

I personally use AU. I had to purchase my handset upfront, and I pay 5,500 yen a month for Unlimited Data. The data plan does get throttled after 8gb, but I have never reached the cap. I use LINE to make calls to avoid paying for minutes, which makes the phone bill decent.

We had an absolute nightmare trying to get mobile phones in Japan.  Firstly we needed a bank account to get a mobile phone account, but to get a bank account we needed a personal phone number...... talk about the chicken and the egg....  After a lot of frustration and perseverance we finally got there.  Check out my blog articles on this subject for more details;
Getting a Mobile Phone in Japan
Phone Shopping - Part 2

Following the bills is another matter all in itself, we ended up with iPhones and had Apple iCare or whatever they call it, which meant that al repairs were covered but you had to go to the Apple store to get it fixed pay the bill then take the account to Softbank (our provider) and submit to them for a claim.  We could never work out when it was reimbursed to our account but upon enquiring about a year later discovered that apparently it had been credited to our account but over 3 monthly installments.
A typical bill is full of charges and deductions with a total at the end, God only knows what they were charging for and crediting for but the amount at the end was realistic so just paid that.....

Also apps like Line, WhatsApp, Viber,Skype etc are great if you have an unlimited data plan for communicating as they are all widely used in Japan, so saves on paying messaging and calling fees.

Be warned, when you go to sign up for your phone take a deep breath, forget how it should be and just remember this is how it works in Japan.....  Have fun....

I started out using NTT 050 Plus, which is a Skype-like mobile phone thing. Now that I have gaijin card visa status I can get SoftBank, ntt docomo or Kddi but am happy with cheap 050 and sticking with it. I get a 3 month BIC data card for 4000 yen, 300 monthly to NTT plus pennies for call out. No 0120 nor emergency calls allowed but I can live with that. John

Interesting. I'm moving to Japan next week and have been trying to find out information on plans, it's so difficult (and I've worked selling phones plans for 7 years so I don't know how anyone else handles it). I think i'll just need data really so I'm hoping it won't be too much hassle. Thanks for the info though, tonyfitz I don't know if your info helped me or scared me even more ha.

Good luck anakoz, it is a real bureaucratic nightmare getting set up in Japan with their by the books ways, but while you are getting frustrated by the person in front of you with no initiative and pulling your hair out as you seem to be going no where fast, once done everything is a lot easier.  The first 3 months are the hardest and as asiaimages mentioned I don't think from memory that you will actually be able to get a phone (on contract at least) until you have your residency card.....

From what I've read the residence card is now processed along with your entry at the airport if you enter through Narita (which I am). Think I still need to get the address validated within a couple of weeks. If so hopefully it'll be slightly more streamlined.

Wow, well that will definitely makes things easier, I think it took us a good 2 months to get that to allow us to do anything....  Enjoy Japan it is an amazing country, with great people and great food.

Thank you! Really looking forward to it. I'll update once I know for sure about the residence card and if I find any phone info that could help.