The 21st-Century Traveler

Internet Access Away From Home

Travelers have any number of ways to check their e-mail and access the Internet on the road, from their own laptops to cybercafes.

Without Your Own Computer -- Cybercafes are finally catching on in Japan, though they're still nonexistent in small towns. We've listed cybercafes for many destinations when we could find them, but more may have opened by the time you travel. Ask local tourist offices for locations; or check www.cybercaptive.com or www.cybercafe.com, though from my experience information on these sites can be outdated. Avoid hotel business centers unless you're willing to pay exorbitant rates.

To retrieve your e-mail, ask your Internet service provider (ISP) if it has a Web-based interface tied to your existing e-mail account. If it doesn't, use the free mail2web service (www.mail2web.com) to view and reply to your home e-mail. For more flexibility, you may want to open a free, Web-based e-mail account with Yahoo! Mail (http://mail.yahoo.com). (Microsoft's Hotmail has severe spam problems.) Your home ISP may be able to forward your e-mail to the Web-based account automatically.

With Your Own Computer -- Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), whereby you can get high-speed connection without cable wires, networking hardware, or a phone line is not yet big in Japan, though more hotels may come on board in the next couple years. In the meantime, all upper-end hotels and many moderately priced ones have high-speed dataports; some even have TVs that double as computers.

Major Internet service providers (ISPs) have local access numbers around the world, allowing you to go online by simply placing a local call. Check your ISP's website or call its toll-free number and ask how you can use your current account away from home and how much it will cost.

If you're traveling outside the reach of your ISP, the iPass network has dial-up numbers in most of the world's countries. You'll have to sign up with an iPass provider, who will then tell you how to set up your computer for Japan. For a list of iPass providers, go to www.ipass.com and click on "Individuals Buy Now." One solid provider is i2roam (www.i2roam.com; tel. 866/811-6209 or 920/235-0475).

Wherever you go, bring a connection kit of the right power and phone adapters, a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet network cable -- or find out whether your hotel supplies them to guests.

Using a Cellphone

The three letters that define much of the world's wireless capabilities are GSM (Global System for Mobiles). Unfortunately, Japan uses a system that is incompatible with GSM. You can, however, use your own mobile phone number in Japan using Vodafone or NTT DoCoMo's 3G (3rd generation) service areas. Simply bring your own SIM card and insert it into a rental phone or your own 3G handset. For more information, contact your mobile phone service provider, Vodafone (www.vodafone-rental.jp/eng/index.html), or NTT (http://roaming.nttdocomo.co.jp/index.html).

Otherwise, your best bet may be to rent a cellphone before leaving home. One well-known rental company is InTouch USA (tel. 800/872-7626; www.intouchglobal.com), which charges $49 per week for telephone rental in Japan, plus 99¢ per minute for domestic calls and $1.50 per minute for calls to the U.S. (incoming calls are free).

Otherwise, if you're in Japan for only a few days and are staying in an upper-class hotel, most convenient but most expensive is to rent a mobile phone from your hotel. A quick check of several hotels in Tokyo turned up rental fees ranging from ¥520 to ¥1,500 ($4.95-$14) per day (the more expensive the hotel, the more expensive the rental), with placed calls costing an extra ¥250 to ¥330 ($2.40-$3.15) per minute (there is no charge for incoming calls).

Otherwise, Narita, Osaka, and Nagoya international airports offer phone rentals. Narita, for example, has all the major phone companies, including Nokia (tel. 476/32-7636 in Terminal 1 or 476/34-6666 in Terminal 2) and Vodafone Global (tel. 03/5786-2030 in Terminal 1 or 2). Even the baggage delivery counters in the arrivals hall offer rental phones (check www.narita-airport.or.jp/airport_e/index.html for a list of phone rental companies and locations). Rental prices range from about ¥250 to ¥1,200 ($2.40-$11) per day, depending on the phone and company. If you want to order your phone through the Internet and pick it up upon arrival, try www.vodafone-rental.jp/inbound/eng/index.html or www.pupuru.com.

For extended stays, it's cheaper to purchase a mobile phone. Tu-Ka, based mostly in the Kanto (Tokyo) area and Au are two major cellphone companies, with outlets seemingly on every corner. You'll have to show proof of residence in Japan (which your hotel should be able to provide). Basic phones start at around ¥4,500 ($43), plus you'll have to purchase special prepaid cards (available at convenience stores) that are good for a limited number of calls within 3 months or so. Many plans are available.