Job Discussion Forums

[Mapleblondie]

This is a bit off-topic from teaching in Japan, persay, but it directs concerns several key aspects of living in Japan while teaching, so I think it's relevant to post here.

I know that the ultimate decision I will make regarding the type of internet to go with will depend on the housing I am assigned by ECC, and I will not find that out for another month or so still, but I would like to do some research regarding what my best options are in all scenarios (i.e. whether I have FLETS or ADSL access).

I have already done some searching on Gaijinpot and on various websites, but I keep hearing lots of conflicting points of which companies are best to go with, and so far, I have only found ONE option that bundles TV with internet at a decent price (Yahoo BB). I have heard that Yahoo is troublesome in terms of internet connectivity, and would like to know if other providers offer specials with TV as well that I might consider as alternative choices.

I am not really certain about what my phone situation will be in order to connect to the internet or not, as it will depend on whether there is one in my apartment already or not. I DO NOT want to get a phone for any purposes other than connecting to the internet, since I will already use my cell phone to receive calls from family and friends at home (and will use a calling card for any outgoing calls to Canada).

From what I've heard from people so far, it is not unreasonable to hope to pay about 10,000 yen per month for a tv, internet, and phone line (for net) bundle. Any advice? Personal experiences with certain providers that might help me decide? I've heard about the net service in general so far, but if anyone can give me a more well-rounded perspective regarding a bundle deal, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance!

[Inflames]

I had NTT ADSL before and I got Baycom in January when I moved. I pay 7,500 a month for cable and TV (no phone, I just use my cell phone). I had it installed within a week (Yahoo and NTT can't beat that).

I'm a lot more satisfied with Baycom than NTT. NTT was fine, but I had an old line (like 8M ADSL) and it was like 6,000 yen a month (including Flets as my ISP). Now I pay 1,500 yen a month more and get a faster line and I have cable (standard cable [which gets a decent number of English language channels], although I could pay more for movie channels). NTT has English language service but Baycom doesn't (so I've had to do everything in Japanese, but it wasn't hard). I had some problems with my NTT line and it seemed like a hassle to get them to deal with it.

Here's their website (you'll need to see if you can sign up when you find out your address as they're not in all of Osaka)
http://baycom.jp/index.html

[Mapleblondie]

Thanks Inflames! I checked them out and they seem decent. I am just a bit relucant to get involved with a company that doesn't have any English service or assistance, since although I can speak Japanese and read it fairly well, I know I am not competant enough to understand the minutia of contracts on my own...and I really don't want to get duped, ya know? Did you get the help of a Japanese friend to look things over for you, just to make sure? And how is the set-up process with that company?

I seemed to find Yahoo BB appealing because they come to do the set-up apparently, and I am pretty clueless when it comes to computers and hooking things up. Thanks again.

Oh, and if anyone else has advice or opinions about different experiences, please share them.

[Quibby84]

It is a PAIN IN THE BUTT to get Yahoo BB set up. But once its set, no prob. You have to wait like one month before you can get it done and then they only give you a few choices on the days that they can come, (this is all in japanese) and then if you cant do it those days you have to wait like another week...its nuts..and really annoying. They have a secret english line but I lost the number...
But it is cheap, its about 4,500 a month and it comes with the phone (which is a cent or two cheaper than skype..great!), then we bought Sky Perfect TV which is about 3,000 a month...so it comes up to less than 10,000. Yahoo BB also always has specials going on so we didnt pay anything until we had it for like 3 months or something...its just the set up that is a pain. But you can check out their website, just type Yahoo BB into google.

[Mapleblondie]

Hey Quibby, thanks. I've spent a fair bit of time on the site actually, and it seemed pretty good. Why did you decidce to go with a different company for tv, rather than with YahooBB? The person I spoke with from ECC told me that Apollo apartments (in Osaka) typically don't have phone lines set up, so it's good that I can get one set up through Yahoo.

I'm wondering how people who don't speak Japanese are expected to be able to set up the basics like net and phone even, if service in English is so hard to come by...Hmmm. I think I would like to figure out how to get in touch with them in English, jsut for the same of making sure I know the details. It's been over 2 years since I lived in Japan for university, so I know my speaking ability needs a major brush-up.

As for the pain in the butt set-up you are talking about, do you mean that the trouble comes from them making you wait OR from figuring out the technical stuff with hooking things up on your own? If it's just a matter of waiting for net, I will use WiFi at Starbucks or McDonalds for the first while, and that won't be a huge issue...BUT I dunno much about ISP, or whatever the other terms are for getting and hooking up net. Any tips?

[khusam]

I think it's mostly the waiting time that's a pain, YahooBB took 6 weeks to get us hooked up the first time. DO have someone check your contract.. my husband is Japanese and we still got stung when trying to stop it. The service was fine, otherwise.

Ooh, except for that '3 months free' stuff. The six weeks of waiting around for them was part of the 'freeness' we got.

Anyhow, depending on where you end up, you might not have loads of options. We have cable now, they set it up within 2 days. And I can watch all the 'Buffy, Season 2' and A-Team I want. Phone, TV and internet is 10,000/month. Good rates to the US, not so great to Canada.

[Mapleblondie]

Khusam, thanks for your reply too. I need all the advice I can get. You mentioned that you are using cable now and it seems to be good for you...Which company did you go with for that? I will do my best to translate the contract, and will get a friend or maybe someone at ECC to look it over to double-check it for me afterwards.

I don't really understand the whole idea that you go with a company and then you need an ISP provider or something to that effect. Depending on wherever I am put for housing, I suppose my big decision of ADSL, cable, or fibre-optics will be decided for me...then it will just be a matter of narrowing down specific providers. I am guess, though, that if Apollo apartments don't have phone lines hooked up, it might be up to tenants to decide about their net?? Hmmm...Or maybe it will depend upon if the building requires only one type of net.

I would definitely like to pay as little as possible for the bundle of phone, net, and tv, but I budgeted for 10,000 per month, just to be safe. That said, if hooking up net and everything CAN be done in such a short time where I live via a cable provider, I will gladly pay the extra.

As for fave tv shows I really hope to get with whatever company I go with, I am not too picky. It would be nice to have a few English shows like Buffy, but I mainly want tv for more Japanese language exposure. I would like to have access to kodomo news (yes, I understand THAT show, but not so much the regular news in Japanese..lol), j-doramas (the best new ones), and maybe any other music videos, etc. that go with basic tv packages. As for net, I mainly want to use it for msn and facebook-type connections to people at home in Canada. I like to use the video cam conversation option on msn meesenger, so I supose I need a fair speed connection for that. Downloading might be nice too, to keep up with shows at home (like Smallville), but I have been hearing lots about how downloading in Japan is being cracked down on lately...Contending with those types of problems doesn't sound like fun.

[khusam]

I'm not in Osaka.. and in our area, only J-Com is available for cable. Like I said, you may not have so many options. Not sure what you're talking about with company+ISP provider.. With Yahoo, I think we needed to rent a phone line (?can't remember?) but nothing else. J-Com provided everything.

[Mapleblondie]

Oh, I see. J-com, eh? Ok. I will check them out too. As for the confusion about the company and IP provider, I am confused too. I was reading some posts on this site and Gaijinpot and am at a loss when it comes to details about net connections. A company that provides all the details is definitely the way to go for me, being a computer-dummy and all. Hehe. Thanks!~

[Ryu Hayabusa]

@Mapleblondie

So, which internet company did you end up going with and details, please!

[reasonJP]

Yahoo BB's alright, but because it's through your ADSL, there's no high def channels, which is why I switched to JCom. Had no problems leaving Softbank though.

[Ryu Hayabusa]

I went to Yodobashi Camera a few days ago and spoke to a man in the OCN section. He checked my address and apparently, I'm only able to get ADSL. OCN couldn't provide service so he walked me over and introduced me to the Yahoo BB rep. Yahoo BB's ADSL seems good (about 5000 yen/month) and according to the sheet he gave me I'm about 1.5 kilometers away from an NTT center which means my maximum DL rate would be approx 18 Mbps and upload rate about 8-9 Mbps. They said they need a phone number to set up my internet and that it would take a month or so.

I'm going back to Yodobashi Camera today to see if there are any other companies that can supply me with ADSL internet faster and cheaper while providing similar performance. I'm hoping they can speak English like the Yahoo BB rep could.