Mobile Data Access In Hokkaido

[dl]

Although this was our 4th Family Vacation to Japan, I had always activated Roaming (Phone + Data) for my wife and I. And we tried to keep all calls on Skype.

On this trip, to save some money, My line was Phone + Data Roaming, My Wife had her Phone Roaming but no Data. And for my 3 older kids, all their phones were in Airplane Mode/No Data + Wifi on.

The eConnect Hi Speed card is pretty good, but only 5 devices could connect to it. Seeing that we had 5 phones between us, an iPad as well as a Seagate Satellite Wireless HDD (which I used to let the kids watch their shows), it was a little lacking (for people who only need 5 or less, this is perfect). In the cities and most towns, 3G and 4G speed was exemplary, and posting photos to Facebook was a piece of cake (better than Singapore)

The issue mostly was the battery life... about 5 hours max.

Of course once you drive further up north, and worse when in Mountain Country, the signal could get really bad, and for some places, I would be driving for over 10km without any network coverage.

But generally where there is accommodation (in cities and towns), the coverage is pretty damn good!

And then there was the lack of charging (12V) points in the rental Alphard. Only 1 up front (the rental Elgrand I had on day 1 had another 1 in the cargo area - and my own car back home has 3, so this was a shocker. I had 4 USB, 12V splitter, but after 3 days of abuse, it gave up and I was left with my 2 x USB splitter. 1 powered my phone, the other my Bluetooth audio receiver for connecting to the Aux of the car (definitely better than using the given 3.5mm jack) So my kids had to use their 10000mah battery packs for their phones.

 

[touchme]

Bookmarked for upcoming trip

 

[cheefarn]

Although this was our 4th Family Vacation to Japan, I had always activated Roaming (Phone + Data) for my wife and I. And we tried to keep all calls on Skype.

On this trip, to save some money, My line was Phone + Data Roaming, My Wife had her Phone Roaming but no Data. And for my 3 older kids, all their phones were in Airplane Mode/No Data + Wifi on.

The eConnect Hi Speed card is pretty good, but only 5 devices could connect to it. Seeing that we had 5 phones between us, an iPad as well as a Seagate Satellite Wireless HDD (which I used to let the kids watch their shows), it was a little lacking (for people who only need 5 or less, this is perfect). In the cities and most towns, 3G and 4G speed was exemplary, and posting photos to Facebook was a piece of cake (better than Singapore)

The issue mostly was the battery life... about 5 hours max.

Of course once you drive further up north, and worse when in Mountain Country, the signal could get really bad, and for some places, I would be driving for over 10km without any network coverage.

But generally where there is accommodation (in cities and towns), the coverage is pretty damn good!

And then there was the lack of charging (12V) points in the rental Alphard. Only 1 up front (the rental Elgrand I had on day 1 had another 1 in the cargo area - and my own car back home has 3, so this was a shocker. I had 4 USB, 12V splitter, but after 3 days of abuse, it gave up and I was left with my 2 x USB splitter. 1 powered my phone, the other my Bluetooth audio receiver for connecting to the Aux of the car (definitely better than using the given 3.5mm jack) So my kids had to use their 10000mah battery packs for their phones.

Prob because rental car agencies always rent out base 'rental car grade' versions of a particular model. The Alphard sold by BM in Sillypore have rear 12V ports

Hey bro, you're going on a holiday la, not mobile warrior ley. My Honda Freed Hybrid I drove over there had one 12V port too (that ciggy lighter), but I didnt have to use it at all. The GPS system that came with the car is more than enough for my needs. No need to start the extremely power zapping Google Maps in my android phone.

Just charge your phones fully in hotels and you'd be fine.

 

[dl]

Prob because rental car agencies always rent out base 'rental car grade' versions of a particular model. The Alphard sold by BM in Sillypore have rear 12V ports

Hey bro, you're going on a holiday la, not mobile warrior ley. My Honda Freed Hybrid I drove over there had one 12V port too (that ciggy lighter), but I didnt have to use it at all. The GPS system that came with the car is more than enough for my needs. No need to start the extremely power zapping Google Maps in my android phone.

Just charge your phones fully in hotels and you'd be fine.

I know... i test drove the Alphard here and was hopeful... but alas...
at least the seats could slide and we really made use of that over the trip.

I am too used to charging all the time (i have 6 usb points in my car at home), and i was also clocking waze miles...

But overall the Alphard was a very solid car for charging up and down mountains and highways (returning 10.2km/L overall) even in ECO mode. Just that cornering was somewhat "tilting".

The 2.4 engine was quiet and just powerful enough to make the trip comfortable. Body was a little too tall for my usual sort of driving.

 

[cheefarn]

I know... i test drove the Alphard here and was hopeful... but alas...
at least the seats could slide and we really made use of that over the trip.

I am too used to charging all the time (i have 6 usb points in my car at home), and i was also clocking waze miles...

But overall the Alphard was a very solid car for charging up and down mountains and highways (returning 10.2km/L overall) even in ECO mode. Just that cornering was somewhat "tilting".

The 2.4 engine was quiet and just powerful enough to make the trip comfortable. Body was a little too tall for my usual sort of driving.

Not too bad for a 1.8+tons MPV. That old style 2AZ-FE 2.4L from the old Camry somehow still adequate for the job. We can dream on if rental agencies will rent a 3.5L dual VVTi V6 Alphard to you.

Haha tell me about it. Even that little Freed Hybrid I drove felt abit unsteady when there's a cross wind or when I'm trying to overtake trucks and buses on the highway. Have to keep reminding my self that despite sharing the H badge, the Freed Hybrid is not my Civic. Can't drive it like it I do in SG.

Haha I guess you didn't stay in hotels where their carpark lifts is so small that it can't even fit any decent car inside. The Court Hotel Asahikawa is a great example. I was told my Freed was too tall for the lift!Huh? Freed too tall? I was forced to park at an open air public carpark some 2 streets away. Big turn off as we need to pull/push luggages all the way to n from the hotel.

I will prob rent a Mark X or even the Crown for my next visit next yr. Alphard rental cost is more than the Crown isn't it? At least the Crown is a Jap version of Lexus GS300... same engine/drivetrain etc

 

[James Tang]

For NTT Docomo (for Starhub Conexus) It's S$15 a day (before GST) unlimited.

But I've decided to get the eConnect P-420 (WiFi-To-Go) High Speed Unlimited Data Model
At $100 for 9 days, including delivery to my hotel, I think it's pretty damn worth it.

Will probably keep my phone plan going as well for navigation and communication (with home) purposes, and while the rest of the family (wife + 3 older kids) use the econnect for Internet, News, Youtube, Skype and online gaming

Definitely more worth than Singtel's SGD20 per day

 

[dl]

Haha tell me about it. Even that little Freed Hybrid I drove felt abit unsteady when there's a cross wind or when I'm trying to overtake trucks and buses on the highway. Have to keep reminding my self that despite sharing the H badge, the Freed Hybrid is not my Civic. Can't drive it like it I do in SG.

Haha I guess you didn't stay in hotels where their carpark lifts is so small that it can't even fit any decent car inside. The Court Hotel Asahikawa is a great example. I was told my Freed was too tall for the lift!Huh? Freed too tall? I was forced to park at an open air public carpark some 2 streets away. Big turn off as we need to pull/push luggages all the way to n from the hotel.

I will prob rent a Mark X or even the Crown for my next visit next yr. Alphard rental cost is more than the Crown isn't it? At least the Crown is a Jap version of Lexus GS300... same engine/drivetrain etc

I so miss my old Civic. I used to drive the 2.0 Manual FD before I got my Passat...
and that was a gem to drive; great engine, good handling, decent space on the inside (the boot was not big enough though).

When I went to Hakodate in Dec 2011, I knew that I had to park the car in a Tower, so I could only choose a car within the maximum dimensions of that car park. Based on that, I could only have an Allion. Anything else would either be too long/wide/tall. I was initially looking at the Mark X then... but sigh...

As for my personal choice... if you are looking for proper driving cars, I know that Nissan Rent a Car has a 4-seat Skyline Coupe (2.5L) and 370Z for slightly more than what I paid for the Alphard... and if no long distance driving the GTR is also available on a daily basis.

As for my future trips back to Japan, I'm still stuck with the Alphard, as I have 4 kids and more luggage than any normal car can handle... and after driving the Elgrand (which is a much better handling car than the Alphard) for a day there, I know that it can't handle my luggage (had to fold down a seat).

 

[solarwings]

Anyone use Pupuru before? Can it be used in Hokkaido?
Data Card Rental Service?PuPuru: Cell Phone Rentals Japan

 

[cheefarn]

Anyone use Pupuru before? Can it be used in Hokkaido?
Data Card Rental Service?PuPuru: Cell Phone Rentals Japan

There's no reason why it can't be used in Hokkaido. From what I can see, it is just another service provider that offers LTE/3G WIFI router for tourists. They're using Hwawei products too.

The only disadv I see is that the provider have very few outlets from which you can collect your rental WIFI router.

 

[hyching]

Where to get this e connect card?

 

[Hellscythe]

Used M1 data passport for 2 weeks plus in Tokyo and Hokkaido. They changed over from Softbank to NTT DoCoMo during my trip. Was able to get 4G with Softbank but only 3G with NTT DoCoMo, but still enough for general web surfing and google maps. Coverage was never really an issue throughout the trip, with only areas like tunnels having no signal. Do take note that the rates may have changed. Used to be $10 a month plus $2 activation fee.