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Having a mac in Japan

DJ OJ

DJ OJ

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 3, 2006
152
0
Japan>Shibuya>My House. Unbelievable Ain't it!?
My family is most likely moving to Japan very soon. I know my mac mini will work in japan, but what if I need support, or to take my mac to a genius bar? I heard having a mac in Japan is not always easy. I really don't want to do this, but would it be easier to sell my mini on ebay or something and buy a cheap,sucky windows machine and install FlyaKite OSX on it????? Please, I need quick Replys. THANKS!!!!

-DJ OJ
 
What city will you be in? The Tokyo and Osaka stores are very modern, the staff seemed knowledgeable, and I'd expect that they could problem help you with any problems. There are stores in a few other cities, including Fukuoka (way to the west), but Kyoto has yet to have a store. I saw Macs in Takayama on the north coast of Honshu, but I doubt there's much support there or in other out-of-the-way cities.
 
Doctor Q is right, if you are in or near Osaka or Tokyo, then the Apple Store
and all the bennifits are there. Worst case case scenario would be having to take the JR to a major city. Good luck, and Life in Japan.
 
Mac's in Japan

Hello,

I live in Tokyo with a G4 iBook and have visited the Apple store in Tokyo (shibuya area). The people in there are amazing, there is western people who of course speak fluent English and there is nothing they can't fix (almost haha).

Where in Japan are you going to be living? I had no problems connecting to an internet source, and have had no worries with being a Mac user in Japan at all. Has been an very pleasant experience. All the department stores have Apple and 3rd party hardware and everthing else you could ever need.

WRCfan
 
Thanks for the replys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to get permission from my parents before giving out more information. I do not think that the location of the stores is a problem any more though. I also have questions about internet. We have vonage, and we want to find cable there. Also cable for the internet. Is cable expensive or easy to find? Here is a list of stores from the Japan Apple Website. [see picture] Thanks for all the help! and good luck telling!:)
 

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DJ OJ said:
Thanks for the replys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to get permission from my parents before giving out more information. I do not think that the location of the stores is a problem any more though. I also have questions about internet. We have vonage, and we want to find cable there. Also cable for the internet. Is cable expensive or easy to find? Here is a list of stores from the Japan Apple Website. [see picture] Thanks for all the help! and good luck telling!:)
Click to expand...
Easy to find but very expensive.:eek: You pay for everything including
regular T.V. My suggestion for internet use is shop around for a National
Wireless Service, I'm sure others here can point you in the right direction.
Similar to T-mobile Hotspot, but Japanese.

Oh, and keep an eye out for free wireless hotspots, more and more are popping up
depending on where you're going.
 
Yakamoto said:
Easy to find but very expensive.:eek: You pay for everything including
regular T.V. My suggestion for internet use is shop around for a National
Wireless Service, I'm sure others here can point you in the right direction.
Similar to T-mobile Hotspot, but Japanese.

Oh, and keep an eye out for free wireless hotspots, more and more are popping up
depending on where you're going.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend cable in Japan for internet - get fiber optic or ADSL. Fiber optic is something like 100Mbps and ADSL, last time I checked, was at 40Mbps (and qwest tells me that 1.5 is "blazing fast":rolleyes: ). When you get there, you won't have a lot of trouble. NTT has an English page all about their internet services. Frankly, compared to the US, Japan broadband is CHEAP! Sometimes you can get cheap deals going through a different provider. I used Jens, but there were many others. Also, don't be conned by the myth that you MUST buy a phone line for $800. Nonsense. You can rent a line fairly cheaply directly from NTT. If you want to buy a line, lots of departing expats sell off fairly cheaply (¥10,000 is a good deal).

I think satellite for TV is the way to go if you are wanting some US comfort TV. Basically, everyone I know who had cable in Japan, canceled. They said the service was unreliable.

As for cellphones, deals there are better than the rip-off plans they have in the US. Docomo phones are cool, but they are also the most expensive...

Incidentally, Apple Japan has English support, so if you have a problem and haven't learned the language yet, you can call apple.

I don't know about apple care. My agreement says that it is only valid in the US. If I were you, I'd call apple first.

Finally, NO don't sell your mac just because you are moving to Japan. The mini is a good size, I suppose for most Japanese apartments. Laptops tend to be more popular because they are easily put away out of site...

do I sound like I miss it? I do...:( Lucky you!

yt

edit: here are some links for you. I couldn't resist:
B-flets (fiber)
Flets (ADSL)
Jens
 
yojitani said:
I wouldn't recommend cable in Japan for internet - get fiber optic or ADSL. Fiber optic is something like 100Mbps and ADSL, last time I checked, was at 40Mbps (and qwest tells me that 1.5 is "blazing fast":rolleyes: ). When you get there, you won't have a lot of trouble. NTT has an English page all about their internet services. Frankly, compared to the US, Japan broadband is CHEAP! Sometimes you can get cheap deals going through a different provider. I used Jens, but there were many others. Also, don't be conned by the myth that you MUST buy a phone line for $800. Nonsense. You can rent a line fairly cheaply directly from NTT. If you want to buy a line, lots of departing expats sell off fairly cheaply (¥10,000 is a good deal).

I think satellite for TV is the way to go if you are wanting some US comfort TV. Basically, everyone I know who had cable in Japan, canceled. They said the service was unreliable.

As for cellphones, deals there are better than the rip-off plans they have in the US. Docomo phones are cool, but they are also the most expensive...

Incidentally, Apple Japan has English support, so if you have a problem and haven't learned the language yet, you can call apple.

I don't know about apple care. My agreement says that it is only valid in the US. If I were you, I'd call apple first.

Finally, NO don't sell your mac just because you are moving to Japan. The mini is a good size, I suppose for most Japanese apartments. Laptops tend to be more popular because they are easily put away out of site...

do I sound like I miss it? I do...:( Lucky you!

yt

edit: here are some links for you. I couldn't resist:
B-flets (fiber)
Flets (ADSL)
Jens
Click to expand...

Thanks for the corrections, as I said I knew someone would come in with more knowledge than myself.
 
I'm envious of you, as well. I have owned an Integra Type R, S2000 and hopefully an NSX in the near future, and have always wanted to visit Spoon/Type One and the Honda museum in Japan. Have fun over there.

And don't forget your "wabaki." :D
 
Don't forget that Mac support is great from anywhere in the world as long as you can get to MacRumors. We're always around to give out free advice. Quite often it's worth lots more than that!
 
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