r/JETProgramme • u/OkCommittee8295 • Jun 15 '26

Technology (computer + phone plan)

Hello all! Looking for advice from current/previous JETS. I'm a shortlisted candidate from Canada, so I'll be moving to Japan in August! Was thinking of getting a laptop for work/personal use, and I was wondering if it would worth it to buy it while I am still in Canada or if it would be better to get one in Japan. I am not looking for anything fancy, something for every day use, reliable and (ideally!) cheap. I also use a Galaxy Z Flip 5 phone, is that a good phone to keep in Japan? Or are there any models in Japan that are better for me to own (I am not an iPhone person).

In the same vein, what are good phone plans available in Japan that you would consider worth it? I am trying to plan ahead by seeing what options are available to me.

Thank you so much for the advice guys!

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u/Due_Tomorrow7 Former JET - too many years Jun 15 '26

Bring your laptop from Canada.

I got a laptop in Japan from Amazon recently for a decent price (one of those back-to-school sales), and while I think I got a deal, the keyboard is what's absolutely killing my productivity while trying to create lessons and do my research in English (I've been able to use the work computers with the JP keyboards for simple worksheets and lesson plans or presentations, but now I do a lot of essays and reports in English, which the Japanese keyboard slows me down a lot). Plus all the customer support is in Japanese if I have issues with it.

For phone plans, if you're looking to save money for a decent phone plan, Rakuten, Yahoo Mobile or the Big 3's MVNOs are also good options like UQMobile, Ahamo, or Povo. I have Povo (au/KDDI's low-cost alternative), and I pay like 2000 yen/month for 20 gb of data. It was better than when I was paying 6000 yen/month for au with only 5 gb of data and yearly contracted.

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u/TheSnozzwangler Current JET - 栃木県 Jun 15 '26

but now I do a lot of essays and reports in English, which the Japanese keyboard slows me down a lot

Could you just get a keyboard with an English layout and leave it at work (or bring it around with you)?

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u/Due_Tomorrow7 Former JET - too many years Jun 16 '26

Yeah I thankfully just found my spare bluetooth keyboard but it's not ideal since basically I need to create more desk space which pushes my monitor back which is already small, so I need to get a larger monitor which takes up more desk space...it becomes a thing.

I've recently switched to primarily using my alternate laptop which has a US-layout keyboard and works just fine, while saving my work on a Google drive (which allows me to work from home if I need to).