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Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi?
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This app was mentioned in 7 comments, with an average of 1.71 upvotes
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The 256Kb/sec is fine - leave it as is
Galaxy Tab S2 has info here: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-28330
Band 1 and 3 LTE are supported and Softbank has those as main bands. You can also fallback to HSPA Band 1
I HIGHLY suggest either doing a monthly one off sub to Boingo which works with a few of the larger Japan WiFi networks - or just try this free app which connects to not many national WiFi networks but a few of them that are in places you may be. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nttbp.jfw&hl=en
With Boingo to be honest I've rarely ever been in a built up place or station and not had one of the WiFi providers not be available. Yes enroute on a train or in rural it won't be there and fallback to T-Mobile data is generally fine.
PS: Most hotels have gigabit fiber into the building so you will see hotel WiFi speeds that are loads better than in the US.
If you use the app link above - download it in the US - and let it update the directory of access points and REGISTER before you get there. Boingo will be better than as it can connect to WI2 Premium hotspots which are nearly everywhere - that's worth the $10 to pay for one month of Boingo - it's 4.98 for the first month right now - but cancel it before the first month ends
As others have been saying here, just bring your phone over and you'll be fine. I've done it with my Nexus 6P and Pixel XL, but I tend to prefer renting pocket wifi so I can connect multiple devices. Since I live here now I am on a Japanese sim.
Google's wifi assistant doesn't really work here I don't think, so if you're trying to pick up some more free wifi, check out apps like Japan Wifi (preregister before going to Japan) or TownWifi. They tend to be janky, but sometimes they'll help you save a bit of data when Instagraming in a busy area.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nttbp.jfw
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.wifishare.townwifi&hl=en_US
Japan has an official app to make this process easier:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nttbp.jfw&hl=en
It just knows all participating shops with wifi and tries to login automatically. This even includes offline maps. Sometimes it did not work, so do not rely on that too heavily.
There are a lot of free WiFi in Tokyo. Get the Japan free wifi app. There are two :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nttbp.jfw
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.ne.wi2.tjwifi
These two app makes connecting to the free WiFi easier.
All convenience stores(konbinis) [7 eleven, lawson, familymart] and major train stations have free WiFi.
With that said, I still recommend you to get a SIM card.
Google Maps doesn't have rights to download offline data in Japan - best you can do is star/bookmark areas you need to be in and zoom in/out to get them to cache.
OP: You will likely only be able to access Softbank - reports of roaming in Dec on NTT DoCoMo showed many having access issue. Please report back if NTT DoCoMo works for you.
Previously on the 10 or so trips I've done to Japan since Simple Roaming started, performance is good, no issues - I've stopped renting or using a MiFi as well.
Also; suggest pre-downloading this app for free WiFi and setting it up BEFORE You leave as it pushes down a database that is multi MB: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nttbp.jfw
Biggest add on this app is now accessing free WiFi in 7-11 group stores
Final add: My hotel on my last trip had a MiFi rental that was "free" - didn't know about this until I asked - if staying in a hotel ask the concierge if they have a MiFi loaner service - was capped at 200MB a day then at a slow 256Kb/sec but worked fine.
Me and a friend were in Tokyo around this time last year and had a really great time there! For train schedules; we used Google Maps for both the metro and the train. For more detailed information about train-prices (mainly our train from Tokyo to Haneda Airport) we went to the train company's website. As for the offline map of Tokyo we pretty much only printed a piece of paper with all the subway lines. But we never actually used it due to the fact that we had Wifi-connections almost everywhere.
I highly recommend this app for Tokyo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nttbp.jfw&hl=sv With that app we could connect to Wifi at every 7-Eleven and Family Mart (and many, many more), which are pretty much eveywhere in Tokyo. The app was a bit messy to work with some times, but it always did it's job in the end.
Sorry for the wall of text. Hope you have a nice trip!
Suica is definitely the best choice for this.
Hyperdia also has apps. Named HYPERDIA by VOICE for iOS and HyperDia for Android (for.. well take a guess :P).
If for whatever reason you don't trust Hyperdia there are also other options. Like Japan Trains (which I used as backup on Android).