What to Look Out For When Renting Wi-Fi in Japan: A Guide for International Students
2021.03.30
International Student-Friendly Wi-Fi
Q: Could you tell us a little bit about DXHub’s Wi-Fi services?
A: “Our pocket Wi-Fi service is called JP Smart Wi-Fi, and it’s designed to be international student-friendly. We don’t make people use a contract of a certain period of time, which is often difficult for students. We just require a residence card. Users can pay on a monthly basis, with the first month free, and a credit card isn’t required, either. Instead, we offer an option for people to pay with a ‘Smart Pit’ card, or through AliPay or WeChat Pay.
“Smart Pit is a card that allows users to make their payments with the machines at their local convenience stores.”
Because using these machines for the first time can be a bit daunting, DXHub also provides multilingual instructions on how to make these payments at machines at various convenience stores in Japan.
“There’s an easy online application to sign up, and then we ship the device to you. Our Wi-Fi plans offer 3GB per day, and customers are assigned at random to either cloud Wi-Fi, which automatically picks up on the strongest signal available, or to Wi-Fi on the Softbank network. There is no deposit required, and when students want to cancel they can do so without a cancellation fee, which is typically required for Wi-Fi.”
Q: What other services do you offer for international students/customers?
A: “When we send out the Wi-Fi devices, we also send them with multilingual instructions on how to use the Wi-Fi router, how to contact customer support, how to make payments with the Smart Pit card, and to end the contract when you’re ready.
“We also offer customer support in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Vietnamese, and we have Chinese and Vietnamese staff working with us as well. People can contact support through email, LINE, WeChat, WhatsApp, or Facebook, depending on the language they’d like to request support in.
“We also making returning the router easy. When students are about to go home, they can send it back to us through the mail.”
It might initially seem like a cumbersome process to sign up for Wi-Fi and get it working properly, but in Kyoto, there are companies that understand international students’ needs, and provide thorough support and work-arounds for some of the common problems that students might face when it comes to getting Wi-Fi.
So not to worry! You can select a Wi-Fi service that works for you, and focus on enjoying your student life in Kyoto.
For more details about DXHub’s Wi-Fi services, see their website below:
