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Buying A 3G iPhone In Japan

Jul 16th, 2008 by Neil

It was the most anticipated purchase i have ever made. In the final weeks leading up to the 11th of July it was bordering on an obsession. Considering i had never owned an Apple product, not even an iPod, i surprised myself at how much i was researching this device, wanting to be up to speed the minute i bought it and minimise the learning curve.

D-day was fast approaching and i was in the same boat as everyone else in Japan, pretty much in the dark with conflicting stories from Softbank, nothing from Apple themselves and listening to a wealth of experts on local forums professing to have all the answers.

Correct, there is NO difference getting one on the first day as there is a month later, except of course for having it sooner, but i still wanted one and wanted one badly.

Probably no less than 10 “plans of attack” were discussed and the second last one being ruled out Thursday afternoon when arriving at Harajuku to see 300+ people in line. The final plan was a trip down to Yodobashi at Machida first thing Friday morning.

iPhone Japan

The first train from Shinjuku down the line Friday morning is 5.02am. At 9pm i decided this wasn’t early enough so i packed a bag and headed down on the 10.15pm Romance Car, aiming to get to Machida around 11pm.

The Romance Car was packed, despite needing to go to Machida i had to go to Sagami Ono and then catch a local train back 1 stop.

I’d only been to Sagami-Ono once before, that was after drinks with the boys from work.

iPhone Japan

The station was pretty light on for activity at that time of the night.

iPhone Japan

Back up the line to Machida, on time for an 11pm arrival.

iPhone Japan

No other Gaijin, this was a good sign.

iPhone Japan

It’s only 1 stop and a few minutes so before you know it i was pulling up at Machida station.

iPhone Japan

A quick walk to find Yodobashi Machida and very happy to see a small gathering of people there. If the crowds weren’t there by 12 then they wouldn’t be there that night was my theory. I resisted the temptation to sit with the others and set off to try and find some accomodation for a few hours.

iPhone Japan

After being refused entry at 3 Love Hotels because i was on my own and refusing the offer of no less than 20 ladies of the night for a little company i finally found the Hotel Machida Villa. I actually took this picture the following morning but it makes more sense to post it now.

iPhone Japan

You don’t get much for $70 in Machida at 12.30am on a Thursday night but considering i was setting my alarm for 4am to join the line and beat the first train, i didn’t need much.

iPhone Japan

After finishing my take-away can of Ebisu i put my head down on the rock hard bed they had provided hoping to get a solid 3 hrs sleep.

iPhone Japan

Getting to the line at 4.30am all i can say is i am glad they rolled out the iPhone in Summer, things would have been a bit harder had it been a cold winters morning. Very happy to arrive at Yodobashi and see what i figured was about 40 people in line.

iPhone Japan

iPhone Japan

At 5am they squared us up to the door and there was only 3.5 hrs to go until they handed out the tickets for the 3G iPhone. Ironically i was given ticket number 40 at about 9am Friday morning and told to come back at 3.30pm to pick up my 16Gb iPhone.

iPhone Japan

I got back to Yodobashi at 3.30pm and the Sold Out sign was up. The line at Harajuku reached 1500 people by the time the store opened at 7.30am, that would have been a big mistake.

iPhone Japan

Come Sunday afternoon my iPhone was still in the box, mainly due to having a buddy in town and hitting the beach Saturday. I’ve since opened it and can say i am very very happy with the purchase, i love my iPhone already!

iPhone Japan

On this day..

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27 Comments »

Comment by ale/pepino
2008-07-16 23:22:49

You may not beliebe this but this is the first “how I got in a line to get my iPhone” blog post I read. And I’ve enjoyed it a lot because of your style and pictures. It’s great that you wrote virtually nothing about the iPhone itself :)

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-17 07:41:51

Thanks for that …. the way i see it there’ll be a lot more people out there more educated to write on the technology side of the iPhone than myself so i just stick with what i know!

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Comment by Jamaipanese
2008-07-17 02:51:18

the new iphone is so big it’s also making it’s way to lil ole Jamaica!

can’t wait to grab mine!

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Comment by -Paul
2008-07-17 06:02:35

nice product placement in the last shot Neil… your fast becoming a technology king… all that’s left is to become a macbook fan boy and with the iPhone acquisition your well on your way.

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-17 07:42:42

Glad you picked up on that, check out some (at the moment only 1) of my videos at Vimeo :)

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Pingback by Buying A 3G iPhone In Japan : kupuk
2008-07-17 13:38:57

[...] Neil Duckett:“It was the most anticipated purchase i have ever made.” [...]

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Comment by mallocup
2008-07-17 19:47:47

great post! love how it was still in the box 2 days later too..

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Comment by Pez
2008-07-17 21:08:11

Imagine how great the night wouldve been if you had taken up the offer of the 20 girls! With a room that small anything could happen and then after, iPHONE!!!!!

The 8gb 3G iPhone in UK is free on a new contract and I think £35 for the 16gb model. I would get one if it wasnt on the O2 network as I just got a new phone and contract in early May, sadly an 18month one but might pay it out later. Not a patch on your phone :P but its a Sony w890i 3G enabled. Pretty much all phones are free in UK.
Clicky picky

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-17 21:17:58

You haven’t seen the scrubbers i’m talking about Cuz, might be worth a trip back down just for a few photos. The big thing with the phone for me mate is it’s native English so i can get back to using it to sync with my calendar and other day to day things i’ve missed over the last 18 months or so. That phone looks alright though man, big fan of Sony.

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Comment by Pez
2008-07-17 21:59:25

Ahh hyeah, engrish interface, I forgot about that, although I thought that most phones would have a language option?

I love the Sony phones also, this one being my 3rd. Ive been very impressed with GUI. I was bummed when I broke the screen of my last phone, the w850i, I much prefered it even over my new w890 as it was very loud so I could hear it in my pocket while walkin down a busy street and it also had a kick arse torch on the back not to mention that the battry life on that one lasted almost 2 days even using it as a walkman for a lot of the time.

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-18 13:21:10

Does have English mate… for most things, just the 3rd party apps that sync with the PC dont.

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Comment by Pez
2008-07-17 22:15:14

Sentence structure was a bit shit in that last paragraph. :P

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-18 13:22:14

Hahaha, no probs mate. I sent my folks that photo of you under the tree this morning … “A Wise man ……”

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Comment by billywest
2008-07-18 05:01:55

Wow, you’ve got a lot of nice electronic goodies at your place. Could you respond to this comment with your address and possibly instructions on how to get there from south Tokyo?

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-18 13:23:45

It stops there though Billy, there’s only a couch and bed and a fridge in the rest of the place …. pretty much all i need. You’d need to be spiderman to get in anyway so directions are useless ….. :)

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Comment by Mike
2008-07-18 15:59:19

Do you have any pictures of the ladies of the night? ;)

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-18 17:49:13

I thought about it Mike … i’ll be down that way having a work show soon enough and will grab some … there’s no shortage around by the river and love hotel district, must’ve been upwards of 30 i’d say !

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Comment by Daniel
2008-07-19 02:25:29

Hi there,

I’m a citizen of Malaysia.
I was wondering if i can use the 3G iPhone in Malaysia?
Do i need to unlock the software or activate it through Japan mobile operator?
I have a friend there and i was planning to ask her to buy for me.
The main concern is if i can use it in Malaysia.

Thanks.

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Comment by eurodipity
2008-07-19 12:32:54

I want to buy an iPhone, but at now it’s very expensive in my country… :(

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Comment by Fernando Puig
2008-07-19 12:49:52

“… It was the most anticipated purchase i have ever made. In the final weeks leading up to the 11th of July it was bordering on an obsession. Considering i had never owned an Apple product, not even an iPod, i surprised myself at how much i was researching this device, wanting to be up to speed the minute i bought it and minimise the learning curve…”

This sentence echoes my feelings exactly from a year ago when I got my 2G iPhone here in the U.S. But beware, this first Apple product can turn you into a total Apple Fanboy… I made the switch to Mac 4 months ago (got an iMac since my old PC was on the fritz anyways) and now I’m waiting for my MacBook Air to arrive tomorrow … Damn you Steve Jobs!!! ^_^ LOL

Congratulations on your new phone, I hope it brings you as much enjoyment as mine has brought me…

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Pingback by 28 days later
2008-07-19 21:10:37

[...] a month later, except of course for having it sooner, but i still wanted one and wanted one badly.http://neilduckett.com/buying-a-3g-iphone-in-japan/Summer and winter sales in GreeceSummer and winter sales in Greece July 18, 2008 at 18:54 ? Filed [...]

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-19 23:13:50

Hahaha, i am wary of becoming a fanboy, but i think an MacBook Air is only just around the corner :)

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Comment by BlogD
2008-07-21 00:33:50

Guess I got lucky: the day the iPhone was announced by SoftBank, first chance I got I visited the local store–and they were still taking reservations, a practice that was stopped very shortly thereafter. They honored the reservation, called me a few days before the release, and so without waiting a single minute in line, I got my 16 GB iPhone at 4:00 pm on July 11.

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-21 12:08:28

Sweet, i had a call from a shop last week that i had my name down with so there must still be some phones about the place.

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Comment by Ed
2008-07-28 03:06:17

Do you need to sign and activate a contract when you buy the iPhone in Japan? Or can you buy the phone and bring it out of the country without a telco package plan? I’m planning to head to Tokyo tomorrow and plan to use it in Singapore.

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Comment by Neil
2008-07-28 07:36:54

Yes, the procedure is quite strict here with getting a phone. I know people with only a short time left on their visa’s had to pay 800 for the phone but i’m guessing they still had to sign up a basic plan …. i don’t think you’ll be able to buy a phone with no strings.

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Pingback by Japan Blogs On Twitter | Neil Duckett
2008-08-21 21:32:17

[...] the millions of people that are using it every day that may just click through to your site. The 3G iPhone was a turning point for me with Twitter, there’s TONS of others out there in the same [...]

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