Ah, Marc - but you forget that I'm a Japanese citizen and that I'm in the States on a green card. :) I could legally buy one ... if I could find one to buy. We visited 4-5 Softbank shops (I think the only cell phone company that offers prepaid plans) and finally, at the last one, they explained that the manufacturers don't seem to be supplying the stores with them any more. The last ones that they recall seeing in stock were a few months ago. Maybe a push from the police departments to curtail sales of prepaid cell phones since they've often been linked to crimes in Japan?

Thanks for the good wishes all! I've still got another day of reporting before we get onboard on Wednesday! Looking forward to seeing all the PANDAs. :)

Masaki