Many people cannot (or don't want to) imagine life without constant connectivity to the Internet -- even during their vacation. When you travel abroad, you need to make preparations for that.

The MOST IMPORTANT PRECAUTION to take is to check the terms & conditions and (expensive) charges that can arise from using your phone on a foreign carrier's voice or data-network. To prevent excessive charges, make sure you disable all kinds of roaming. Removing your SIM and solely use WIFI is a good idea.
In Europe, legislation has made roaming easier & cheaper for europeans ("Roam like Home") but for Americans or when you travel elsewhere, "roaming charges" still can be an issue, if you are not careful.
CAUTION : In some locations, even using WIFI can incur high charges. Ferries, cruise ships & planes are notorious for such charges. They can be absurdly high e.g. $1...$15 / MB -- that's $1000...$15000/GB !! Compared to the typical $10/GB !!


CHEAPEST OPTION :
Solely using public and free WIFI-hotspots in your hotel and elsewhere is the easiest solution.
In Tokyo, as in many other cities, restaurants and businesses often offer WIFI to their customers at no extra charge. Some show the password, in others you have to ask. Unless you need constant network connection (e.g. online translation services, turn-by-turn navigation, immediate photo-upload), this solution should be enough for most.
NOTE : you wont have city-wide coverage and will have to manually hop from one to the other hotspots and never know where you have the net WIFI connection.

Some transit system offer free WIFI to their guests. In Tokyo, I have seen that but there you first needed to register with a confirmed email. For a foreign visitor, that’s a "Catch-22" since you need an internet connection to register for WIFI but that WIFI refuses to log you in until you confirm you have received the email. Maybe it works, if I had registered in advance. You can do that ==> see JR-rail or Monorail web page.

CAUTION : some providers will follow up with a stream of advertising to your email. Other options are special apps which can locate open hotspots and also log you into them. Numerous reviews point to tracking and much unwanted advertising – currently most free apps do that ☹.
You can try to use a temporary email service to register and later discontinue that email to get rid of all that SPAM -- but providers may recognize popular temp email services and block them.


MOST CONVENIENT & INEXPENSIVE OPTION :
Use your own, unlocked GSM-phone and insert a japanese (data-only) SIM
If you want or need constant connectivity anywhere, you cannot rely on WIFI-hotspots. Instead you can buy a japanese SIM and use it in your own (EU or US) phone -- that costs $20...$50 depending on the duration, data volume & speed you choose. Best of all, Amazon and other vendors ship SIMs to your US address (for free) and you don't have to navigate stores to get one.

Of course, you need an UNLOCKED PHONE with a SIM-slot and you have to check compatibility www.frequencycheck.com (enter your phone’s make & model and the countries you plan to visit, also check different providers !!). For Japan, you need at least one compatible UMTS band and one compatible LTE and be sure the phone supports also at least one of the protocols. Often phones lack in that department. The MOTO G4 passed the minimum requirements : frequencycheck.com/carrier-compatibility/qWyLuP/motorola-moto-g4-td-lte-16gb-xt1625/ntt-docomo-japan and it worked there as promised.

Buying a SIM-card is not a challenge : Either order one ahead of time, have it shipped to your EU or US home and activate it before getting on the plane or buy one locally. Many options and when they say “unlimited” be sure to read the fineprint. Check if the card allows TETHERING. Not all do.
SIMs typically need to be activated via Internet and it is easier to do that from home before you leave e.g. while you wait inside the airport.
Setting the APN in your phone can be done manually – some providers have apps to that but I’m too suspicious and didn’t want to install an app for that.
For my trip, I’ve used this approach and have ordered & received the SIM to the US, did the setup and activation beforehand. Manually setting up the APN is not difficult -- be sure to apply ALL settings shown on the web site. With that, the phone would connect. The first time it took a few minutes until it logged into the NTT-DoCoMo network.


RENTING A HOTSPOT -- “Pocket WIFI”
Renting a hotspot is especially useful, when you travel as a group or family and a shared hotspot provides more connections and higher speeds & data allowance than a SIM + cell-phone. Since those rental hotspots are made for the japanese market, you don’t need to worry about compatibility and won't have coverage & compatibility issues you might see with a foreign cell-phone.
Not surprisingly, these rentals are more expensive than SIM-cards but typically provide more data volume and from what I’ve heard, also faster connections.
I’ve paid $22 for a data-SIM valid for 2 weeks & 1GB of data 4G LTE including tethering and no throttling.
The rentals I have seen, start at ~¥700/day but typically cost ¥1000/day (that’s at least ~6.50 USD/day) and for a 13-day stay that would be $84.50…$120 (versus the $22 for a prepaid SIM).

If you walk around the city and need constant connectivity, you have to carry the extra hotspot together with your phone. Plus extra AC-charger. I decided, this was not convenient for me but can be useful for a family.


NEED A VOICE-LINE ?
It is complicated for a foreigner to get a SIM with voice service and your phone may not be compatible with the networks in Japan. If you really need voice, I suggest you read this www.getaroundjapan.jp/archives/2313 plus additional research.
Likely it is easier to rent one directly at the airport or book them in advance and have it shipped to your hotel or pick up at the airport.

Nowadays you likely can reach your contacts via SKYPE or other messanger apps and can chat using a data-only SIM.
NOTE : Chatting on a phone in public, especially on public transit, is a NO-NO in Japan. I wish that same courtesy would apply on US transit systems !!

UPDATE : Now I have seen a provider offering a combined voice+data SIM : www.mobal.com/japan-sim-card. The minimum cost is ¥7500 and cover 30 days and gives you at least 7GB of LTE-speed data. Data volume is reset at the 1st of each month and during a 2-week visit, you might use 7GB high-speed data in the last week of the month plus an additional 7GB during the first week of the following month.


WHY NOT rent a hotspot ?
* You need to carry one extra gadget with you in addition to your phone. Plus one extra charger & cable.
* Prices are ¥700 …¥1000/day or more. That’s approx. $6.50…$9.00 USD/day while a prepaid data-SIM can be had for ~$20…$50 and it is valid for 2 or more weeks. Typically hotspots offer larger data volume than the SIMs, especially the low-cost offers.
* When properly set up, a phone with a prepaid SIM will work as you get off the plane and switch on the phone. If you need to message someone to pick you up, that can save time. You cannot pick up your rented hotspot until you have made it through immigration, luggage pickup and customs. This delays the message by 30...90 minutes, possibly more. Similarly upon departure, you have to return the hotspot (mail or at a drop-off or counter) before you pass through security while the SIM can be used while you’re waiting for the plane to be boarded. In case of delays or other issues, still having this connection can be very helpful.
* Some SIMs remain valid for 12 months and you can refill them for your next trip.

PROBLEMS when using a rented hotspot (hotpot as well as tethered SIM)
My iPhone was tethered via WIFI to another phone acting as a hotspot using the JP data-SIM. The iPhone decided it was a great idea to download iOS12 while being in Tokyo and it saw a seemingly "free" WIFI connection. That OS-update instantly drained my entire remaining data volume. It would not have done that via its own cellular connection.
I curse all automated update features as they can cause high extra charges due to roaming and excessive data usage.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS (hotpot as well as SIM)
US-Streaming services don’t like people viewing content outside the US, even their own paying customers. Blame the movie studios for this archaic rule. Sometimes a VPN can help but Netflix & Co are putting more and more of them onto a blacklist.
Hopefully you’ve got better things to do in Japan than streaming US videos.

Also your webpages and search results will change when in Japan. Naturally Google shows you results in japanese and many travel websites also recognize your location and present you japanese version of their sites.
One solution is using EPIC-browser and enable the integrated VPN and set it to match your home location. AFAIK, that workaround is not working for Netflix streaming but it does help reading US sites and access travel sites in english.


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PS : This is not an INFOMERCIAL and I have intentionally not included links to any vendors, especially as I have not tried other alternatives. Please use your own good judgement & research.


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