Cellphones

Overview
There are basically three major cell phone provider in Japan: AU, docomo, Softbank.

It is strongly recommended that you get a data plan / package, because you will probably texting emails most of the time. Therefore such package will reduce your fees by quite a bit.

Softbank
Softbank is the cell phone company, usually preferred by foreign students / foreigners in Japan, as it offers the famous White plane (free calls and mails between Softbank phones between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ?).\\ Softbank coverage around Minoh campus is a bit spotty. You will find that you sometimes have no reception in your room. If you go for Softbank, you might wanna get a phone with extendable antenna, as that slightly alleviates the problem.

docomo
Docomo has probably the best coverage across the Japanese islands, though it is a tad expensive.

AU
Generally AU offers good cell phone coverage around Minoh campus. Moreover, it is the company preferred by most Japanese students. So if you have a lot of Japanese friends, it's probably the cheapest option.