If Siemens were still in the cell phone-making industry, I'd recommend them, and if BenQ is available in Japan (they bought that bit of Siemens), you might look into their phones and get a SIM card, unlocked one that'd work on the US network before you come here - both my Siemens have been tough as nails; the second (current) one, the S66 (S65 outside the US) has been dropped on the ground multiple times, dropped in water twice and, after having a temporary nervous breakdown while it dried out, went back to normal once it did. Nice camera, memory card slot at the bottom, access to web-based email plus its own email, SMS/MMS and IM, and more. I'm not giving up this phone until it dies the final death!
My Sony-Ericcson z520a is okay - only use it on vacations to NZ or Oz because my Siemens doesn't have the right band for down there. Nifty light effects, ok camera, same kind of messaging and limited web-browsing ability as the Siemens, downloadable games and ringtones, wallpapers, etc. Only thing that really annoys me about it is that the screen goes dark after only about 5 seconds, so reading an email or news article, etc., has you constantly pressing keys just to keep the screen lit.
