Japan eSIM

Most first trips to Japan follow the same arc: a few days in Tokyo, the Shinkansen to Kyoto, a side trip to Nara or Hiroshima, then out through Osaka. Along the way your phone does a lot of quiet work, from train transfers and restaurant queues to translating menus with the camera. Our Japan catalog has 38 plans to match that, with fixed data bundles covering 0.5–50 GB over 1–30 days. Prices start at €4.99, the lowest cost per gigabyte is €0.78/GB, and VAT is included.

Fixed data plans suit most visitors. A rough guide:

Trip	Typical use	Suggested size
Long layover or 4-day city break	Maps, messaging	1–3 GB
One week, Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka	Maps, translation, social media	5–10 GB
Two weeks or more	Heavy photo uploads, video calls	20 GB and up

If you prefer to pick by size, the 3 GB plan is a sensible starting point for a short stay, and you can top up from your account if you run low.

Daily and unlimited plans give you a set amount of high-speed data each day. Once you use it, you stay online at a reduced speed until the allowance resets the next day, under the plan's fair use policy. They work well if you hotspot a laptop, stream on long train rides or simply do not want to watch a counter.

Premium plans assign a Japanese local IP address. Standard plans route traffic through Hong Kong or Singapore, which you will not notice while browsing but which matters for services that check your location, such as some Japanese booking sites, banking apps or region-locked video.

Heading on to Seoul or Busan? The Japan and South Korea plan covers both on a single eSIM, and there is also a three-country option adding China. You can also compare prices with Airalo before you buy.

Your eSIM connects to all four major Japanese networks: NTT docomo, KDDI (au), SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile, each with 5G. Some plans run on 3G/4G and others include 5G, and each plan page shows which before you pay. Your phone picks the strongest network automatically; if it ever clings to a weak signal, you can choose another one manually in the line's network settings.

Coverage is excellent in cities, along the Shinkansen lines and in most subway stations, so checking a connection while changing trains underground at Tokyo Station is not a problem. 5G is widespread in the major urban areas. Expect the signal to weaken in the mountains, in deep valleys, on remote hiking trails and on some of the smaller islands. If you are walking a pilgrimage route or heading into the Japanese Alps, save offline maps first.

Free public Wi-Fi is common in stations, airports and convenience stores, though it usually requires a quick sign-up and can be patchy. One local quirk to know: many Japanese services and apps ask for a Japanese phone number for SMS verification. Your eSIM is data-only and has no number, so plan to use alternatives that verify by email. WhatsApp, FaceTime and other internet calls work as normal.

Install the eSIM at home, on Wi-Fi, a day or two before your flight to Narita, Haneda or Kansai. It arrives by email straight after payment and is also on your order page, with a QR code and manual details. On an iPhone running iOS 17.4 or later, a single button installs it. Nothing is used up at this stage: the validity period starts only when your phone first connects to a network in Japan.

After landing:

1. Turn on data roaming for the eSIM line and set it as your mobile data line.
2. Keep your home SIM active for calls and texts, with its data roaming switched off to avoid charges from your provider.
3. Rename the line, which shows up as "Carrier", to "Startia" so you can tell them apart.

If your trip is postponed, you have 180 days to install the eSIM, and you can get a refund as long as it has not been installed. Step-by-step instructions are in the iPhone guide and the Android guide.

Get an IC card. Suica, PASMO and ICOCA work on trains, subways and buses across most of the country, and at convenience stores too. On an iPhone you can add one to Apple Wallet and top it up from the phone, which is one of the more practical reasons to keep data on all day.

Carry some cash anyway. Small restaurants, shrines and rural shops may not take cards. ATMs at 7-Eleven and Japan Post accept most foreign cards.

For getting around, Google Maps handles train connections well, and Japan Travel by NAVITIME adds route planning designed for visitors. GO is handy for hailing taxis, and Uber also works in the big cities. Google Translate's camera mode is worth having for signs and menus.

Etiquette is part of the trip. Tipping is not customary and can cause confusion. On trains, keep your phone on silent and avoid calls, which are considered impolite. Coin lockers and the luggage-forwarding service known as takkyubin let you travel between cities with just a day bag.

Japan uses two-pin type A and B sockets at 100 V, with 50 Hz in the east and 60 Hz in the west. Travellers from Europe, the UK or Australia need an adapter, and devices must accept 100 V; most phone and laptop chargers do. Clocks run on UTC+9 with no daylight saving. The country code is +81. For emergencies, dial 110 for police or 119 for fire and ambulance, using your home line since the eSIM has no number.

Continuing your trip? See our plans for South Korea and Taiwan.