eSIM for Japan

A prepaid travel eSIM that gets you online the minute you land in Japan. You install it from a QR code we email you, in about five minutes, with no pocket wifi to rent and return and no SIM counter to find at the airport.

Prices by data and trip length

Prices in US dollars, checked November 3, 2026. The plan page shows the current price before you pay.

Plans for Japan only

The 12 cheapest of the 13 sizes sold for Japan alone, without other countries:

Unlimited data plans

14 unlimited plans work in Japan. Unlimited plans give a set amount of full speed data, then slow down. The cheapest for each length:

Plans for short trips

Plans that last less than a week, cheapest first for each length:

Plans for Japan and nearby countries

• Japan, China and South Korea: 8 plans, from $5.99 for 4 GB over 5 days.
• Japan and South Korea: 2 plans, from $9.99 for 10 GB over 30 days.
• Asia plan, 15 destinations, including South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: from $5.99 for 3 GB over 15 days.
• Regional plan, 21 destinations, including South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: from $13.99 for 7 GB over 30 days.
• Regional plan, 80 destinations, including South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong: from $5.99 for 1 GB over 14 days.
• Regional plan, 98 destinations, including South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: from $41.99 for 13 GB over 365 days.
• Global plan, 132 destinations, including South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: from $7.49 for 1 GB over 7 days.

Network and plan details

• 48 of the 87 plans connect at 5G where the local network and your phone support it. The rest use 4G LTE.
• Of the 87 plans for Japan, 72 start when you first use data and 15 start when you install the eSIM.
• Your data goes out to the internet from Hong Kong on 20 plans, Japan on 18 and the UK on 13. 12 use other places. 24 do not say. Websites usually see that place as your location.
• Hotspot sharing works on every plan here.
• The catalog does not name the local network for these plans.

Most visitors to Japan default to renting a pocket wifi router. An eSIM does the same job with nothing to carry, nothing to charge overnight, and nothing to hand back at the airport on the way out. It rides on the major Japanese networks, so your phone is online from the platform at Narita or Haneda onward.

What you can use the data for

Transit and navigation. Google Maps transit directions in Japan are excellent, down to the platform and the exact train car. You will use them constantly, and they only work with a live connection.

Suica and IC cards. The Suica and Pasmo cards now live in Apple Wallet, and you top them up over data. That is how you tap through every JR gate, subway turnstile, and convenience store without fumbling for coins.

LINE. LINE is how Japan messages. If you are meeting friends, a tour guide, or a host, the conversation is almost certainly happening there, and it needs data.

Translation. Camera translation on menus and signs is the single most useful thing a connection buys you, especially outside the big tourist districts where English signage thins out.

Where it works

Coverage roams on Japan's national networks, which are among the most reliable anywhere. The places travelers go are well served:

• Tokyo, including Haneda (HND) and Narita (NRT)
• Osaka and Kyoto, served by Kansai (KIX) and Itami (ITM)
• Sapporo (New Chitose, CTS) and the rest of Hokkaido's main cities
• Fukuoka (FUK), Nagoya (NGO), Hiroshima, and Sendai
• The full shinkansen network, where the signal holds at 300 km/h

Signal stays strong through the bullet train tunnels and across the cities. It thins out deep in the mountains, on remote stretches of Hokkaido, and on some rural hiking trails. Download an offline map before a day in the Japan Alps or rural Shikoku.

Common situations

First trip on a JR Pass itinerary

Buy the eSIM before you fly and install it at home. Activate on the airport wifi when you land, and you can pull up train times, reserve seats, and navigate Tokyo Station's maze before you even reach the platform. A mid-size data plan covers a one or two week trip with maps running all day.

Business in Tokyo or Osaka

Keep email, calendar, and LINE live between meetings without hunting for cafe wifi. The eSIM runs alongside your home SIM, so your work number still rings while your data stays on the Japanese network.

Returning to visit family

If you grew up in Japan and now live abroad, a travel eSIM saves the trip to a carrier shop and the passport paperwork a local prepaid SIM still asks for. You are online the day you arrive.

How to install your eSIM before you fly

1. Buy the plan. The eSIM arrives by email, usually within a minute. Install it at home on Wi-Fi with the one-tap link or the QR code in the email. 15 plans start counting at install or purchase, and the tables mark them. Install those close to your flight.
2. Name the line Japan and keep it off until you land. Do not delete it after setup, because an eSIM installs only once.
3. On arrival, turn the line on, choose it for mobile data and turn on data roaming for it. Turn off data roaming on your home line.

Screen by screen steps for iPhone and Android are in our travel eSIM install guide.

Phones that work

Your phone must support eSIM and be unlocked. Check your model on our compatibility page.

Common questions

Nearby destinations

Guides

• Why roaming on a US carrier is slow abroad
• Check if your phone supports eSIM
• Travel eSIMs for every country