Which plan fits a Japan trip
Japan has plans of its own here, in three types, from 1 to 30 days. Pick by how long you stay and how you use your phone:
- A week in Tokyo and Kyoto: the 7 day plan with 1.5 GB a day covers maps, train connections, translation and photos. The 0.6 GB a day plan is enough if you mostly use maps and messages.
- Two weeks on a rail pass: the 15 day plan with 1.5 GB a day, or the 15 day fixed plan with 60 GB if you would rather have one pool of data to use heavily on some days and lightly on others.
- Remote work, streaming or a laptop on your hotspot: unlimited, for 3 to 15 days. Full speed for the first 5 GB each day, then slower until the next day.
- A month or longer: the 30 day plan with 1.5 GB a day. Unlimited plans run up to 15 days.
- A long weekend or a layover: the 3 and 5 day plans, or the one-day plan for a day in transit.
- Japan plus Korea, Taiwan or Southeast Asia: the Asia Pacific plan covers Japan and 17 other destinations on one install, and the Global 75 and Global 170 plans reach further. For Japan alone, its own plans offer more choice.
On the daily plans, speed drops sharply once the day's allowance is used and comes back when it resets. See fixed, daily or unlimited for how each type behaves.
Coverage across Japan
Coverage is excellent in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Sapporo, in subway stations and along the main rail lines.
- On the Shinkansen: the signal holds for most of the journey, with short drops in the longer tunnels. Save your seat reservation and connections to the phone in case you need them underground.
- Hokkaido: Sapporo, the airport and the ski towns are well covered. Long drives across the interior and the far east of the island have gaps.
- Okinawa: Naha and the main island are well covered; small outer islands and boat crossings can be thinner.
- Mountains and onsen towns: the Japan Alps, Kumano Kodo trails and hot spring villages deep in the valleys can lose the signal between towns.
- Mount Fuji: Japan's networks set up extra equipment on the mountain for the summer climbing season, but the signal on the upper trails can still come and go. Do not rely on it for safety.
Before a hike, a drive in the countryside or a ferry, download offline maps and save your tickets and hotel details to the phone.
Arriving at the airport
Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi a day or two before you fly. When you land, turn on data roaming for the eSIM line only and keep it off on your usual SIM. You can then find the train into the city, check your route or message your hotel from the arrivals hall, with no router to collect at a counter. Our arrival guides cover the free Wi-Fi and the SIM counters at Narita, Haneda, Kansai and New Chitose for Sapporo.
How much data do you need?
Most visitors use about 1 GB a day: maps in big stations, train connections between lines run by different companies, translating menus and signs through the camera, and sharing photos. Video calls, streaming and a laptop on your hotspot push that up quickly. For remote work, look at the unlimited plans.
eSIM or roaming?
AT&T and Verizon charge $12 a day abroad unless you are on their top plans, and T-Mobile includes a few gigabytes on some plans before slowing data right down. Read will my phone work in Japan? for what each carrier gives you there and which older phones no longer work since Japan closed 3G, and our guides to AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Mint Mobile for the full rules. UK and Australian networks set their own rates for Japan, often as a daily fee, so check your plan before you go. More in travel eSIM vs international roaming.
Before you go
How our Japan plans compare
Start from how much data you use in a day, then compare what the whole trip costs. Our own prices are on the plan cards above, always current.
| Provider |
One week |
Two weeks |
What to know |
| eSIM Lounge |
0.6 or 1.5 GB a day, 40 GB, or unlimited |
1.5 GB a day, 60 GB, or unlimited for 15 days |
Prices on the plan cards above. Unlimited keeps full speed for the first 5 GB each day and runs up to 15 days. |
| Airalo |
5 GB: $10.00. 10 GB: $17.00. Unlimited: $26.50 |
10 GB: $17.50. 20 GB: $24.00. Unlimited: $48.00 |
Names SoftBank as its network. Unlimited gives 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. |
| Holafly |
Unlimited: $27.50 |
Unlimited: $50.50 |
Unlimited only, on KDDI and SoftBank. No published daily limit, but hotspot sharing is capped at 1 GB a day. |
| Nomad |
Unlimited: $25.00. 10 GB for 30 days: $16.00 |
Unlimited for 14 days: $41.00. 20 GB for 30 days: $23.00 |
KDDI (au) and SoftBank. Unlimited gives 2 GB a day at full speed. |
| Saily |
Unlimited: $28.99. 10 GB for 30 days: $17.99 |
Unlimited for 15 days: $48.99. 20 GB for 30 days: $24.99 |
Unlimited gives 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps. |
| Ubigi |
10 GB: $14.00. 5 GB a day for 8 days: $25.00 |
30 GB for 15 days: $39.00. 25 GB for 30 days: $32.00 |
Its 5 GB a day and 30 GB plans slow to 2 Mbps once the allowance is used. |
Which to pick:
- A week of steady use: our 1.5 GB a day plan gives 10.5 GB over the week. When we checked, it cost less than the 10 GB plans from Ubigi ($14.00), Nomad ($16.00), Airalo ($17.00) and Saily ($17.99). A fixed 10 GB lets you use more on one day and less on another; our 40 GB week plan does the same with far more room.
- A light week, maps and messages: our 0.6 GB a day plan gives about 4 GB over the week and, when we checked, cost less than Airalo's 5 GB for 7 days and Nomad's 5 GB for 30 days, both $10.00. If you want a full 5 GB to use as you like, those two are good buys.
- Two weeks: our 15 day plan with 1.5 GB a day gives 22.5 GB. When we checked, it cost less than the 20 GB plans from Nomad ($23.00), Airalo ($24.00) and Saily ($24.99). Airalo's 10 GB for 15 days cost a little less, for less than half the data. For one big pool, our 60 GB for 15 days cost less than Ubigi's 30 GB for 15 days ($39.00).
- A week of unlimited: when we checked, ours cost less than Nomad ($25.00), Ubigi's 5 GB a day plan ($25.00), Airalo ($26.50), Holafly ($27.50) and Saily ($28.99). Our full speed lasts 5 GB a day, like Saily's and Ubigi's and more than Airalo's 3 GB or Nomad's 2 GB.
- Two weeks of unlimited: when we checked, ours cost less than Ubigi ($39.00), Nomad's 14 days ($41.00), Airalo ($48.00), Saily ($48.99) and Holafly ($50.50). If you need more than 5 GB a day at full speed, Holafly publishes no daily limit.
- More than 15 days of unlimited: ours stops at 15 days. Nomad's 21 days at $49.00 was the cheapest longer unlimited plan we found; Airalo's 30 days cost $69.00.
Competitor prices checked on 11 October 2026 in US dollars: Holafly on its own site; Airalo, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi on esimDB (esimdb.com/japan), because their sites showed prices in euros or would not load. Prices are before any discount code, and they change often.
