Planning a trip to Japan and don’t feel like surfing the internet with your smartphone only in the hotel, restaurants, etc.? Then a suitable eSIM is the cheapest way to surf on your iPhone or Android immediately after landing, just like at home.
What is an eSIM and is my smartphone compatible?
An eSIM is a digital SIM card that can be loaded directly onto a compatible device without the need for a physical SIM card. This type of SIM card is particularly convenient for travellers because it is easy and quick to buy and activate online without having to worry about a physical SIM card.
You will find numerous providers of eSIM plans on the Internet. With most of them, you buy a one-off prepaid plan for a certain number of days and data volume. After expiry, there are no further costs and you do not need a subscription.
Unfortunately, not all smartphones support an eSIM. You have good odds with an iPhone 11 / 12 / 13, but also with an Android smartphone, e.g. Google Pixel 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 or Samsung Galaxy S20, S21, or Note 20. You can find a list of smartphones that support eSIM here: Which devices support an eSIM?
If your Android smartphone does not support eSIM profiles, eSIM.me is a physical SIM card that you can use with eSIM profiles.
Most eSIM providers only offer data volume and no free minutes. Since these are also prepaid plans, outgoing calls are generally not supported. With some smartphones, e.g. iPhones, you can still be reached via your normal SIM card and make calls.
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Plans Compared
Simply select the planned travel duration and the required data volume, and you will be shown the appropriate plans:
From our own experience, we advise against Airalo for Japan! The speed and reliability of the roaming partner Singtel are very mixed. Other Reddit users have had the same experience.
Cheapest Providers
Small packages of 1 to 3 GB are the cheapest at eSIM4Travel and Textr. If you need even more data, Airhub becomes the best option.
Without Expiry
At BNESIM you can buy data that has no expiry date. Handy if you’re in Japan often. However, it is significantly more expensive compared to fixed-term plans.
Unlimited Data
Holafly offers unlimited data plans for Japan for 1–90 days. The speed can only be limited after you’ve used 90 GB within a month. YohoMobile also offers an unlimited rate for 7, 15, or 30 days.
Pay What You Need
If you are not sure how much data you’ll need, you can buy an eSIM from MTX Connect for €10 with €10 credit and pay 1.2 euro cents per MB in many countries around the world. Also in Japan. So, you’d be paying €12 per GB.
An even cheaper option is using Yesim, where you only pay €8,50 per GB.
The Best Network in Japan
Japan offers an excellent mobile network. You don’t have to worry too much about the reception. The major mobile network operators in Japan are KDDI, NTT and Y!Mobile (Softbank). You can’t go wrong with any of these providers. You can check the exact coverage at nPerf.