Japan eSIM
A lot of people come back for short trips. If your itinerary is set, go with a Daily refill plan; if it isn't, a Total data plan is the safer pick.
Map navigation uses little data; social media and video use a lot. If you can't guess how much you'll use each day, go with Daily refill; if you roughly know how much you need, Total data fits.
Daily refill
Use up the day's allowance and it just slows down — it doesn't cut off, and it refills the next day.
- 3 days1GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$5.12 USD$1.71/day
- 4 days1GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$5.86 USD$1.47/day
- 5 days1GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$6.60 USD$1.32/day
- 5 days2GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$11.78 USD$2.36/day
- 7 days1GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$8.82 USD$1.26/day
- 7 days2GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$15.49 USD$2.22/day
- 10 days1GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$11.78 USD$1.18/day
- 10 days2GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$21.41 USD$2.15/day
- 15 days1GB/dayUnlimited, slowed$16.23 USD$1.09/day
Total data
No daily cap. Use it as you like, and it ends when the total runs out. There's no drop to reduced speed.
All plans are data only. No phone number and no SMS. Check whether your device supports eSIM
Not sure how much data you need? Try the data calculator
Which plan should you buy?
For a two-night trip that is mostly maps and search, 1GB total (7 days, $3.63) usually covers it. Choosing 1GB per day (3 days, $5.12) for the same trip means paying $1.49 more for data you won't use.
For a week with photo uploads and some video, 3GB total (30 days, $5.12) is the comfortable pick. It costs $1.49 more than the 1GB plan but gives three times the data and four times the window. If you expect to use more, 5GB is $5.86 and 10GB is $8.08 — the price per GB drops as the plan grows ($0.81 per GB at the 10GB tier).
If you have no idea how much you'll use in a day, take a Daily refill plan. The allowance refills every day, and when it runs out the line stays open at reduced speed. Every Daily refill plan for Japan includes that fallback. That is what separates it from a Total data plan at the moment you're lost in a transfer station or can't find your hotel.
A Total data plan has no reduced-speed fallback — when it's gone, it's gone. In exchange there is no daily cap, so you can burn through it at the airport on day one and ration the rest.
Install before you fly, switch it on after you land
Installing needs an internet connection. If you wait until you land in Japan, you won't have one — that is the whole reason the order matters.
Right after you pay, we email you a link to your QR code (usually within a few minutes). Install it at home on Wi-Fi, leave data roaming off, and get on the plane. Turn roaming on after you land at Haneda or Narita and the plan starts then.
Leave your usual SIM in the phone — an eSIM adds a second data line rather than replacing your number. Whether calls and verification texts to your home number reach you in Japan, and what receiving them costs, depends on your home carrier's roaming.
Travelling together? One plan can cover both
Every Japan plan allows hotspot (tethering). For two people on a five-day trip, one person buying 2GB per day ($11.78) and sharing it costs less than two separate 1GB-per-day plans ($6.60 × 2 = $13.20).
Tethering does drain the battery noticeably. If you're out walking all day, bring a power bank.
What it can't do
No calls, no SMS. It's data only, so you don't get a Japanese phone number.
There is one situation in Japan where this actually bites: restaurant reservations. Plenty of popular places still take bookings by phone only, with no online option. Ask your hotel's front desk, or use a data-based call app if the restaurant accepts one.
If you keep Suica or PASMO in Apple Wallet, topping up needs data. Passing through the gate works offline, but if the balance runs out and you have no data you'll be hunting for a cash top-up machine in the station.