Destinations
Best eSIM for Japan
What to buy for a week in Tokyo, and why pocket Wi-Fi is no longer worth the deposit.
Published Aug 18, 20266 min read
Japan is easy to get online in — if you plan it
Japan has excellent coverage and terrible walk-up options. Airport SIM vending machines are expensive, and pocket Wi-Fi means queueing twice: once to collect, once to return. An eSIM skips both, and it works the moment your plane door opens.
How much data you actually need
For a week of maps, messaging and the occasional video, 5 GB is comfortable. Two weeks of the same, or anything with regular video calls, points to 10 GB. Only pick unlimited if you tether a laptop all day — for most trips it is money spent on headroom you never touch.
Install before you fly
Download the profile at home on Wi-Fi. It stays dormant until you land, then registers on the local network automatically. Doing this at home means you are not troubleshooting on airport Wi-Fi with a queue behind you.
On the ground
Coverage follows the Shinkansen the whole way, including most tunnels. Rural Hokkaido and mountain trails are the thin spots — download offline maps for those. Keep data roaming switched on for the Flypass line; that is how it reaches the local network, and it costs nothing extra.
The short answer
Buy 5 GB for a week, 10 GB for two, install it before you leave, and keep your home SIM in for anything that still sends you an SMS code.
