eSIM Japan
Japan eSIM from 1,95€ with 1 to 50 GB or unlimited data on the NTT Docomo and SoftBank networks: prepaid, no contract, no registration, set up by QR code and online the moment you land at Tokyo Narita.
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2GB highspeed/day, then unlimited at 1Mbps
Your Selection
Your plan only starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination — so you can buy today and travel in three weeks.
How does Simbye eSIM work for Japan?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Buy it and open the email
Right after checkout you get an email with an installation link and a QR code. One tap on the link puts the eSIM on your phone; otherwise scan the QR code from a second screen.
Install at home, switch on in Japan
Install the eSIM calmly over Wi-Fi before you fly. Whether you land at Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Osaka Kansai, Nagoya Chubu, Fukuoka, Sapporo New Chitose or Naha in Okinawa – after landing you only switch the line on. Nothing to find, nothing to collect.
Turn on data roaming, done
Select the new line as your data line and leave data roaming enabled for it. There is no access point to type in by hand. The validity period only starts when the eSIM first connects to a network in Japan.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Japan?
One eSIM, Japan-wide: it connects to NTT Docomo or SoftBank by itself, whichever is stronger where you happen to be.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Japan: NTT Docomo · SoftBank.
Average measured mobile internet performance, nPerf barometer (measured 01.07.2025 – 30.06.2026). What you actually get depends on where you are, the time of day and your phone.
You never pick a network by hand. The moment you take your phone out of airplane mode in Japan, the eSIM finds the network with the best signal, and it switches again later if another one works better where you are. Two of the four Japanese networks are available: NTT Docomo and SoftBank, both with 5G where your phone supports it. KDDI/au and Rakuten Mobile are not part of this plan. If you ever end up without a signal, you can briefly turn off automatic network selection in your settings and choose one of the two networks manually.
In Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Hiroshima, coverage is a non-issue – including underground: the Tokyo and Osaka subways have coverage inside the tunnels, as do large parts of the Shinkansen line from Tokyo via Nagoya and Kyoto to Osaka. You are already online on the ride into the city, on the Narita Express and on the Keisei Skyliner. In Hakone, Nikko, Nara, Kanazawa, Takayama, on Miyajima and in Okinawa nothing changes. It gets thinner in the mountains: the Japanese Alps around Kamikochi, hiking routes such as the Kumano Kodo, the interior of Yakushima and Hokkaido away from the towns all have dead spots. For days like that, download the map in advance.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Japan?
Japan tips clearly towards the eSIM: since 1 April 2026 any SIM signed inside the country needs your passport, and airport counters shut in the evening. You lose nothing on the number front, since tourist SIMs there are data-only too.
| Compared | Simbye eSIM | Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| ID at purchase | Not needed, the plan comes from outside Japan | Since 1 April 2026 Japan requires a passport or residence card for every SIM and eSIM contract signed in the country |
| When you get online | Right after landing at Narita, Haneda or Kansai, installed back home | Only after immigration and baggage claim, at a counter or vending machine |
| Late arrival | Irrelevant, it works around the clock | Counters at Narita, Haneda and Kansai close in the evening |
| Choice | 1 to 50 GB or unlimited, 7 to 180 days of validity | Fixed packages sold on site, usually only a few weeks |
| Phone number | None, it is a data-only plan | Tourist SIMs in Japan are almost always data-only with no number either |
| Home number | Stays active alongside, calls and SMS still arrive | Swap the SIM and your number is offline if your phone has only one slot |
| Extending | Top up any time without changing the eSIM | Buy a new card or go back to the counter |
| Extra device | None, just your phone | The widely recommended pocket Wi-Fi is a rental with its own battery that has to go back |
Why roaming on your home contract gets expensive in Japan
What Japan costs on your home plan is buried in the small print – usually a day pass for travel far from home or a charge per megabyte, and both sit well above what you pay at home. That is as true for a contract from Germany as for one from Türkiye, Brazil or the United States. Worth checking before you fly, not afterwards on the bill.
Then there is the spending cap: many contracts cut the data connection automatically once your charges abroad reach a set amount. It is meant as protection, but it hits you exactly when you need data most – navigating through Shinjuku or hunting for your connecting train in Kyoto.
The second reason is specific to Japan: without a connection you cope worse here than in most countries. Signage, train connections, station exits, opening hours and finding somewhere to eat all run through the map on your phone, and Google Maps only calculates train and bus routes online. An eSIM you buy before the trip costs you five minutes of preparation once, and no thought after that.
Where the NTT Docomo and SoftBank networks reach – and where they do not
In the cities, Japan is about as well covered as it gets. Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Kobe, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Sendai and Hiroshima are covered throughout, the Tokyo and Osaka subways including the tunnels, and on the Shinkansen line from Tokyo via Nagoya and Kyoto to Osaka you stay online for most of the ride. In the classic destinations – Nikko, Hakone, Kamakura, Nara, Kanazawa, Takayama, Hiroshima with Miyajima, and Okinawa – there is nothing to worry about.
The rest deserves honesty: the Japanese Alps around Kamikochi and the Kiso valley, the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails, the interior of Yakushima, the mountains of Hokkaido and long rail tunnels all have dead spots. No provider changes that, because there is simply no mast there. For hiking days, download the map beforehand and it stops mattering.
One point almost nobody writes down: Japan partly uses radio frequencies that are uncommon elsewhere. Phones sold outside Japan normally support the important ones, but not necessarily all of them. In the cities you will never notice. In the mountains it can be the difference between two bars and nothing – one more reason to carry an offline map on those days.
How much data do you need in Japan?
So you can work it out instead of guessing: how much an hour costs in the apps you actually use on holiday.
The Netflix and Spotify figures come from the providers themselves (Netflix Help Center, Spotify Support, retrieved 28 Aug 2026). The rest are network-operator estimates (o2, Vodafone, EE) and vary with picture quality and reception.
Japan's ID requirement – and why it does not apply to you
Since 1 April 2026, Japan requires a passport or residence card for every SIM and eSIM contract signed inside the country, data-only plans included. That rule applies to Japanese providers and to anything you buy at the airport or in an electronics store. A roaming eSIM you buy online before your trip is not covered: it is issued outside Japan, and it makes you a guest on the Japanese networks, exactly like your home SIM does. So there is nothing to upload and nothing to show.
The honest trade-off: you do not get a Japanese phone number. And that is precisely what PayPay, signing up for the taxi app GO and creating a LINE account all ask for, each by SMS code. Set those apps up while your normal SIM is still in your phone – once you are in Japan there is no way to receive the code.
What does an eSIM for Japan cost?
Simbye offers 9 plans for Japan from €1,95 to €64,95 — data packs from €1,95, unlimited from €18,95. Prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Japan range from 1 GB to 50 GB, plus unlimited options.
Validity runs from 7 to 180 days and starts with your first connection in Japan.
| Plan | Validity | Price | Per travel day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | €1,95 | €0,27 |
| 3 GB | 15 days | €4,95 | €0,33 |
| 5 GB | 30 days | €6,95 | €0,23 |
| 10 GB | 30 days | €11,95 | €0,39 |
| 20 GB | 30 days | €18,95 | €0,63 |
| Unlimited | 7 days | €18,95 | — |
| Unlimited | 15 days | €32,95 | — |
| 50 GB | 180 days | €41,95 | €0,23 |
| Unlimited | 30 days | €64,95 | — |
- Networks
- NTT Docomo Japan + SoftBank Japan
- Setting it up
- A link in your email, or the QR code — one tap is enough
- Network technology
- 4G/LTE — and 5G where the network already offers it
- APN and settings
- Nothing to set. The eSIM brings everything with it
- Hotspot
- Allowed — for a laptop, tablet or a travel companion
- Adding more data
- Top up any time, without setting anything up again
- Calls and texts
- Not included — WhatsApp calls run over the data
- Your own number
- Stays in the phone and stays reachable
- Contract
- None. The plan ends by itself
- Worth knowing
- Roaming on your home contract gets billed here — this eSIM is prepaid, so nothing is added afterwards
Frequently Asked Questions about Japan eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
