eSIM Japan
Japan eSIM from 1,95€ with 1 to 50 GB or unlimited data on all four Japanese networks – NTT Docomo, KDDI/au, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile (50 GB plan: NTT Docomo): 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?
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, KDDI/au, SoftBank or Rakuten Mobile by itself, whichever is stronger where you happen to be.
The Simbye eSIM uses 4 networks in Japan: NTT Docomo · KDDI/au · SoftBank · Rakuten Mobile.
| Networks | Download | Upload | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 56Mbit/s | 9Mbit/s | 93ms |
 | No independent measurement for this network | ||
 | No independent measurement for this network | ||
| Rakuten Mobile | No independent measurement for this network | ||
Source: nPerf averages, 01.07.2025 – 30.06.2026.
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. All four Japanese networks are available: NTT Docomo, KDDI/au, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile, each with 5G where your phone supports it; only the 50 GB plan runs on NTT Docomo alone. If you ever end up without a signal, you can briefly turn off automatic network selection in your settings and choose one of the 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.
| Feature |  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 |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Japan?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Japan cost?
from 1,95€
6 plans · 7–180 days
Simbye offers 6 plans for Japan from 1,95€ to 42,95€ — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Japan range from 1 GB to 50 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 180 days and starts with your first connection in Japan.
Data plans
- 1 GB 7 days 1,95€ 0,27€ per travel day
- 3 GB 15 days 4,95€ 0,33€ per travel day
- 5 GB 30 days 6,95€ 0,23€ per travel day
- 10 GB 30 days 11,95€ 0,39€ per travel day
- 20 GB 30 days 19,95€ 0,66€ per travel day
- 50 GB 180 days 42,95€ 0,23€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- NTT Docomo + KDDI/au + SoftBank + Rakuten Mobile (50 GB plan: NTT Docomo only)
- 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.
For Japan, an eSIM beats a pocket Wi-Fi unless you want to carry a second device. A pocket Wi-Fi is a rental: collect it, charge it every night, hand it back or post it at the end. The eSIM is already in your phone, has no battery of its own and never goes back. In a group, you can still share it through the hotspot.
Yes, NTT Docomo is one of the networks in this plan: the eSIM uses NTT Docomo, KDDI/au, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile and connects to whichever has the better signal, with 5G where your phone supports it. The 50 GB plan runs on NTT Docomo only.
How much data you need for Japan depends on use: maps, trains, translation and messengers use very little, streaming on the Shinkansen and uploading videos a lot more. Plans run from 1 to 50 GB or unlimited, valid for 7 to 180 days. If it runs short, you can top up at any time without a new eSIM.
No, you don't have to register or show your passport in Japan for this eSIM. Since 1 April 2026 Japan requires ID for SIM and eSIM contracts signed inside the country; you buy this one online before your trip, from outside Japan, as a guest on the Japanese networks – nothing to upload, nothing to show.
No, you don't get a Japanese phone number: this is a data-only plan. Calls and SMS over the mobile network are not included, and SMS verification codes will not reach it.
Yes, you will have signal in the Tokyo and Osaka subways and on large parts of the Shinkansen line between Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. In long tunnels and in the mountains it can drop briefly; in Fukuoka, Sapporo or Hiroshima coverage is a non-issue.
An eSIM for Japan starts at 1,95€; the final price depends on data size and days, and the table above lists every Japan plan in your own currency. A week of maps, translation apps, train times and messaging runs on a few gigabytes; video streaming and hotspot use need a bigger bundle.
You can buy an eSIM for Japan right here: choose a data size, pay, and the QR code plus installation link land in your inbox within minutes. Scan it over Wi-Fi before you fly and switch the line on after landing at Narita, Haneda or Kansai. No shop, no queue, no paperwork.
Yes, you can get an eSIM for Japan as a tourist. An eSIM for Japan is a digital data plan that joins a Japanese partner network on arrival, with 4G and 5G and full eSIM support from central Tokyo to rural prefectures. Any eSIM-capable, carrier-unlocked phone works; no Japanese address or local contract needed.
The eSIM that is best for Japan is the one whose data and validity match your stay, because almost everywhere you travel in Japan is covered; both are listed in the table on this page. This plan uses all four Japanese networks – NTT Docomo, KDDI/au, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile – including 5G; the 50 GB plan runs on NTT Docomo only. Data only, no Japanese number.
Ready for Japan?
Pick a plan, tap the link in your email — you are online from the moment you land.
Choose a planPrepaid, no contract. The plan simply ends on its own.
