Japan travel guide: mobile data, networks and what's on

What the network is actually like

Among the best in the world in the places you will actually be. The Japanese networks have 5G across Tokyo and Osaka, and the subways carry a signal for their full length, which is unusual. The gaps are geographic rather than urban: the Japanese Alps, the Kii peninsula and inland Hokkaido thin out fast once you leave the valleys, and the shinkansen drops signal in the long tunnels, which on the run north from Tokyo means several minutes at a time. Public wifi is worse than the country's reputation suggests: it exists in stations and convenience stores but usually wants a registration form in Japanese, so it is not a fallback to plan around. One thing to know: if data doesn't start once you land, enter the APN shown next to your eSIM on your order page.

This eSIM: up to 3G, 4G, 5G, onnetworks including NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile, KDDI/au. Each plan on the Japan page says which of these it uses.

How much data you'll need

Japan eats more data than an equivalent European trip, and it is not video that does it. It is the constant small stuff: train routing apps recalculating every transfer, camera translation pointed at menus and ticket machines, and maps running the whole time because the address system is genuinely hard to navigate. Ten gigabytes covers a fortnight comfortably. Five is enough for a long weekend in one city, but not if you are moving between them every other day.

Recommended: 10GB → closest plan 10GB · 30 days, $9.40.

City guides

Where the signal actually drops, and how to get around.

Where people go

• Tokyo

  Fourteen million people and no single centre. Pick a line and stay near it.

• Kyoto

  Temples shut at five. A bus city, not a subway one.

• Osaka

  Where people go to eat. Fifteen minutes from Kyoto on the shinkansen.

• Hiroshima

  The Peace Park, and the ferry to Miyajima from further down the coast.

• Sapporo

  A different country in winter. Ninety minutes by air, eight hours by rail.

What's on

Timings are month-level, because most of these move year to year.

• Cherry blossom

  Late March to early April

  South to north, Kyushu first

  The front moves north over several weeks, so a week either side of a city's peak can miss it entirely.

• Golden Week

  Late April to early May

  Nationwide

  Four public holidays in a row. Trains and hotels sell out months ahead.

• Gion Matsuri

  July

  Kyoto

  Floats through the old centre. Streets close and the crowds do not move.

• Autumn leaves

  Mid-November to early December

  Kyoto, Nikko, the Japanese Alps

  Runs north to south, the opposite way to the blossom, and lasts longer.

Quick answers

Which networks does a Talisim Japan eSIM use?

Our Japan plans run on networks including NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile, KDDI/au, at up to 3G, 4G, 5G; a given plan may use only some of them. Each plan on the Japan page lists the networks it uses.

Can I top up a Japan eSIM?

Yes. Most Japan plans can be topped up with more data and days from your order page until they expire, on the same eSIM with no new QR code.

Does a Japan eSIM come with a phone number?

No. Data only: no phone number, calls or texts. WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal and iMessage work over data.

How much data do I need for Japan?

Japan eats more data than an equivalent European trip, and it is not video that does it. It is the constant small stuff: train routing apps recalculating every transfer, camera translation pointed at menus and ticket machines, and maps running the whole time because the address system is genuinely hard to navigate. Ten gigabytes covers a fortnight comfortably. Five is enough for a long weekend in one city, but not if you are moving between them every other day.

Regional plans that also cover Japan

Crossing a border on the same trip? One of these covers the whole route on one eSIM.

Other guides nearby

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