Mar 22, 2016, 3:00 am
Last edit by: RichardInSF
Japan - Prepaid Data SIM Wikia
1) get a SIM before the trip, activate it when you land. you can find japan-specific prepaid SIMs on ebay/amazon/... .Some countries have providers that offer good roaming rates in other countries(eg Starhub in Singapore, Ais Sim2Fly available globally)
2) preorder it, delivered to your hotel
3) preorder it to airport post office, can pick up when you land
4) preorder it, pickup at some airport counter/store
5) at airport/city, find an store/kiosk/vending machine and buy from them
6) Use an app such as Iijmio, Airalo or Ubigi to buy an e-SIM if your phone supports it
If you are arriving at Haneda international terminal without a SIM: Exit customs, turn right, and continue to the BIC camera store on the left side. Ignore any other places and vending machines that will sell you a SIM. BIC has a good selection at regular camera store prices.
1) get a SIM before the trip, activate it when you land. you can find japan-specific prepaid SIMs on ebay/amazon/... .Some countries have providers that offer good roaming rates in other countries(eg Starhub in Singapore, Ais Sim2Fly available globally)
2) preorder it, delivered to your hotel
3) preorder it to airport post office, can pick up when you land
4) preorder it, pickup at some airport counter/store
5) at airport/city, find an store/kiosk/vending machine and buy from them
6) Use an app such as Iijmio, Airalo or Ubigi to buy an e-SIM if your phone supports it
If you are arriving at Haneda international terminal without a SIM: Exit customs, turn right, and continue to the BIC camera store on the left side. Ignore any other places and vending machines that will sell you a SIM. BIC has a good selection at regular camera store prices.
Prepaid SIM discussion (consolidated)
Jan 10, 2017, 10:41 pm
#301
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
Page 15: http://lte.so-net.ne.jp/legal/prepaid/en/kiyaku.pdf
(yes only the Japanese can explain why the prices need to be buried there)
Jan 11, 2017, 7:54 am
#303
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plat, Marriott Silver, HH Gold
Posts: 797
Point being SO-net is the best visitor data card on the market, in terms of reliability, download speed, and non-throttled use.
SO-net can be easily topped up. Can be bought prior to landing on Amazon Japan, delivered to your hotel or a convenience store (including those located in selected airports).
eConnect used to re-sell B-Mobile at 30% more and called it their own.
B-Mobile is one of the worst value these days. Used them between 2011 - 2014 as they were the only card available, with deteriorating download speeds every time I purchased one.
SO-net can be easily topped up. Can be bought prior to landing on Amazon Japan, delivered to your hotel or a convenience store (including those located in selected airports).
eConnect used to re-sell B-Mobile at 30% more and called it their own.
B-Mobile is one of the worst value these days. Used them between 2011 - 2014 as they were the only card available, with deteriorating download speeds every time I purchased one.
The new bmobile visitor SIM is 3481JPY for 5GB unthrottled from Amazon.co.jp, whereas SO-Net starts at 3241JPY for 1.2GB and 3352JPY for 2GB.
Am I reading it correctly?
Anyway, I ordered the 5GB SIM so I'll report back.
Jan 11, 2017, 4:45 pm
#304
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, Flying Blue Gold, Accor Silver, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 662
Is it safe to assume stores/vending machines will have the SO-net SIM cards in stock at the airport? Tempted to just pick one upon arrival at Narita, and according to the site, there's a number of places that carry them. I'm afraid they might not have my size in stock (Nano). Strange that they just don't do 3in1 sims so everyone can use the same type and store can just stock up on one type.
Jan 13, 2017, 12:31 pm
#305
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
Maybe I'm missing something... but from the PDF and from what I saw on the Prepaid Wikia and Amazon.co.jp, SO-Net is one of the most expensive per GB?
The new bmobile visitor SIM is 3481JPY for 5GB unthrottled from Amazon.co.jp, whereas SO-Net starts at 3241JPY for 1.2GB and 3352JPY for 2GB.
The new bmobile visitor SIM is 3481JPY for 5GB unthrottled from Amazon.co.jp, whereas SO-Net starts at 3241JPY for 1.2GB and 3352JPY for 2GB.
SO-net is among the more expensive, yes.
But it is the best value for me. Some people don't mind slow speeds or waiting 3 seconds for every download to start (not saying this is the case for B-Mobile all the time).
Jan 13, 2017, 12:35 pm
#306
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
Is it safe to assume stores/vending machines will have the SO-net SIM cards in stock at the airport? Tempted to just pick one upon arrival at Narita, and according to the site, there's a number of places that carry them. I'm afraid they might not have my size in stock (Nano). Strange that they just don't do 3in1 sims so everyone can use the same type and store can just stock up on one type.
Airport shops tend to sell them a bit more than the published price.
If purchased in major electronics stores, get a free point card and you get 10% back to spend on your next purchase.
I agree it must be some "only in Japan" reason that none of the prepaid SIM providers seems to offer 3-in-1 SIM.
Last edited by beep88; Jan 16, 2017 at 2:47 pm
Jan 14, 2017, 9:45 am
#307
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: LH SEN; BA Gold
Posts: 8,405
I was trying to register my econnect sim cards (2 or 3 years old) by entering the phone number as MSISDN (is that correct?) and the serial number and their system says "no sim card in our database". Did anyone have that issue already? And if so, how did you resolve it?
Jan 14, 2017, 2:22 pm
#308
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, Flying Blue Gold, Accor Silver, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 662
PAYG SIM cards expire after activation or after a period of no activity. When did you activate or receive it? Once a card is deactivated, it's a useless piece of plastic and there nothing you can do other than getting a new one.
Jan 14, 2017, 2:26 pm
#309
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, Flying Blue Gold, Accor Silver, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 662
Jan 19, 2017, 3:16 am
#310
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
14 day SIM from b-mobile is no longer available, or at least at the Shinjuku BIC Camera. New 5GB/21day one is sold at a slight discount to list at JPY3220 (JPY3477 including tax). Airport Limousine was passing out BIC Camera coupons but I forgot to take it with me.
Didn't think to speed test it immediately but several days later in Osaka, it's 1Mbps down/3-6Mbps up. I didn't think I used it that much to hit the throttle cap. Signal shows 5 bars so don't think that's an issue but I'm on the 38th floor so maybe that might it?...
Didn't think to speed test it immediately but several days later in Osaka, it's 1Mbps down/3-6Mbps up. I didn't think I used it that much to hit the throttle cap. Signal shows 5 bars so don't think that's an issue but I'm on the 38th floor so maybe that might it?...
Jan 23, 2017, 10:58 am
#311
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plat, Marriott Silver, HH Gold
Posts: 797
To report back-- tried ordering the b-mobile 5GB/21d visitor SIM from Amazon.co.jp. Never arrived to my hotel in Hokkaido, presumably due to weather. Amazon was very good about providing a full refund via chat help with an English speaking agent. I ordered pretty last minute-- perhaps ordering more in advance would allow for delays or re-ordering. When I ordered, the price was 3341JPY, by the time it was to be delivered, the price dropped to 3134JPY.
Even though the b-mobile website only lists an Aeon store in Sapporo as carrying this SIM, I passed by a BIC Camera and figured why not take a look? They had it, for 3343JPY including tax. They also had a full array of other visitor SIMs that frankly seemed like a poor value compared to this one, especially if you plan to use more than 2GB or will be in country longer than 7 days. It was a painless process to buy and activate, you just need to download their profile for iPhone and wait a few minutes. Too bad we are so restricted by cybercrime regulations as visitors, locals get such better deals, such as 10gb/mo for 1000JPY!
I used the SIM in Sapporo, all over Tokyo, Nikko, on the train to and from these places, around Mt. Fuji, etc. Speeds were good, connection reliable. Almost always 4G/LTE. In Ginza the speeds were between 1.2-1.5Mbps/down and 10-12Mbps up, in one case hitting 25Mbps up. So it appears that download is being throttled, as there's no way I hit any data cap on that day, and besides, it's not supposed to be throttled.
I also think the recharge option is egregious-- 500jpy for 1GB that's only good for one day is quite expensive, I'd rather pay 1000jpy for 1GB that will last a week, although you can recharge up to 10 times. I guess whether you recharge or just buy a new one depends on how many more days you need.
in 7 days I ended up using just under 2GB, so it was a bit of overkill for me to get this SIM, but I didn't have to worry about running out of data or getting throttled over 200mb/day. Worked well for maps (my primary reason for needing this), websites, and Skype/VoIP.
As I see it--
PROS: higher data allowance, relatively good cost per GB, easy to find and activate, coverage good, longer expiration.
CONS: throttled download, may be more expensive if you don't need 5GB, poor recharge option
Based on my experience, I think this is a good option for longer stays or higher data requirements.
Even though the b-mobile website only lists an Aeon store in Sapporo as carrying this SIM, I passed by a BIC Camera and figured why not take a look? They had it, for 3343JPY including tax. They also had a full array of other visitor SIMs that frankly seemed like a poor value compared to this one, especially if you plan to use more than 2GB or will be in country longer than 7 days. It was a painless process to buy and activate, you just need to download their profile for iPhone and wait a few minutes. Too bad we are so restricted by cybercrime regulations as visitors, locals get such better deals, such as 10gb/mo for 1000JPY!
I used the SIM in Sapporo, all over Tokyo, Nikko, on the train to and from these places, around Mt. Fuji, etc. Speeds were good, connection reliable. Almost always 4G/LTE. In Ginza the speeds were between 1.2-1.5Mbps/down and 10-12Mbps up, in one case hitting 25Mbps up. So it appears that download is being throttled, as there's no way I hit any data cap on that day, and besides, it's not supposed to be throttled.
I also think the recharge option is egregious-- 500jpy for 1GB that's only good for one day is quite expensive, I'd rather pay 1000jpy for 1GB that will last a week, although you can recharge up to 10 times. I guess whether you recharge or just buy a new one depends on how many more days you need.
in 7 days I ended up using just under 2GB, so it was a bit of overkill for me to get this SIM, but I didn't have to worry about running out of data or getting throttled over 200mb/day. Worked well for maps (my primary reason for needing this), websites, and Skype/VoIP.
As I see it--
PROS: higher data allowance, relatively good cost per GB, easy to find and activate, coverage good, longer expiration.
CONS: throttled download, may be more expensive if you don't need 5GB, poor recharge option
Based on my experience, I think this is a good option for longer stays or higher data requirements.
Jan 23, 2017, 11:02 am
#312
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plat, Marriott Silver, HH Gold
Posts: 797
On another note-- I'm back in NYC. If you are traveling to Japan soon and need a SIM, happy to give you my b-mobile SIM that is good until Feb 5 with 3GB left. Not asking for anything except a little favor that I forgot to pick up in Japan. PM me if you want to pick it up.
Jan 23, 2017, 1:40 pm
#313
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
14 day SIM from b-mobile is no longer available, or at least at the Shinjuku BIC Camera. New 5GB/21day one is sold at a slight discount to list at JPY3220 (JPY3477 including tax). Airport Limousine was passing out BIC Camera coupons but I forgot to take it with me.
Didn't think to speed test it immediately but several days later in Osaka, it's 1Mbps down/3-6Mbps up. I didn't think I used it that much to hit the throttle cap. Signal shows 5 bars so don't think that's an issue but I'm on the 38th floor so maybe that might it?...
Didn't think to speed test it immediately but several days later in Osaka, it's 1Mbps down/3-6Mbps up. I didn't think I used it that much to hit the throttle cap. Signal shows 5 bars so don't think that's an issue but I'm on the 38th floor so maybe that might it?...
You get what you pay for. Given not everyone needs faster than 1 Mbps down.
I have used visitor cards from a bunch of providers, have done side-by-side speed tests on identical hardware. The expensive (per GB) cards consistently have better performance.
My SO-Net visitor cards have download speeds of 1.5 - 22 Mbps. In major cities, typical daytime 5-8 , night time 20+
Last edited by beep88; Jan 23, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Jan 23, 2017, 3:22 pm
#314
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
Jan 30, 2017, 11:25 am
#315
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 182
Flying into Tokyo Haneda in a few weeks...I'm still confused after going through 20 pages of this thread... Will be in Japan for about 10 days, then 6 days in Hong Kong. What's the best sim for my iphone 6 for the Japan portion (mainly Tokyo)? bMobile? So-net? econnect? Best value/speed?