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)
Oct 1, 2022, 2:07 pm
#601
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
Posts: 1,968
Think I might have screwed up. Purchased the 20GB eSim from IIJMio, then went to activate it and got a message saying it couldn't be activated after about 10mins - I'm assuming this is because I'm in the UK currently.
Anyone know if it will automatically activate when I land in Japan next month and switch to the IIJMIo Sim?
Anyone know if it will automatically activate when I land in Japan next month and switch to the IIJMIo Sim?
Oct 1, 2022, 2:15 pm
#602
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 887
Iphone 13. Scanned the QR code on the website, which then came up with an Activate Now screen on the phone which I selected. Then got a message saying I could continue using my phone. 10 mins later got a message saying sim not activated. It has however populated the IMEI2, ICCID, MEID slots under about and also displays the Japanese Number associated with the sim.
Oct 1, 2022, 2:24 pm
#604
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
Posts: 1,968
Keep me posted on October 1 if you get charged for October 
. If you paid for 20GB but only have 4GB it looks like they prorated the amount of data you have (like you said) so I am guessing you won't get charged on Oct 1 but on your one month anniversary instead. Doesn't make sense for them to charge you the full amount but only prorate it down to 4. But I wonder how much data they'll give you on Oct 1? Maybe they'll give you 16GB until they bill you again on Oct 25...
. If you paid for 20GB but only have 4GB it looks like they prorated the amount of data you have (like you said) so I am guessing you won't get charged on Oct 1 but on your one month anniversary instead. Doesn't make sense for them to charge you the full amount but only prorate it down to 4. But I wonder how much data they'll give you on Oct 1? Maybe they'll give you 16GB until they bill you again on Oct 25...Total remaining capacity 24.00GB
Data remaining for this month (expiration date: October 31, 2022) 20.00GB
Amount of data remaining carried forward last month (expiration date: September 30, 2022) 4.00GB
Oct 1, 2022, 2:35 pm
#605
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
Posts: 1,968
Iphone 13. Scanned the QR code on the website, which then came up with an Activate Now screen on the phone which I selected. Then got a message saying I could continue using my phone. 10 mins later got a message saying sim not activated. It has however populated the IMEI2, ICCID, MEID slots under about and also displays the Japanese Number associated with the sim.
Oct 1, 2022, 2:57 pm
#608
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
Posts: 1,968
@seigex Fixed the issue. Think I had Turn On This Line to OFF.
Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.
Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.
Oct 1, 2022, 8:47 pm
#609
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 51
Nice! Did they charge you today?
Oct 3, 2022, 9:26 am
#611
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 119
We are now in Japan . We would like to point out that the iijmio esim plan that others have signed up doesn’t allow data tethering/sharing. I tried to add the profile on the personal hotspot but it won’t let my other phone connect even I added the profile setting manually
Kind of disappointed as it did not mention on their website that it didn’t allow data sharing
it’s only good for solo user. The data download speed is only half decent compare to other esim I have used
Kind of disappointed as it did not mention on their website that it didn’t allow data sharing
it’s only good for solo user. The data download speed is only half decent compare to other esim I have used
Oct 3, 2022, 9:41 am
#612
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
Posts: 1,968
We are now in Japan . We would like to point out that the iijmio esim plan that others have signed up doesn’t allow data tethering/sharing. I tried to add the profile on the personal hotspot but it won’t let my other phone connect even I added the profile setting manually
Kind of disappointed as it did not mention on their website that it didn’t allow data sharing
it’s only good for solo user. The data download speed is only half decent compare to other esim I have used
Kind of disappointed as it did not mention on their website that it didn’t allow data sharing
it’s only good for solo user. The data download speed is only half decent compare to other esim I have used
In the internet sharing/personal hotspot section add:
APN: iijmio.jp
USER: mio@iij
PASSWORD: iij
Last edited by seigex; Oct 3, 2022 at 9:46 am
Oct 6, 2022, 11:16 am
#615
Join Date: May 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: MM / UA 1K
Posts: 473
I used the 30 day Mobal SIM (the one that comes with a local number) in July without issue. A family member was using an IIJmio tourist SIM during the same period and it seemed like the Mobal connection was generally faster / more consistent even if the margin wasn't necessarily wide. YMMV