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)
Jul 5, 2016, 5:53 am
#241
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Smyrna, GA, USA
Programs: DL FO 1MM
Posts: 1,761
I've used the Umobile on my last 2 trips and been completely satisfied. I've gone fairly widely between Kyoto and Sapporo on those 2 trips with no coverage problems and fine data rates everywhere.
Oct 17, 2016, 11:55 am
#242
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 268
Oct 17, 2016, 8:32 pm
#244
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 268
The 15 day one listed Here
I bought them at Yodobashi, but I am pretty sure they can be obtained at the airports in Tokyo.
I bought them at Yodobashi, but I am pretty sure they can be obtained at the airports in Tokyo.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
That usually just means you lose coverage in areas where your non-Japanese model doesn't support those bands/frequencies unique to Japan but I am unsure how common or uncommon those Japan-unique-only areas tend to be...
Any experience from others using non-Japanese handsets all over Japan on various networks using American/European smartphone models?
Oct 18, 2016, 2:16 am
#246
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 380
I used U-Mobile on my trip this summer, bought through a HK travel agent (it was a lot cheaper than the 2800 Yen U-Mobile advertises).
The coverage was fantastic in all the cities I visited and on the Shinkansen lines.
The 200mb limit is very strict though. It's more than enough for a bit of general browsing, google maps and messaging services; but if you use video, the allowance will soon be used up. After you've used 200mb you still have internet, but it's super slow.
Overall, one of the better overseas data sims I've used.
The coverage was fantastic in all the cities I visited and on the Shinkansen lines.
The 200mb limit is very strict though. It's more than enough for a bit of general browsing, google maps and messaging services; but if you use video, the allowance will soon be used up. After you've used 200mb you still have internet, but it's super slow.
Overall, one of the better overseas data sims I've used.
Oct 18, 2016, 8:11 pm
#247
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 268
I used U-Mobile on my trip this summer, bought through a HK travel agent (it was a lot cheaper than the 2800 Yen U-Mobile advertises).
The coverage was fantastic in all the cities I visited and on the Shinkansen lines.
The 200mb limit is very strict though. It's more than enough for a bit of general browsing, google maps and messaging services; but if you use video, the allowance will soon be used up. After you've used 200mb you still have internet, but it's super slow.
Overall, one of the better overseas data sims I've used.
The coverage was fantastic in all the cities I visited and on the Shinkansen lines.
The 200mb limit is very strict though. It's more than enough for a bit of general browsing, google maps and messaging services; but if you use video, the allowance will soon be used up. After you've used 200mb you still have internet, but it's super slow.
Overall, one of the better overseas data sims I've used.
Oct 19, 2016, 9:18 am
#249
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Smyrna, GA, USA
Programs: DL FO 1MM
Posts: 1,761
Oct 23, 2016, 5:56 pm
#250
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, Flying Blue Gold, Accor Silver, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 662
I will be making a trip multiple Asian countries next spring and looking for a prepaid SIM card that will work across all of them. I will start with Japan, then South Korea, Macau and then Hong Kong.
Any suggestions for a card that will work in all places? I prefer a card I can get shipped prior to my trip, either to my home or to my first hotel in Tokyo. It can be data only since I rely on VoIP for calls.
Last time I used Bmobile and served me well. But I don't think they offer cheap roaming across Asia. I think some Hong Kong companies offer this? Suggestions?
Any suggestions for a card that will work in all places? I prefer a card I can get shipped prior to my trip, either to my home or to my first hotel in Tokyo. It can be data only since I rely on VoIP for calls.
Last time I used Bmobile and served me well. But I don't think they offer cheap roaming across Asia. I think some Hong Kong companies offer this? Suggestions?
Oct 23, 2016, 6:24 pm
#251
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: HHonors Gold, Marriott Lifetime Gold, IHG Gold, OZ*G, AA Gold, AS MVP
Posts: 1,874
I will be making a trip multiple Asian countries next spring and looking for a prepaid SIM card that will work across all of them. I will start with Japan, then South Korea, Macau and then Hong Kong.
Any suggestions for a card that will work in all places? I prefer a card I can get shipped prior to my trip, either to my home or to my first hotel in Tokyo. It can be data only since I rely on VoIP for calls.
Last time I used Bmobile and served me well. But I don't think they offer cheap roaming across Asia. I think some Hong Kong companies offer this? Suggestions?
Any suggestions for a card that will work in all places? I prefer a card I can get shipped prior to my trip, either to my home or to my first hotel in Tokyo. It can be data only since I rely on VoIP for calls.
Last time I used Bmobile and served me well. But I don't think they offer cheap roaming across Asia. I think some Hong Kong companies offer this? Suggestions?
Oct 23, 2016, 7:38 pm
#252
Moderator, All Nippon Airways and Japan
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: TYO
Programs: NH SFC (*G), JL JGP (OWE), AS MVP, WOH E, IHG SE
Posts: 3,908
I purchased the U-mobile 7-day SIM that is only available via Yodobashi Camera outlets for 1,280 JPY for a family member visiting Japan for a week. It provides 200 MB of usage/day at LTE speeds, then drops to 200 Kbps after that. For the price, it provided exactly what he needed (access to the web, Google Maps, FB/Instagram, iMessage, etc.) for an excellent price. The only downside was that only the microSIM format was available; the nanoSIM format was sold out everywhere according to the store clerk.
Oct 26, 2016, 1:58 am
#253
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
Thanks for the info. What type of phone were you using? North American phones don't generally support all the frequencies of Japanese phones...see here for an example...iPhone 7 Model A1779 is ONLY listed for Japan:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
Oct 26, 2016, 2:04 am
#254
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
I will be making a trip multiple Asian countries next spring and looking for a prepaid SIM card that will work across all of them. I will start with Japan, then South Korea, Macau and then Hong Kong.
Any suggestions for a card that will work in all places? I prefer a card I can get shipped prior to my trip, either to my home or to my first hotel in Tokyo. It can be data only since I rely on VoIP for calls.
Last time I used Bmobile and served me well. But I don't think they offer cheap roaming across Asia. I think some Hong Kong companies offer this? Suggestions?
Any suggestions for a card that will work in all places? I prefer a card I can get shipped prior to my trip, either to my home or to my first hotel in Tokyo. It can be data only since I rely on VoIP for calls.
Last time I used Bmobile and served me well. But I don't think they offer cheap roaming across Asia. I think some Hong Kong companies offer this? Suggestions?
None of the visitor prepaid cards in Japan offers roaming. In store, there are global roaming cards, with Japanese manuals, etc.
All the major HK providers (not MVNO) have roaming prepaid cards. You'll have to order from eBay I suppose, and subject to the usual eBay scams.
Oct 26, 2016, 10:24 pm
#255
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,195
Au KDDI is a direct partner. It isn't the GigSky rates you mentioned which seem to offer poor value compared to a local sim, indeed.
The Au KDDI rate is 1,500 yen per 1GB (valid for 31 days)
http://www.au.kddi.com/english/mobil.../data-prepaid/
The Au KDDI rate is 1,500 yen per 1GB (valid for 31 days)
http://www.au.kddi.com/english/mobil.../data-prepaid/
I tried visiting the AU website to preregister, but the site is in Japanese and trying to scan the QR code didn't seem to work. Y1,500 is half the price of any other SIM card from the airport, but not sure if it's worth a big hassle to activate the service.
