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Is it cheaper to get an eSIM for 2-3 weeks in Japan or buy a physical SIM upon arrival at the airport? Looking for the 5-10 GB range.

My general impression is that eSIM is more expensive than physical SIMs (at least that was the case in more underdeveloped countries, but don't know the situation with Japan or if eSIM prices have fallen enough by now). Also, eSIMs are usually data-only and don't come with a local JP phone number like physical SIMs do. Would having a local JP phone number be necessary or more convenient for things like train tickets, restaurants, and local hotels?

xuq01
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Anonymous
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2 Answers2

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I travel to Japan frequently and haven't bothered with getting a local SIM for years now. Unless you plan on making/receiving lots of calls, roaming these days is cheaper than buying a SIM card (I get 2 GB of data valid for 365 days across 90+ countries including Japan for a flat A$20 (~12 EUR) with Amaysim, your mileage may vary). You do not need a Japanese phone number to book trains, restaurants, or major hotels online.

On rare occasions, eg ryokan using some crappy locally developed reservation system, you run into a website that can't handle anything but Japanese numbers. (These sites are typically in Japanese only and insist on a Japanese address too.) For these I use a relative's contact info, but as far as I'm aware nobody has actually ever called her. And you could probably work around having to use the site in the first place by booking through a third-party aggregator like Rakuten or Jalan, which do support non-Japanese numbers.

All that said, if you do want to get a local number an e-SIM is the way to go these days, eg Sakura Mobile has plans starting from 2000 yen. Note that Japanese SIMs for visitors are data only unless you specifically choose to pay extra and jump through hoops to get a number.

lambshaanxy
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It doesn't really matter. I doubt you will ever need the voice functionality, as just about no one is going to call you in Japan, besides the bank and government (neither of which should concern a tourist).

  • It all depends on your specific plan. We don't provide plan comparisons here, but if you do some research you'll find a plan that fits your usage. An eSIM might indeed be more convenient, though.

  • Booking train tickets don't require a phone number. In fact, for most tickets, the only way to book is to physically present yourself at a ticketing office :-)

  • Restaurants - not really necessary. Many restaurants use online systems that may insist on a phone number but is not essential (you can almost always ask your hotel front desk to hold calls for you).

  • For hotels it will almost never be necessary. Smaller ryokans might only take reservations by phone; it might be better to just ask them before you depart for Japan. Larger ones take reservations from major hotel booking sites.

  • It is often just cheaper to get a roaming-enabled plan in your home country though.

xuq01
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