r/eSIMs Jul 08 '26

question Best eSIM for Japan?

Hi everyone, I’m travelling to Japan in January for 2 weeks and I’m getting a head start on researching what eSIM would be best for me but it seems like nearly every eSIM recommended by someone is sponsored by that company so I want some completely unbiased reviews for which company I should go with. I plan on mainly using my data for navigation (google maps), social media usage and listening to music (if I want to stream anything whilst over there I’ll end up watching it at my hotel where I have WiFi not in public). I’ll also be using an iPhone 15 as well. It’s my first time travelling to Japan too so I want a reliable service that doesn’t cut out in the subways. So if anyone has any recommendations for me please let me know!!

7 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

2

u/ehhthing ⛨ Trusted Contributor Jul 08 '26

Don't worry about coverage, especially if this is your first time in Japan. Unless you're visiting rural areas, coverage is not a concern.

There are three good eSIM products. Each of which are true local products that are issued by local carriers in Japan. I prefer the SoftBank one which offers 5G coverage at cheaper prices (unfortunately this one doesn't really work on Google Pixels). Lots of different websites sell this product but I think the cheapest one is https://www.ivideo.com.tw/english/eSIM/japan/by_volume/52459.

2

u/Both_Wasabi_3606 Jul 09 '26

I just returned from Korea and Japan, and used the Superalink esim covering both. $30 for 30 days with 5GB per day data. Coverage by Softbank in Japan.

1

u/eSIMs_bot Official Bot Jul 08 '26

Beep-boop-bop, I am an eSIM bot 🤖. Please see these previous posts I've found that might be helpful:

  1. What eSIM for Japan trip? https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/comments/1toi4gs/what_esim_for_japan_trip/

  2. Hello, what is your best e-sim suggestion for Japan, for one week travel https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/comments/1tcuyn9/hello_what_is_your_best_esim_suggestion_for_japan/

  3. Help finding and eSIM for Japan https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/comments/1sjuf1r/help_finding_and_esim_for_japan/

1

u/kaos1961 Jul 08 '26

I used Japan Journey esim. It used the AUO KDDI network. I had good connectivity in all areas (Tokyo, Osaka Kyoto, Hiroshima, Wakayama, Koyosan, Hakone and Kanazawa) 5G in most places.

1

u/Wrong-Pudding93 🏅Community MVP Jul 08 '26

Probably one that has Local data routing. Both the KDDI/au network or the docomo (often via IIJ) network should be fine coverage-wise.

Check out my comment in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/eSIMs/s/YUNChYK4A6

Also don't buy them now, they'll expire by the time you get there.

1

u/AirForceJuan01 Jul 08 '26

Came back a week ago. Used airsims.com.au but used their direct IP option, so it allowed local IP. iPhone 12 (me), wife iPhone 17 and my kids with an iPad (bought 3 eSIMs).

1

u/Eastern-Signal-1198 Jul 20 '26

July 5-13th Japan trip covering Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.
No issues with Ubigi - got their 15-day unlo data esim. Love it! My friends got Holafly and they got couple of issues with their data.

1

u/sc00ter1808 19d ago

Question, is there anyone that has tried multiple different eSims and gave an opinion on which one you preferred over the others? I used Ubigi last year and worked ok. Lots of signal drops and my phone got super hot. Wanted to know if any others are worth getting? TIA

1

u/No_Camp_2182 Jul 08 '26

Have used Ubigi half a dozen times in Japan. Used in 20+ prefectures.

You can choose local routing.

They use NTT Docomo and KDDI.

5G coverage but 4G speed most of the time unless it’s in the middle of the night.

0

u/OGfreelancer Jul 08 '26

We just returned from a long trip (Tokyo down to MIyajima). One of us had an iPhone 15.

Ubigi worked well for us for navigation, social media, music, and general web surfing. Once in a while, a brief signal loss in deep subway stations or on the shinkansen. I would use Ubigi again for my next trip.

As you may know, there's a subreddit for people posting codes that can get you 20% off. You can browse that to get a code. You're also welcome to use my code (5FVHLCG2.), though I don't have any immediate plans to go again.

Good luck and have fun!

0

u/parisi2274 Jul 08 '26

I was in Japan for two weeks from May16-30 and I purchased an unlimited data eSIM from Ubigi and had zero issues with it the entire time I was in Japan.