Japan Connected-Free WiFi hotspots will save you from getting lost!

Japan has a large network of Free WiFi

Planning to go to Japan? If so, you'll be glad to know that Japan has a large public WiFi hotspot network called "Japan Connected-Free WiFi." This service has been developed to better serve foreign visitors to Japan, and is available in 13 languages, English, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, and Japanese.

This service is free and available to anyone with a WiFi-enabled device at over 150,000 locations throughout Japan, such as airports, train stations, subway stations, bus stops, banks, convenience stores, and department stores, etc.

Which network in Japan offers the best coverage for Itsukushima Shrine area?

Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima pref.  photo by purugoro

Which network offers the best coverage for Itsukushima Shrine area?

Itsukushima Shrine（いつくしまじんじゃ or 厳島神社）, located in Hiroshima（ ひろしま or 広島）prefecture, was designated as a World Heritage site in 1996 and is one of the most popular tourist spots in Japan.  Especially visitors from abroad are especially fond of this area.

In this post I will be comparing the five main mobile networks in Japan (Docomo, au, Softbank, Y!mobile, WiMax) to see which would be best for those wanting to visit the Itsukushima Jinja(shrine) with a wifi router.

How to use an American iPhone SE with prepaid travel sim in Japan

My Trip to Japan in 2017 Spring

My plan to use an American iPhone in Japan

I am planning to visit Japan this spring for 2 weeks. I am an iPhone SE user here in the USA and planning to use the same phone over there with a prepaid travel sim card.

10 things you should think about before renting a wifi router in Japan

Japan Rental Wifi 101

Choosing the best network for your travel

　Docomo > au / Softbank / Y!mobile  > WiMax
Wider Coverage....................................→Limited Coverage

If you want to rent a wifi router for your travel in Japan, here are some basic things (101) you should think about before you make a decision.

Once you sign (or check the box) on the contract, you will be charged for the entire period of time for the router you are going to rent, regardless of what kind of signal you receive. So let's make sure you will get good connectivity in the area where you are going to stay and travel.

Although Japan is well covered, if you are planning to go to a remote area and not sure which wifi router works best, be sure to ask, either by calling or email, ahead of time which one is best for a specific area, such as on top of Mt. Fuji, etc.  They are happy to discuss.

Getting to know the five "wifi rental" brands in Japan

Brands & coverage "rental wifi" for travel in Japan

If you are in the USA, you would know Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint for mobile phone services. If you are planning to visit Japan and thinking about using a mobile wifi router, I will introduce the following 5 brands in Japan.

Which network in Japan covers the area around Mt Fuji best?

Mt Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture

How five networks cover Mt Fuji differently

In this post I would like to do a quick research on which network has the best signal on and around "Mt. Fuji."  

Mt Fuij is one of the most popular destinations in summer for foreign visitors in Japan. If you have a mobile internet access, you can do the following things on the day you climb;

• use a map app to check your route
• check the weather
• look up a train or bus schedule
• check where you are by GPS
• book a mountain hut
• stay in touch with your friends and family while you are climbing
• take a selfie and send it real time even to overseas
• look up, watch or upload a YouTube video 
• most importantly call for rescue if needed

you can do it. But you have to be careful which network to use.

2017 When you travel in Japan, a wifi router is available for rent

Rented Japanese wifi router 

Traveling to Japan and wondering how to keep using your smartphone and laptop over there? So far, I have talked about how to purchase a prepaid travel sim card for Japan here, and in this post I will talk about how to rent a Japanese wifi router.

Renting a wifi router is an easy and excellent way in Japan to stay connected to the internet.   In Japan, it is called "wifi rental" and renting a wifi router is similar to renting a car.

Japan Travel prepaid SIM cards sold at Amazon.co.jp

Japan Travel SIM cards available from Amazon.co.jp

Softbank

Prepaid SIM for TRAVEL by Softbank

"Prepaid SIM for Travel" by Softbank is the only prepaid sim card sold by a major carrier. Others are all by docomo's MVNOs.

As Softbank utilizes a so called "Platinum Band" which is Band 8(900 MHz), Softbank customers are supposed to be able to enjoy unthrottled data usage even during lunch and evening hours when there are many users at one time.

Softbank Shops are found here.


There are many more travel SIMs available in Japan. If you have a good command of the language and a Japanese address, you can have it shipped to where you are staying.

Traveler's SIMs are usually called "Prepaid SIM" to separate them from the ones for Japanese residents.  Prepaid SIMs don't require an ID to activate. (But I have seen a "prepaid" sim at convenience stores which was meant for trial use for residents.  It's sort of confusing....)

The SIMs for residents in Japan require a government issued ID and a Japan-issued credit card for a month to month contract, so please be careful.

IIJmio

Japan Travel SIM 1GB for up to 30days

This is one of the more well known brands for prepaid travel sim cards in Japan. They provide information in foreign languages such as English, Chinese, Korean, and Thai on the web. Also customer service is available in English and Chinese.

Supported Network: NTT Docomo(Japan's largest Network)

Standards and Frequencies: LTE: Band 1 (2,100 MHz) / Band 19 (800 MHz) / Band 21 (1,500 MHz) / Band 3 (1,800 MHz; only available in the Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya metropolitan regions) 3G: Band 1 (2,100 MHz) / Band 19 (800 MHz)

for the details, click here.

JP MOBILE

JP Mobile JAPAN Prepaid SIM card

I have used this SIM a few years ago and had a good experience with it.  It is a nano SIM, but comes with adapters and a pin.  Easy to connect and use.

You can choose out of 8days, 15days, 31days, and 91days.

If you want Travel SIM cards for Japan you can buy in USA

Travel SIM cards for Japan you can get in USA

There are a few sim cards sold at Amazon. com.

1.  eConnect Nano sim with adapter

Japan Prepaid SIM (1GB Data for up to 15 days) $21.99+tax Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
Supported Network: NTT Docomo

Top Up Plans: 500MB/7days, 1GB/15days, 2GB/30days, 5GB/30days

They recommend that you set the activation date prior to arriving in Japan. This way the SIM will be activated automatically on the activation date you set.

For the details, click here.

2.  Freetel nano SIM

Freetel Prepaid SIM for Japan (2GB Data for up to 30 days) $34.29+tax Free shipping

Supported Network: NTT Docomo

If you plan to stay in Japan for a month, this SIM might come in handy as it is good up to 30 days.  The price is $33.93+tax with Free shipping.

A perk of this brand is that you are able to use Facebook, WhatsApp, and others at no extra usage of data.  So these Apps are always accessible to use within the period at no cost to you.

Other plans, such as for 7 days, 14 days, are also available.

For the details, click here.

On a subway in Tokyo

So easy! 3 main ways to buy prepaid Travel SIM cards for Japan

You might not believe how much it has changed, but it is true. The situation has  changed so much in Japan and it is now incredibly easy to purchase prepaid Travel sim cards for Japan.

There are 3 ways to buy prepaid Travel SIMs for foreign visitors to Japan.

1. online at either Amazon.com or Amazon.co.jp
2. International airports such as Narita/Haneda and others
3. stores such as Bic Camera (shown above), Yodobashi Camera, or convenience stores in big cities

Japan Now! Various Prepaid Travel SIM cards available for foreign visitors (2017)

One example of travel SIM in Japan

There are some basic facts you should be aware of about Travel SIM for foreign visitors in Japan. The sim cards you can use for a limited time period are called either "prepaid（プリペイド）" / "travel" / "Visitor's" SIM.

You can switch sim cards in your smartphone or tablet when you land in Japan and take advantage of the great technology.