Destination Tips · 6 min read
Japan travel connectivity guide
Coverage on the Shinkansen, IC cards, and why pocket wifi is mostly obsolete.
Japan has excellent mobile coverage, including inside most metro tunnels and along Shinkansen routes.
eSIM instead of pocket wifi
Rental wifi routers were the standard for a decade. They add a device to charge, a pickup, a return and a deposit. An eSIM installed before departure removes all four steps.
What you actually need data for
Transit routing, IC card top-ups in the wallet app, restaurant queues and translation. A mid-size plan is comfortable for two weeks of that.
Travelling soon?
Install a travel eSIM before you fly and land connected — data-only plans in 200+ destinations.
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