Japan Travel 🇯🇵⛩️

There’s surprisingly many spots in the big cities (cafes, restaurants, malls) and also in the Shinkansen. That said, it can be kind of a hit and miss, especially if you leave the bigger cities.

Pocket wifi is overpriced IMO. eSIM with data-only is super comfortable and pretty cheap per GB. Get them in a tech store like Bic Camera.

However it may not be possible to create a hotspot. Regular data sim cards are also available and cheap. Not sure if they can have the same restrictions, or if those restrictions would apply to your phone.

Airlo, get a data only esim, its very helpful to have data in japan!

Having internet is really useful in weird places, translation anywhere, the menu is QR code based, looking up bus schedule, ordering a taxi, etc.

I had good luck with free wifi at coffee shops. The fastest wifi I had in Japan was at a Starbucks. I haven’t had great luck with the free wifi on trains at all.

I have heard Ubigo is a good option for esim cards. Make sure to enroll when you have reliable internet access already.

If you’re looking for a vendor for your portable wifi, IVideo gave us a router with excellent speeds on my last visit, and the return process was a simple prepaid envelope. Make sure to double-check the opening hours of the shop if you pick up your router locally.