What You Need To Know About Staying Connected In Japan

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Hi Japan travel guide

7 min readJan 9, 2018

Japan is one of the most technologically innovative countries in the world, with myriad technologies that become widespread in Japan long before they make their way to the rest of the world.

As such, you might expect Japan to be a hyperconnected country, with free public wifi available universally, dirt cheap SIM cards, and other mobile technologies that you’ve never even heard about.

In an ironic twist however, staying connected in Japan is not quite that simple, at least not for foreigners. Luckily, there are solutions and workarounds, including one of those mobile technologies you may have never heard of!

Be sure to also check out the companion podcast to this post here.

WiFi

“Wifi was very accessible, but not as much as in public places. For example in Europe you get wifi almost everywhere in public places.”
- Jure & Simona of Slovenians Travel

Depending on where you’re coming from, you might find free public WiFi either more or less accessible than in your home country. I’ve had friends from Australia tell me that free WiFi is much more prevalent than it is Down Under. If you’re coming from North America or Europe however, where almost no matter where you go, there is free WiFi in every shop, cafe, or restaurant, you might find it more difficult than you’re accustomed to.

Fortunately for travelers, this is changing quickly, and there are an increasing number of free WiFi hotspots popping up throughout the country, making this one of the best options to stay connected.

While you will still find hostels, hotels, and particularly Ryokan that don’t offer WiFi, these are often be located in rural areas outside of city centers. Rest assured that in most accomodation will offer complimentary WiFi with your stay.

Part of the difficulty with publicly accessible WiFi is that there are often cumbersome sign up processes that may be especially difficult for visitors who don’t speak or read Japanese. Luckily, there are a few apps out there that have streamlined and simplified these processes.

Japan Connected-Free Wi-Fi

This app, available for both Android and iOS devices allows you to connect to over 150,000 free WiFi hotspots without having to sign up for each service individually.

Travel Japan Wi-Fi

This is a similar app to Japan Connected, but offers access to over 200,000 Wi2 hotspots for a two week period which can then be extended.

Free Wi-Fi Passport

Two weeks of free access (you can extend this for longer) to over 400,000 Softbank WiFi hotspots throughout Japan.

These hotspots are usually paid hotspots but as a tourist you are able to register for free by calling a toll-free number from a foreign cell phone while connected to the Softbank network. By calling you will be given a password that can be used across five devices.

Paid Hot Spots

While the availability of free hotspots in Japan is growing, the majority of hotspots are still paid. Using some of the apps mentioned above will allow you access to some of these networks as a tourist, but not all. Many of them also require a Japanese credit card or may only provide documentation in Japanese.

If you do choose to pay to use these networks, access is usually short term and can add up incredibly quickly if you’re using it a lot. These should be avoided by budget conscious travelers other than occasionally when absolutely necessary.

SIM Cards

Depending on who you talk to, getting a SIM card in Japan can either seem impossible, or incredibly easy, and a lot of this has to do with when that person last visited Japan.

Like the WiFi networks, it’s rapidly been getting easier for foreigners to buy SIM cards for their unlocked phones, but as visitors we still lack the options that we might be accustomed to in our home countries.

There are currently only a few companies that offer SIM cards to foreigners, with most of those offering few choices on monthly data allowances.

In my opinion, newcomer Sakura Mobile has the best variety of plans and the prices are quite reasonable. The company actually targets visitors to Japan, and this makes it a hassle free experience with service and website in English, plus plenty of options

Other options include IIJmio and B-Mobile.

Rental Phones

It’s also worth noting that you can actually rent phones that come with unlimited data and can serve as mobile hotspots. These can be rented on a daily (read:expensive) basis and can be found at major airports in Japan as well as online for delivery.

Pocket WiFi

Ok, so remember when I mentioned how Japan was the kind of place you’d expect to have some kind of mobile technology you’ve never heard of? Well this is it. It’s actually now becoming common in other parts of the world, but Pocket WiFi devices seem to be all the rage with travelers to Japan.

Basically, these devices tap into the cellular network and then create a portable WiFi network that you can use with multiple devices, just like you would when tethering from a cell phone.

You can find different packages for different amounts of time, and while it’s certainly handy having WiFi anywhere you go, for extended trips the cost may not be worth it.

I have talked to a number of people however who’s accomodation offered free pocket WiFi devices for guests, so that may be something to look into as well!

“We would just literally put in a location we wanted to go to, into Google Maps, we would travel with out pocket wifi, and it would take us there. It was the simplest thing.”
- Shazeen Pirani of Karuna Collective

Manga Kissa & Internet Cafes

If you don’t have a computer of your own you can check out either internet cafe’s or Manga Kissa, Japanese internet cafes primarily used for reading manga and surfing the web.

Spots are rented out for a few dollars an hour and are fairly widespread. The only issue is that they’re often not easily identifiable to non-Japanese speakers.

Get Connected

In the end, while there may be some differences in ease of connectivity compared to your home country, Japan is a country in which technology and the ability to plug in are never far away.

It’s worth mentioning again that the cellular and internet landscape is changing quickly and becoming ever more accommodating towards foreigners traveling to Japan. While that’s fantastic news, keep in mind that depending on when you’re reading this, there may be other options available in addition to the recommendations made here.

This article is only half the fun! Be sure to also check out the Japan Youth Hostel Inc ‘s HI! Japan Podcast, featuring more information and interviews with budget travelers to Japan!

Japan Youth Hostels, Inc has a network of more than 220 Youth Hostels in Japan. Here are 3 Hostels to use when you are staying in Osaka or visiting the surrounding areas.

Osaka International Youth Hostel

Easy access to Kansai airport, the centre of Osaka and also very convenient to get to Universal Studios Japan. We’re located inside Hamadera public park, the oldest park in Osaka. Guests look forward to the lovely sunsets and splendid night views as well as jogging/walking in Hamadera park.
Our facilities include a gym, an audio & visual room and a music room.

Website: click here Tel: 072–265–8539
Google Map: click here
Address: Hagoromokoen-cho, 592–0002 Takaishi-city Japan

Shin-Osaka Youth Hostel

The Shin-Osaka Youth Hostel is located 5min walk away from the JR Shin-Osaka Station, and is close not only to Osaka, but to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. It is a very convenient for exploring the Kansai area.

Website: click here Tel: 06–6370–5427
Google Map: click here
Address: 2–21–4 Yanagibashi, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 111–0052, JAPAN

Nagai Youth Hostel

Our hostel is located in Nagai park which is really convenient for sight seeing. It is about 15min to the centre of Osaka and 30min to Universal Studios Japan. We welcome single travel, family travel, group travel, and have spaces to host conferences.