Wifi in Japan Almost all hotels and ryokan have free wifi. While you're out, you'll find it in many restaurants, cafes (Starbucks has free wifi in every store), bars and some other public spaces like airports and museums. Wifi in Japan is almost always fast and reliable.
There are Free WiFi spots in large public buildings such as international airports, major train stations, giant shopping complexes and other facilities as well as hotels. If you frequently use WiFi for business and sightseeing outside, you should know the fact that Japanese Free WiFi is limited in location.
Most fixed internet in Japan is pretty much uncapped, or unlimited. We have to ask: where do you live? No, we're not creepsters—it's just that your choice of Japan ISP (and type of internet) may be limited by where you reside—both in terms of area and type of accommodation.
Convenience stores
The major Japanese convenience store chains (7-Eleven, LAWSON, FamilyMart) all offer free Wi-Fi nowadays in most of their stores. Logging in has recently become simpler and available in English.
With a number of branches located near train stations open 24 hours a day, McDonald's is a great option for a late night bite to eat—and accessing free Wi-Fi. Simply connect to the SSID “00_MCD-FREE-WIFI” and register your e-mail address or SNS ID.
Finland. Of all the countries with free wifi, Finland's Helsinki is famous for offering public internet services which are faster than your private internet connections or paid-subscriptions. Not just that, it is fast, safe, and unrestricted as well.
Most phones purchased as unlocked in the USA or any other country will work in Japan. Those purchased under contract with a local carrier such as T-Mobile, AT&T, or others will not work unless you have an international plan which can be very expensive.
When using your own phone in Japan, your mobile provider may charge roaming or other fees when you call Japanese numbers or use Japanese phone networks. Renting a mobile phone provides convenience and allows you to make local calls with no extra or roaming charges.
Almost every iPhone works perfectly in Japan, the only exception being the iPhone 5 which has some limitations in the countryside. Otherwise, either using a Japan SIM card or a pocket Wi-Fi, and even the home carrier roaming services, the iPhone will be flawlessly connected to the network.
International roaming
In order to do so, your device must be able to operate in Japan and your carrier needs to have roaming agreements with a Japanese provider. Be aware that international roaming can be extremely expensive, so check with your home provider for details before leaving.
A short-term Japanese SIM Card is a great option for using mobile data in Japan in a cost-effective manner, but its utility in comparison to other options largely depends on a traveler's specific conditions and needs.
While there may be public or paid Wi-Fi hotspots that would enable you to get online to translate, get directions, or even check the weather, it is much more efficient to have a Japan pocket Wi-Fi device that offers you the ability to get online in an affordable manner, whenever, wherever you need.
If you take a trip to Japan in the short or long term, you should take a pocket WiFi rental. It will help you to search, use online maps and check information about transfer of trains outside. In the unfamiliar country, you will get lots of benefits from the portable WiFi router.
A great way to stay online wherever go in Japan is a pocket wifi. These are a great option for families or groups, since everyone can log onto the same unit. They're usually fast and they offer more data than a SIM card. You can rent one from counters in the arrivals halls of major airports like Narita and Kansai.
These days, thanks to the advancements in technology, most modern mobile phone models from other countries are compatible, so there is a very high likelihood that your iPhone or Android phone will work in Japan without any hassle.
Only three Asian countries are more expensive than the global average of USD 3.12 – Japan (USD 3.85), British Indian Ocean Territory (USD 5.00) and South Korea, the most expensive in the region at USD 12.55.
If you are a moderate user, and you only check and send messages every couple of hours or so, your data usage may be around 100MB per day. However, if you are a heavy user, where you spend hours and hours chatting and barely putting your phone down, your data usage may reach 250MB per day.
In Japan, phones operate on the CDMA and W-CDM networks, while in Australia we operate solely on the GSM network. For this reason, the majority of Australian phones will not work in Japan.
The messaging app WhatsApp was downloaded about 74.8 thousand times in Japan in December 2022. The total number of downloads during that year amounted to around 800.8 thousand. The app is operated by WhatsApp LLC.
The average price for 1 GB of data in Japan is 528.26 JPY (3.85 USD), around the Asian average of 1.47 USD. The world average is 3.12 USD.
The report said: “China has the most internet restrictions, as the Chinese government has banned its citizens from western social media sites, giving it one of the lowest scores for the factor. The country also heavily restricts its political media on the internet, giving the highest internet censorship score.