Quick Tips: You Don’t Have to Sell Your Soul For a Phone Plan in Japan!

Posted on 07/06/2021 Last updated on 08/25/2021

You’ve just arrived in Japan. It can be very overwhelming stepping out of the immigration section of an international airport. How to exchange your currency for yen and figuring out how to even leave the airport and get to your destination are already hard enough. Thankfully with the trusty free wifi the airport has to offer, you can keep a bit of your sanity while maneuvering around. But what happens when you get out of the airport? How will you function without the internet?!

Renting a pocket wifi device for a short period of time is great for a tourist exploring Japan, but not feasible for a new resident. For those coming here to work, many of us will be one-year visa holders, so we don’t qualify for those 2-year contracts with the opportunity to be placed on a monthly installment plan for the newest Apple gadgets. However, there’s hope for a budget-conscious ALT who is not in a position to pay for an overly expensive phone plan.

Here are just a few inexpensive SIM-only phone plans for long-term residents! All you need is an unlocked phone (be sure to work that part out BEFORE coming to Japan)

Sakura Mobile

Don’t let the few misspelled words on the English website fool you, they are not a scam. Sakura Mobile (which is on the Docomo network) offers Voice and Data Plans ranging from ￥2980/monthly 3GB Mini plan to the ￥6680/monthly 20GB Big plan. Their activation price is currently￥5000. There is also no cancellation fee. You can pick up your SIM card at the airport, their offices or have it delivered to your residence. Besides the Sakura Mobile English website, they also offer English support. See more at: https://www.ntt.com/personal/services/mobile/one.html

Mobal

Mobal is another phone service that offers English customer support and an English website. Mobal is on the Softbank network and provides a Japanese number with no contract. Mobal offers a long term plan with “unlimited” data with free incoming calls and text. Mobal has only two plans for their long term residents: Data/Talk/Text for ￥4500/ a month with a ￥3000 activation fee and Talk/Text for ￥1000 with a ￥3000 activation fee. You can order your SIM online and have it delivered to your international or domestic residence or pick it up at one of their service counters situated at the major international airports in Japan. See more at: https://www.mobal.com/

OCN Mobile ONE

OCN Mobile ONE is not a foreigner-focused phone service. You can find OCN Mobile ONE and many other SIM phone service plans at your nearest electronic stores (Yodobashi Camera, Bic Camera, Kojima, Sofmap). OCN offers a variety of plans from a 1GB/ monthly plan for￥1180 to a 30GB/ monthly plan for ￥5980. The initial activation fee is ￥3300. At some major stores, there is English-Speaking staff who can assist you. OCN does not have an English website, but they do have an English-support hotline. See more at: https://www.sakuramobile.jp/

Now that you know that you have the opportunity to stay connected while you travel on a bus or train, you can focus on an even more important matter: What you’re going to be eating next. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered!

Photo Credits:

Top photo: Olia Nayda on Unsplash