Practical guide · Plan your trip

Japan Internet: Why I Switched From Pocket WiFi to Airalo

My first year in Japan I rented a pocket WiFi. Now I tell everyone Airalo. Five minutes of setup at home and you land with bars.

~ 5 min read
Nick van der Blom · Founder & Travel Writer
Visited March 2026

At a glance

App
Airalo
Plan
3 GB · €8.50
Setup
Before flight

My first trip to Japan in 2017, I did what every travel blog told me to: rented a pocket WiFi. Picked it up at a Narita counter, signed three forms, plugged it in every night, returned it in a yellow postbox at Haneda before flying home. It worked. It also added 90 minutes of friction across the trip and €70 to the bill.

Since 2024, I've done every Japan trip on a single Airalo eSIM bought from my couch in Amsterdam, the night before flying. €8.50, five minutes, no counters, no postboxes. Bars come up automatically when I land. This is now what I tell everyone — and the only reason a normal traveller in 2026 still rents pocket WiFi is groups of three or more sharing one connection.

How-to

Setting up an Airalo eSIM before you fly

~ 5 minutesiPhone XS or newer / Pixel 3+WiFi at home

  1. Buy the eSIM at home, on the couch

    Open the Airalo app — search "Japan" — pick the Moshi Moshi 3 GB / 30 days plan for €8.50 if you're going for a week or two. The app installs the eSIM straight onto your iPhone or Pixel via QR code. You don't need to be in Japan; you don't need to wait for arrival. Five minutes from your sofa.

    Airalo app showing the Japan country page with a Moshi Moshi 3GB plan highlighted as recommended

    Tip: 3 GB / 30 days is enough for two weeks of Google Maps + messaging + a bit of Instagram. Going heavier on streaming or a longer trip? Bump to 10 GB for €16. Don't overpay — Airalo plans don't roll over after expiry.

  2. Activate it now, sleep on it, board the plane

    After purchase, the app prompts you to "Add eSIM" — accept the install. Set the eSIM as your secondary line and disable cellular data on your home SIM. Phone goes back in your pocket. Don't panic when no bars show up — the eSIM only connects when you land in Japan. That's by design.

    Airalo app showing the eSIM as installed and active, with 3GB available

  3. Land in Tokyo, internet works

    Wheels down at Narita or Haneda, bars come up before the cabin doors open. Google Maps loads at the gate, the JR Pass-or-not maths happens during baggage claim, and you're booking a Skyliner ticket while still in customs. The "no SIM kiosk in the airport" hassle that ate 30 minutes of every trip in 2018 is just gone.

    Traveller's hand holding a smartphone with bars in a Japanese airport arrival hall
    Bars come up automatically. No kiosk, no SIM swap, no top-up.
    How to get from Tokyo airports to the city

  4. When pocket WiFi still wins

    Travelling in a group of three or four, all sharing one mobile budget? Pocket WiFi at ¥600/day shared between three phones beats three eSIMs. Pickup at the airport counter; drop off in a postbox at any major station before flying home. Useful for one specific case — otherwise, eSIM eats it.

    A small white pocket WiFi rental device on a wooden hotel desk
    Pocket WiFi makes sense for groups of 3+ — otherwise, an eSIM is cheaper and less to carry.
    Airalo — buy the Japan eSIM (opens in new tab)

A few things worth knowing

  • Your home number keeps working for SMS. Activate the eSIM as the data line and leave your home SIM as the voice/SMS line. Two-factor codes from your bank still arrive on the European number. Don't disable the home SIM — turn off its data only.
  • Alternatives that also work. Ubigi (often slightly cheaper, less polished app), Saily, Holafly. Sakura Mobile if you want a physical local SIM with a Japanese number for ¥3,500/week. Airalo just has the cleanest UX.
  • Coverage. Moshi Moshi rides SoftBank — full coverage in cities, very good in rural Honshu, patchy in deep Hokkaido and rural Shikoku/Kyushu. Same problem for any non-NTT-Docomo plan.
  • Top up if you run dry. The Airalo app lets you buy more data for the same eSIM mid-trip — no second QR install needed.
  • iPad and laptop tethering. Personal Hotspot from your phone works fine. Most cafés and hotels have free WiFi anyway, so you rarely need to.

Five minutes at home

The pocket WiFi era was real and worked, and if you're a group of four splitting one connection it still does. For everyone else: spend €8.50 and five minutes on the couch before flying. Land with bars. The 90-minute kiosk-and-postbox loop gets you a slower connection at three times the price. Easy choice in 2026.