Guide to Renting the Best Pocket WiFi for Japan Travel 2023

If you’re looking for the best pocket WiFi in Japan, then I have a secret to tell you. Based on what we’ve discovered, they’re ALL the same. Japan Wireless, Sushi WiFi, Fox WiFi, PuPuRu WiFi, Ninja WiFi, Global Advanced Communication, eConnect Japan, etc. — they are ALL from Softbank. Same speed, same features, same ISP (Softbank). Literally, the only difference is the price! So we’ve narrowed down the results to the three best-priced plans.

Key Takeaways:

• The best and cheapest portable WiFi Hotspots rental in Japan is Sakura Mobile Pocket WiFi. They offer a 4G LTE unlimited data hotspot plan. Click here to reserve and for more information.

How to Get Wireless Internet Service in Japan

Japan has many wireless internet service providers (ISP) and the most popular are NTT DoCoMo, Softbank, and au by KDDI. These three are the local ISP giants and provide reliable internet connections throughout Japan.

However, getting an internet service directly through them is NOT possible for short-term tourists. As a result, you will need to rent a portable hotspot (known as pocket WiFi in Japan) or buy a Japanese data SIM card.

But we’re going to focus on portable hotspots because they’re extremely easy to get in Japan and don’t have phone incompatibility issues.

Booking Ahead vs On Arrival

From our experience, you should reserve your portable WiFi it at least 3 business days before your arrival in Japan. That way, it will be waiting for you at the airport or your hotel. It’s more expensive if you get it on your arrival at the airport kiosk, and there’s NO guarantee you’ll get one because they sell out, especially during peak seasons.

Here are some tips & advice our readers and clients have found helpful for first-time travel to Japan:

• Best type of luggage for Japan travel
• The complete Japan travel checklist
• Important apps to download for your trip to Japan
• Average cost of Japan vacation: A detailed expense breakdown
• Things to know before traveling to Japan
• The Best of Japan in 10 Days: The “ideal” itinerary for first-timers

Why rent a portable WiFi in Japan?

Without the internet in Japan, all of these things become MUCH more difficult:

• Navigating to and from your hotel or accommodation.
• Utilizing the train, bus, and subway systems.
• Communication with Japanese locals.
• Navigation in general (Japan has hundreds of unnamed streets).

Relying on free and unsecured public hotspots poses security risks and it’s a hassle to find them while you’re trying to enjoy your time sightseeing. If you are staying at an Airbnb, their connection is not reliable. The previous occupants may have used up all the data; which happened to us every time. So having reliable internet access while traveling in Japan is important.

Portable WiFi vs. Data SIM Cards: Which is better?

Data SIM card is cheap, but make sure your phone is unlocked and it’s compatible. SIM cards also don’t often allow you to tether to other devices such as laptops.

To help you decide, here’s a comparison:

	Portable WiFi device	Data SIM Cards
Usability	Can be connected to any device that supports WiFi.	Phone and some tablets only.
Battery	Needs to be charged to stay connected.	No charging is required.
Setup	Can be used right away.	Needs to be set up correctly.
Shareability	Can be shared with multiple devices.	Cannot be shared or tethered.

Pickup and Return Considerations

When ordering your pocket WiFi online, consider how you want it to be picked up and returned. Most rental companies have 3 convenient pickups and return options:

• Airport
• Hotel delivery
• WiFi company’s office (usually in Tokyo)

Airport and hotel pickups (recommended): Double-check the opening hours of the rental company’s kiosk at the airport and see if it aligns with your arrival time. If you’re arriving in Japan outside of the kiosk opening hours, then it’s best to choose the hotel delivery pickup option.

Office pick-up: You may encounter a rental company that has a physical office in major cities like Tokyo. You need to take note of their opening and closing hours and be at least familiar with how to get to their office. I don’t recommend this option because going to their office is going to be an additional cost for you.

Returning: If you through the airport on your departure date, you again need to check their operating hours. Or you can choose the post office box return option. In my experience, it’s more convenient to return the device through a post office box as they’re practically everywhere in Japan.

3-Step Guide to Choosing the Best Pocket WiFi for You

Step 1: Assess what kind of user you are.

Many WiFi rental companies in Japan like to tout their pocket WiFi by flaunting their pricing along with the term “unlimited” and “fast” data speed. But the real deal here is how much data you typically use in a day.

So which are you?

• Heavy data user – someone who watches videos, uploads multiple photos/videos on social media, and plays online video games while traveling to Japan.
• Casual or light data user – someone who just uses Google maps and browses information about Japan, as needed.

Heavy data users

For example, my husband is a heavy internet user (super heavy). He will probably consume 2-3 GB a day just watching Youtube videos and uploading photos on our social media account. For a user like him, a pocket WiFi with at least 10-20GB of data throughout his stay won’t fail him. However, you may need to pay considerably more for that much data.

If you have kids who watch videos to entertain themselves while traveling in Japan, you’re also on the heavy user side. Plus, since you’re a family, you are probably sharing the connection through that device.

So you’ll probably need more GB data to survive your trip.

Casual data users

If you’re like me, who’s a casual user, who only looks at my phone to use Google Maps and navigate the train, or find an interesting restaurant to eat at, or read ebooks, then you don’t need super high GB data.

You can get away with an unlimited plan or 1GB a day or even less might even work for you. And it is usually way cheaper too.

Step 2: Get the router model that suits your needs.

We created this comparison chart of common wireless routers that can be rented in Japan. Look at the specifications carefully and see which one best suits your needs.

	601HW	501HW	HWD11	303ZT 305ZT	FS030W	Aterm MR04LN	Aria 2
Wireless Router Model
Brand	HUAWEI	HUAWEI	HUAWEI	ZTE	Fujisoft	NEC	Freetel
Rented by	Ninja	PuPuRu, eConnect Japan, H.I.S, and Japan Wireless	PuPuRu	Ninja	LightPocket and Sakura Mobile	Genki Mobile	Sushi Wi-Fi
Battery capacity	2,400mAh	3,000mAh	3000mAh	2,700mAh	3,060mAh	2,100mAh	2,300mAh
Continuous Communication Time (approx.)	6-8.5 hours	10 hours	9 hours	9 hours	20 hours	12 hours	17 hours
Network Speed	4G LTE/3G	4G LTE/3G	4G LTE/3G	4G LTE/3G	LTE/3G	LTE/HSPA+	4G LTE
Downlink / Uplink (best-effort speed)	187.5Mbps / 37.5Mbps	187.5Mbps / 37.5Mbps	75Mbps / 25Mbps	187.5Mbps / 37.5Mbps	150Mbps／50Mbps	150Mbps／50Mbps	150Mbps／50Mbps
WLAN version	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	IEEE 802.11 b/g/n	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Weight	135g	150g	136g	150g	128g	111g	110g

Step 3: Start comparing plans and prices.

	PuPuRu	Ninja	eConnect Japan	H.I.S	Japan Wireless
Plans and the router model (excl. taxes and/or shipping fee)	501HW (SoftBank) Unlimited: ¥500 per day HWD11 (au by KDDI) Unlimited: ¥900 per day	303ZT (SoftBank) Unlimited: ¥900 per day ¥680 per day if booked through Voyagin. ¥7,000 for 11-30 days (flat fee) if booked through Veltra. 601HW (SoftBank) 1GB/day: ¥800 per per day	501HW (SoftBank) 1GB/day: ¥980 per day 50GB: ¥5,080 per day 25GB: ¥3,350 per day	501HW (SoftBank) Unlimited: starts at ¥2,500 minimum 3 days rent	501HW (SoftBank) Unlimited: starts ¥4,266 minimum 2 days rent
Taxes and fees	10% + Free shipping	10% + Free shipping	10% + ¥790 shipping	Taxes incl.	10% + ¥500 shipping
Simultaneous Connections	Up to 10 devices.	Up to 5 devices.	Up to 10 devices.	Up to 10 devices.	Up to 10 devices.
Bonus	✕	✕	- Free battery charger - Free 10GB on their 1GB plan	✕	Free battery charger
Pickup and return options	- Airport - Hotel - Post office box	- Airport - Company office	- Airport - Post office - Hotel	- Company office pick up and return only	- Airport - Post office - Hotel

	LightPocket	Genki Mobile	Sushi Wi-Fi	Sakura Mobile
Plans and the router model	FS030W (SoftBank & NTT DoCoMo) Unlimited: starts at ¥3,350 minimum of 5 days rent 500MB/day: starts at ¥3,000 minimum of 5 days rent 350MB/day: starts at ¥2,620 minimum of 5 days rent View all plans and customizable plans here.	MR04LN (NTT DoCoMo) 1GB/day: ¥300 per day 2GB/day: ¥500 per day	Aria 2 (SoftBank) Unlimited: ¥299 per day	FS030W (SoftBank) 300MB/day: ¥3,700 minimum of 3 days rent 600MB/day: ¥4,450 minimum of 3 days rent 3G/day: ¥6,100 minimum of 3 days rent
Taxes and fees	10% tax + ¥540 shipping	10% tax + free shipping + ¥3,000 activation fee	10% tax + ¥1,000 shipping + ¥2,999 activation fee	10% tax + free shipping
Simultaneous connections	Up to 10 devices.	Up to 5 devices.	Up to 10 devices.	Up to 4 devices.
Bonus	✕	- Free battery charger - + 200kbps capping after 1GB exceeded	✕	✕
Pickup and return options	- Airport - Hotel - Post office box	- Airport - Post office box	- Airport - Post office - Hotel - Company office	- Airport - Hotel - Post office box

Bottom Line

WiFi Plan	Price	Reserve	Pickup options	Usage	Great value for
PuPuRu WiFi	¥500 per day	Check Current Price	Most airports throughout Japan	Casual and unlimited	1 to 10 days of travel
Ninja WiFi	¥680 per day	Check Current Price	Most airports throughout Japan	Casual and unlimited	1 to 10 days of travel
Ninja WiFi	¥7,000 flat fee	Check Current Price	Most airports throughout Japan	Casual and unlimited	11 to 30 days of travel

Unlimited isn’t really “unlimited”

We’re not against WiFi companies that use the term “unlimited” for their WiFi rental plans. But, if they’re going to use it, they might as well indicate the Fair Usage Policy (FUP) on their websites. After all, the internet is a shared network environment and how you use it affects other internet users.

If a provider says “unlimited,” then that doesn’t mean it’s “ultra-fast speed and unlimited all the time.” It only means that you won’t lose the connection and can use the internet in an unlimited manner. However, there will be either data capping or bandwidth throttling imposed by the network provider (bandwidth throttling is when an ISP intentionally slows down the internet connection speed of a device).

With Fair Use Policies, ISPs will significantly reduce the download and upload speeds of a user who has passed their allotted data limit to ensure that others using the same network are not affected by heavy internet users. Because of this, a wireless plan at 500MB a day might be faster than an “unlimited” plan.

Caring for your portable device

For those who like to prepare for the worst, you can consider adding gadget insurance offered by the provider during the booking process to protect yourself if the device somehow gets broken.

That said, it’s usually an additional ¥300-¥400 per day, which is quite expensive on top of your mobile WiFi cost. So it’s up to you.

If you opt to go without it, then make sure to always keep your portable WiFi in a safe place inside your bag or backpack, and package it appropriately when returning it through a post office box.

Otherwise, you have to deal with the replacement fee if you lose or damage the device, which can be around ¥25,000-¥45,000!

Lastly, don’t use too much internet…

Remind yourself that you’re in Japan!

That it is much more enjoyable to put your phone down and just savor your time and the Japanese culture around you.

Try and keep your usage to navigation and photography, rather than spending your vacation glued to your phone.

Also, using your mobile phone near priority seats inside buses and trains is actually considered rude, so don’t be that guy/gal (click to read our article about Japanese etiquette: Do’s and don’ts for first-time tourists).