Japan eSIM for Indians (2026): prices, eVISA and Visit Japan Web

Most Indian travellers to Japan pick one of three options: a Jio or Airtel roaming pack, a tourist SIM from an airport counter or vending machine, or a travel eSIM installed at home. Japan adds one more reason to sort this out before you fly: an eVISA notice has to be shown on a phone with live internet when you land.

Prices side by side

Other sizes: 1 GB for 7 days is ₹149 for a stopover, and 3 GB is ₹349, 20 GB is ₹1,399 and 50 GB is ₹2,899, each for 30 days. Unlimited gives 1 GB a day at full speed, then 256 Kbps, and costs ₹299 for 3 days, ₹449 for 5 days, ₹749 for 10 days, ₹1,099 for 15 days and ₹2,099 for 30 days. Pick the 30-day plan even for a short trip: 10 GB for 30 days is ₹799, while 10 GB for 7 days is ₹1,899. Every plan is on the Japan eSIM page.

How much data you need

Networks and coverage in Japan

eSIMKite's Japan plans connect to NTT docomo, au (KDDI), SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile, the country's four mobile operators. In Opensignal's April 2026 report, au won the most national awards, including Consistent Quality and Reliability. SoftBank won Download Speed and Time on 5G, docomo won Coverage Experience for the widest footprint in populated areas, and Rakuten Mobile won both upload awards.

Ookla's Speedtest Global Index for September 2026 puts Japan's average mobile download speed at 121.46 Mbps, 70th in the world. Japan's last 3G network, docomo's, closed on 31 March 2026, so only 4G and 5G remain.

• Landing at Narita, Haneda or Kansai: all three airports have free Wi-Fi, but Haneda's can be hard to connect to in some areas, and Kansai's does not cover parts of the international arrivals path. Do not rely on it for your eVISA notice.
• Mountain and rural trips: docomo has the widest coverage, so a plan that can use docomo, or several networks, is the safer choice outside the cities.
• Roaming against local networks: in a June 2026 Opensignal study of visitors to Japan, people on a local SIM scored 94.7% on its Network Quality Index, travel-eSIM users 87.6% and people roaming on their home network 73.6%. Roaming traffic goes back to the home network, which adds delay.

Bank OTPs, WhatsApp and UPI

A travel eSIM is data only. Your Indian SIM stays in the phone as the second line, so your number, WhatsApp account and bank SMS stay with it. More in keeping WhatsApp and bank OTPs working abroad.

• Jio: the roaming packs include SMS (25 on the ₹951 pack). If you skip a pack, check in the MyJio app that your plan can receive SMS in Japan.
• Airtel prepaid: Airtel's IR activation pack costs ₹118 for 28 days, at standard charges. If you skip the 5 or 10-day pack, check in the Airtel Thanks app whether you need it to receive SMS abroad.
• Airtel postpaid: new postpaid plans (from 8 Oct 2026) include one free 5-day roaming trip a year, with free incoming SMS. Airtel has not listed the countries.
• Vi: check the roaming and SMS rules for your plan in the Vi app before you fly.
• WhatsApp: messages and calls run over the eSIM's data. Japanese tourist data SIMs such as SoftBank's have no voice service, so keep your Indian SIM on for OTPs.
• UPI and cards: UPI merchant payments were not live in Japan on 31 August 2026. Japan's tourism board calls Japan very much a cash-based society. Seven Bank ATMs in 7-Eleven stores take Visa, Mastercard and other foreign cards, but RuPay is not listed.

Before you land

• eVISA notice: if you have a Japan eVISA, you must show the visa issuance notice on a phone with internet access on arrival. PDFs, photos, screenshots and printouts are not accepted, so your eSIM should be working before you reach immigration.
• Visit Japan Web: fill in immigration and customs on Visit Japan Web and get one QR code for arrival. You can register on a computer, but the code must be shown on a phone or tablet. It also stores your details for tax-free shopping.
• It is free. In June 2025 the Digital Agency warned about a site charging application fees, and said it never asks users to pay.
• Welcome Suica Mobile (iPhone only): a Suica transit card in Apple Wallet that can also book Shinkansen seats. JR East says some visitors cannot set it up or top it up until they are in Japan, so you need mobile data on arrival. The plastic Welcome Suica card needs no deposit and lasts 28 days.
• Taxis and trains: GO covers taxis in all 47 prefectures and takes international cards and Apple Pay through GO Pay. Uber works in Tokyo, including tours with English-speaking drivers to Mt Fuji and Hakone.

Indian passport holders need a visa, applied for through VFS Global: check the Embassy of Japan in India visa page for current rules and fees.

Set it up at home

1. Check your phone takes an eSIM: iPhone XS or newer, Google Pixel 3 or newer, and recent Samsung Galaxy S and Z models. Dial *#06#: if an EID shows, it does.
2. Buy the Japan plan and scan the QR code on Wi-Fi before you leave India. It takes about two minutes.
3. Leave the eSIM line off until you land. The plan starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination, not when you buy it.
4. After landing, turn the eSIM line on, switch on data roaming for it, and set it as the line for mobile data. Do this before immigration, so your eVISA notice and Visit Japan Web code load.

Step-by-step pictures for iPhone and Android are in how to install a travel eSIM.

When a local SIM or roaming is the better choice

Choose a Jio or Airtel pack if you will make many normal calls on your Indian number. Jio's ₹951 pack includes 100 outgoing and 100 incoming minutes, and Airtel's ₹1,298 pack has 200 minutes. If you mostly call India from hotel Wi-Fi, Jio also sells Wi-Fi calling packs: ₹121 for 100 minutes over 2 days, or ₹521 for 500 minutes over 10 days, if your phone supports Wi-Fi calling.

For a long stay, a local SIM gets more attractive: Opensignal found local SIM use among visitors rises to 21% after two weeks and 42% after four weeks. SoftBank's Prepaid SIM for Travel is data only, for buyers aged 18 or over who upload a passport photo, and needs an unlocked phone. Narita and Kansai airports both have SIM counters and vending machines.

Rules for local SIMs are also changing. In June 2026 Japan passed a law that extends identity checks, already needed for voice SIMs, to data-only SIMs. Short-term visitors will not be exempt, and we found no start date yet.

If you only need to send a quick message on arrival, the free Wi-Fi at Narita needs no account or password. Narita recommends a VPN because the network is open.

Questions

Get your Japan eSIMQR code on screen and by emailQR code by email after a document check · 4G/5G · from $1.99

See Japan plans

Written by the eSIMKite team and checked by Vicky Pathak. Prices checked on 21 October 2026. We sell travel eSIMs, so every outside figure links to where we found it.