Get the Ideal SIM Card for Japan

For many first-time visitors to Japan the most important task is to go online and start exploring by means of their smartphone or mobile device. However, with most mobile providers offering 2-year contracts and elaborate deals created for a Japanese-speaking audience, it can be hard to find a simple solution for you. This article intends to solve that problem by showcasing several short & long-term sim options that are designed specifically for a non-Japanese audience.

How long will you be in Japan?
Depending on the length of your stay in Japan you can narrow down your options – here are the best deals on the marker for both short and long-term customers.

Staying 1 Month or Less

If you are visiting Japan for 1 month or less you have 2 options to choose from.

Sim Card Geek

Choose from a variety of short-use data-only SIMs from SIM Card Geek – a dedicated portal site offering sim cards that start from 1GB all the way to Unlimited Data. Choose the SIM that best suits your needs – from 7 days to 31 days. In addition to SIM Cards you can also advance purchase your Suica Travel Card – ideal if you want to board a train on landing in the airport. Free Worldwide Delivery and option to collect in Japan! To order click HERE

Mobal

Choose either a data-only Prepaid SIM or a Voice & Unlimited Data SIM for 30 days. Through a simple online process you can have your SIM delivered or collected at the Japanese airport of your choice on arrival in Japan. For those who only need data, you can choose an Unlimited Data SIM, ranging from 8 days to 31 days in duration. To purchase you need to buy the SIM and activate it online. For more details see the Mobal Japan Unlimited SIM website– click HERE

Staying 1 Month or More

If you plan to stay in Japan longer than one month, you are either going to manage by purchasing multiple data sim cards – which is complicated by short expiry dates – or go for the no-contract Voice & Data SIM offered by Mobal.

Choose an “Ongoing” plan and get a Japanese phone number on the Softbank network (one of Japan’s main carriers). Voice & Data SIMs start at for 1,480 yen per month (not including the initial SIM cost of 3,000 yen), and you can choose from plans with up to  you get 30GBs of Superfast data per month (if you use up your whole monthly allowance, your data speeds will slow down to around 200kbps, but will never run out!). The initial plan payment must be made by means of a credit or debit card but cash payment is accepted from the 2nd payment. For more details- click the Mobal website HERE

A SIM with a Warm Heart

In addition to offering the perfect no-contract, no termination fee SIM for overseas visitors, the Mobal SIM comes with a heart-warming story. On the company website they say that, “You don’t just travel the world, you make it a better place”. That’s because Mobal guarantees that the majority of its profits go to charity. They have even registered a fundraising non-profit organisation, Seibo Japan, to help spread their charitable message.

In addition in April 2018 they helped launch Japan’s first non-profit coffee subscription service, The Warm Hearts Coffee Club.

Warm Hearts Coffee Club

How does getting freshly roasted, organically grown & fairly traded coffee delivered to your home sound? Good, right? How about knowing that 100% of the cost of the coffee you had delivered was sent back to the country where the coffee was grown to provide meals to hungry children. Really good right? That’s exactly what the Warm Hearts Coffee Club is doing. It’s raising funds for children in Malawi, Africa while providing a livelihood to coffee growers and providing vital school meals for children in nursery & primary schools. The coffee itself is Arabica and is grown on the highlands of Northern Malawi overlooking Tanzania. Roasted in downtown Tokyo the coffee can be delivered as beans or ground. Truly heart-warming coffee. To order your bag simply click HERE

About Seibo Japan

Started as a response to the malnutrition in children in the aftermath of terrible flooding in 2015 this Japanese registered charity- funded by public donations and the support of Mobal- is now providing a daily meal in school to almost 15,000 children in Malawi, Africa. If you want to know more about the activities of Seibo Japan check out their website– click HERE