eSIM or Pocket WiFi 🛜 What’s the Best Option in Japan?

[@tokyokenchan]

Correction: You can use Japan Wireless eSIM as a "hot-spot" by manually setting for both iPhone and Android. 【Pocket WiFI】 20% off with Coupon Code "tokyokenchan20" → www.japan-wireless.com/?via=tokyokenchan1 【eSIM】10% off with Coupon Code "esimkenchan" → www.japan-wireless.com/esim?via=tokyokenchan1

[@KevinandDayle]

Thanks Kengo San! A topic that many travelers to Japan wonder about.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you so much for your support Kevin san Dale san!! It’s great there are more and more choices for travelers nowadays. :)

[@davideriksen9086]

Wow! This is the most comprehensive examination of the two WiFi options. Truly answered some important questions that other sources didn't answer. I'm saving this for future reference.

[@Leaksopium]

That’s crazy I just searched this up and I’m subscribed to you and you happen to upload a video about it as soon as I was searching about it.

[@tokyokenchan]

Oh wow! I'm glad I could post in a good timing for you. Thank you for watching and subscribing. :)

[@luciezf3147]

I have used Sakura pocket wifi twice. First time I picked it up from the airport, second time had it sent directly to my hotel. Was fantastic both times and just dropped it off in a mailbox at the departure area when I was leaving.

[@dankhristopherlibo-on817]

Very helpful video! I used Softbank pocket wifi in Japan for 7 days. During those times, I have no issues encountered while using it. It really helped me and my 2 workmates since they relied on me on our daily navigations around Tokyo. Many thanks 👍

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you Dan san for sharing your experience! That's great you could share your pocket WiFi with your friends. 😄👍

[@ytsfd.1]

I decided to purchase a pocket wifi instead of hiring one and I had a sim card delivered to my home. That way I was fully prepared even before the plane landed. And I'm ready for my next trip to Japan too.

[@tokyokenchan]

Oh that's really a good idea. You insert a physical sim card for each country you visit and it works as WiFI router ? That is convenient and no worry of forgetting to return. Thank you for sharing. :)

[@firefangz]

I have used eSim in Japan before and it is fantastic, easy to set up and reliable. Definitely recommend. Great video as usual Kenchan!

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for watching Ryuga san! eSIM is a great choice as you said. :)

[@japan_man_dan]

Really great and helpful video Kengo-san! I used pocket WiFi last year and I thought it was great. Very easy to collect and set up (took literally 5 minutes in Haneda airport) and very easy to return. I never had an issue with signal and the battery lasted all day. I've been asked about this subject a few times by people, so in the future I'll send them a link to this video!

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for watching and sharing your experience with pocket WiFI Dan san! It's been almost a year! That's great to hear it took only 5 min. at Haneda for you and you had good experience through your stay. :)

[@eclairesdesertjungle]

I rented a pocket wifi fro. Japan Wireless when we were there in April and it was great. I didn't findit a hassle at all to carry around since the box was so slim. I just slipped it into my purse. I always carried an extra power bank anyway for my phone and I never once had to charge the wifi while being out and about. We would start our day at 7 or 8 and not be back to the hotel till around 8. I just charged it in our room then. Took it to Osaka and Nara and got perfect signal there too. Returning was easy as we just dropped off the package before we went through immigration at the airport. I'll be using Japan Wireless again when we go back in Dec.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Japan Wireless and traveling across Japan with it. I’m glad to hear it worked well. :)

[@LogoSub]

how much it cost?

[@rchan7136]

Thank you. You are a very sincere gentleman presenting decent videos.

[@tokyokenchan]

@@rchan7136 Thank you very much for watching and your kind words. :)

[@MsAidan90]

Ooo i was just thinking about this for my upcoming trip to japan this November!!! Thank you Kengo San!!!

[@tokyokenchan]

I'm glad I could post before your trip! Thank you for watching. Have a great trip to Japan. :)

[@51941028]

I used Japan Wireless last year and had no problems. The pocket wifi was waiting at my hotel and the concierge mailed it back for me. Instructions were clear and it was easy to use. This year I'm using a pocket wifi from HIS. I have to pick it up before I leave and bring it back with me but the cost including insurance was much cheaper.

[@tokyokenchan]

That's good the pocket WiFi from Japan Wireless worked great. It's great you found a good deal on HIS. Thank you for watching and sharing. :)

[@FuellingObsession]

Thanks a lot for this clear video, your English is very good :)

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you. :)

[@IronForce397]

When I arrived in Japan it was 11pm and I wasnt able to buy a pocket WiFi. Luckily I had setup my eSim before travelling to Japan and I would recommend only that because its really flexibel and you dont have an extra item to carry around.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I understand you like to head to the hotel right away if you arrive at 11pm.

[@henrychew235]

Thank you. Roaming with my own sim is the best option now. Doesn't require any new sim or esim , just subscribe the pass for 30 days and it is cheaper than both esim/pocket wifi. When i first went japan, i used quite a lot of pocket wifi. But it is definitely more inconvenient as it will need to occupy a spot in your bag and the charging issue can be hassle. That being said, it is a good option for group travel as it is cost effective!

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for sharing your experience with Pocket WiFi. :) Yes, that's the easiet if you can use your own sim. It's interesting how travelers think differently about carrying around pocket WiFi.

[@p.c.1019]

Hello. Thanks for you post. If you don’t mind answering a question… when you say roaming with your own sim, are you saying just using the roaming service with your home cellular company? If so, isn’t that incredibly expensive. Roaming from the US to Japan is unreasonable $. They have a prepaid roaming plan, but the data is extremely limited. Maybe I am misunderstanding what you were referring to. Any help would be great!

[@henrychew235]

@p.c.1019 for my country, it is very cheap. Unlimited roaming 22 USD (fx converted) for 15 days.

[@looseshoulderssumali7311]

I just returned from a two-week trip to Japan. I decided to rent a pocket wi-fi from Japan Wireless. Because I landed in the evening in Osaka, I had it sent to my hotel. It was a really good experience.

[@tokyokenchan]

I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with Japan Wireless. Great to know you could receive it safe at your hotel. Thank you for sharing your experience. :)

[@chisyt]

When I traveled with family a few years ago, we got a pocket wifi (from Japan Wireless too!) so everyone can connect their phones. When I solo travelled this year, I used an e-sim from ubigi (you can tether your laptop and other devices for internet as well). I definitely prefer the esim, because there's one less thing in my bag, one less thing to charge, and one less thing to return at the end of the trip.

[@tokyokenchan]

Oh, so some travel eSIM allows to be used as hot spot. Thank you for sharing. That's great to hear Pocket WiFI workd good for family trip overall, and eSim worked better for solo trip.

[@vEdAvE2023]

But using esim as a hot pot will drain your phone battery and make your phone very hot.

[@chisyt]

@@vEdAvE2023 I traveled by myself so I really just connected my laptop every now and then. Not a lot of devices at once.

[@jeighteen8297]

An interesting video Kengo-San. For me, using a cheaper Android phone, ESIM is not yet an option but I'd definitely consider this when buying a new phone. I've always used pocket WiFi for my trips to Japan and have always been happy with them Vs a traditional SIM, mainly due to the unlimited data and strong coverage. For me, the pocket WiFi is so small it can fit in a pocket easily and charging it once a day is not challenging.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for watching Jamie san! Yes, it seems the carrying Pocket WiFi device is nothing big matter for some travelers just like you said, and some traveler really mind it or forget to return.

[@ByahengFrenceMars]

Pocket wifi provider suggestion please thanks

[@jeighteen8297]

@@ByahengFrenceMars I've used global advanced communication pocket WiFi on several occasions and had good service. However I hear good things about ninja WiFi as well.

[@ByahengFrenceMars]

@@jeighteen8297thank you

[@TeardropSidemarker]

Overall, my experience using Sakura’s Pocket WiFi was terrific. It was thanks to Ken’s past videos that I pursued the service. Initially. The Sakura eSIM did not work with my iPhone upon picking it up from Haneda. This was mainly due to both Apple and my mobile service (AT&T) not being friendly with the card switch. Upon reporting the issue to Sakura using my Hotel’s WiFi, Sakura immediately dispatched a rider to Akihabara with a Pocket WiFi completely free of charge. So in less than 12 hours, the issue was resolved. The Pocket WiFi had a long lasting battery life, and was very reliable. Very simple to return the pocket once the trip was over.

[@tokyokenchan]

Oh wow, that's really a terrific service that they sent you a solution right away. Thank you for sharing your experience. :)

[@lunaluna7367]

Thumb up for you my friend, thank you very much for the 20 % off for the Japan Wireless Poket wifi. どうもありがとうございました。

[@tokyokenchan]

I'm glad to hear it worked for you! Thank you for watching. :)

[@thelifeofbatteries2603]

We used Japan Wireless last year and had no problems at all, we will use them again next year.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for watching and sharing your experience with the pocket WiFi. It's really great you are visiting here again!

[@bornufree]

Excellent presentation 🎉 On future videos could you discuss the reputation, service of the major eSIM & pocket wifi providers? I was thinking of Sakura mobile company Arigato gozaimasu

[@tokyokenchan]

That sounds interesting. I'd like to consider that topic. I hope someone who has used Sakura mobile can help here for now. Thank you for watching. :)

[@mariofarrugia3309]

I used Sakura sim it works perfectly anywhere in Japan

[@mariofarrugia3309]

I used Sakura sim it works perfectly anywhere in Japan

[@louielouie_1791]

very informative. I will be traveling to Hokkaido in February, will the japan wireless pocket wifi work in Hokkaido?

[@tokyokenchan]

Yes. You can check on the map of Softbank which is the network they use. www.softbank.jp/mobile/network/area-map/ The red part is 5G, other yellow parts are 4G. It's covering most of the area people go.

[@nateshf9303]

Airbnbs my wife and I have stayed at provided pocket wifi's. We didn't use them however because we have an international data plan.

[@Kushal-v8b]

Thanks for sharing 🙏🙏

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for watching. :)

[@Wha2les]

Hi Kenchan, Your videos are helpful, and it was a shame my fall trip last year was rainy! Do you know of any services for Japanese phone numbers for tourists?

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for watching. Ohhh, sorry it was rainy during your last trip in Fall. :( I understand weather can change the experience a lot but it's impossible to predict before planning for Japan. For eSIM, Mobal has a service that you can get Japanese Phone number. It's a little costly comparing with regular eSIM but convenient to have a number. www.mobal.com/japan-sim-card/?t=st&source=3434

[@boxerblake1]

eSIM was easier, as I've used both it and pocket wifi in Japan. It's weakness is texting still isn't a thing included, but we got around using Messenger. Liked it more since I didn't have 2 devices to charge, and bring with me.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for sharing your experience and thought with both!

[@KhacQuannguyen]

Thank you for the code. Can you please let me know how many devices I can use with the Pocket WiFi? I used Global WiFi before and I was able to connect up to 3 devices only.

[@tokyokenchan]

Hi. I haven't tried but Japan Wireless's "the Premium WiFI plan" says "Up to 10 Connected simultaneously" and 5 for "Business plan". I hope it works out for you. Thank you for checking!

[@KhacQuannguyen]

@ oh I just need for 4 devices, but when ordered it had only 1 choice so I didn't know which plan it is . Will update you after December

[@shokwave2]

I've used Japan Wireless pocket wifi twice. The first time was smooth, the second time I had daily dropouts and slow speeds. The third time I used Ubigi e-sim. Worked flawlessly and there's no physical items to carry around, charge or return. I'll stick with e-sim from now on.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for sharing. Oh I see. Seeing the comments, it seems eSIM is getting more popular option recently.

[@PauloSantos-qt6kg]

Can i use pocket wifi in Okinawa? Any issues with wifi connection especially when going to the small islands?

[@MrBlef666]

If you can - esim is the best and the cheapest. Me and the family were using sharing data

[@tokyokenchan]

That's convenient that you could share eSIM data.

[@cgfreed3]

Hello. Do you have a klook code?

[@tokyokenchan]

My code is KENCHANKLOOK. My code might only works for the US residents, but could you try? Thank you for asking.

[@mariofarrugia3309]

I purchased a Saily eSIM for my trip to Japan but it’s not very good only works good in Tokyo central

[@tokyokenchan]

Oh, Saily is by Nord VPN. Thank you for sharing. :)

[@RnR8x]

What about Esim Saily?

[@tokyokenchan]

I'd like to test it in a few days.

[@phirota1]

Do eSIM work with droid phones?

[@tokyokenchan]

Yes it works with Android phone. I recommend you to check the compatibility at this page (it says Check compatibility next to Buy now): www.japan-wireless.com/esim?via=tokyokenchan1

[@supernatural9r406]

Pocket WiFi from sakura mobile is the best.

[@tokyokenchan]

Thank you for watching. That's great the Pocket WiFi from Sakura mobile worked great. :)