Best Recommended SIM Cards in Japan: Working Holiday and Study Abroad
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When we contract smartphones or SIM cards with vocal calls in Japan, the minimum usage period is usually one to two years. If you cancel your contract within the period or outside of the designated renewal month, you must pay a cancellation (penalty) fee. Foreigners coming to Japan on a working holiday or short-term study will get some troubles due to the contracted period. Before they return to their home country, they need to pay the cancellation fee or transfer a smartphone/SIM card to another person.
However, it is hard to find people who wish to receive it. Moreover, the name change procedure is complicated after receiving it. Consequently, the number of prepaid SIM card users from the beginning is growing among short-stay foreigners.
The advantages of prepaid SIM cards are a short-term usage period, predetermined available data capacity, and no cancellation procedures or fees. On the other hand, prepaid SIM cards are more expensive than regular SIM cards. In addition, most prepaid SIM cards have a 3-month usage period, so people who stay longer than three months feel difficulty using it. If you plan to stay in Japan for more than three months but less than a year for a working holiday or short-term study abroad, we recommend using a SIM card with no minimum usage period.
This article focuses on SIM cards with neither minimum usage period nor penalty fees that foreigners staying for a short period can contract. We carefully select SIM cards with a high reputation among users and explain the plans, rates, features, and the latest promotion information. If you plan to stay in Japan for less than a year, please refer to this article to find the best Japan SIM card.
Recommended Japan SIM card for short-stay foreigners
A SIM card using SoftBank communication lines provided by a British company. It allows foreigners without a credit or residence card to apply. Four plans of monthly payments are available: 1GB, 5GB, 10GB, and 30GB. Monthly payment SIM cards do not charge a cancellation fee after the minimum usage period (one month) has passed. In addition, you can use the same SIM card for Android and iPhone, so there is no need to reapply when changing the smartphone. Customer support is available in Japanese, English, and Chinese. You can pick up a SIM card at Japanese airports, and also available for delivery to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. Mobal is one of the most recommended Japan SIM cards for foreigners staying in Japan for a short time, such as short-term study abroad, a working holiday, or a business trip.
Contents
- Features of Japan SIM cards with no minimum usage period
- Recommended Japan SIM cards for foreigners staying in Japan for a short period
Features of Japan SIM cards with no minimum usage period
Available to cancel anytime
Since there is no minimum usage period, a penalty fee does not occur whenever you terminate the contract. If you return to Japan earlier than planned or extend your stay, you do not have to worry about the timing of cancellation or penalty fees.
Lower cost compared to prepaid SIM cards
Comparing the price plans of no minimum usage period SIM cards and prepaid SIM cards, SIM cards with no minimum usage period tend to have lower usage fees. In other words, choosing these SIM cards will minimize your communication charges in Japan.
Virtually unlimited data capacity
Japan SIM cards with no minimum usage period do not offer unlimited usage plans. However, you can use the communication with speed restrictions even after you use up the contracted data allowance. Under this situation, you can send and receive text e-mails/messages and browse text-based web pages without additional cost. On the other hand, a prepaid SIM card does not work after you use up your contracted data allowance. You must purchase (charge) an additional data allowance to continue using.
Recommended Japan SIM cards for foreigners staying in Japan for a short period
AEON Mobile is a low-cost SIM and smartphone company provided by the Aeon Group, which operates the major supermarket Aeon. They provide the industry's lowest monthly rates and a wide variety of plans. According to data communication allowance, there are 46 different rate plans. It includes 17 types of SIM with voice calls, 16 types of data-only SIM, and 13 types of shared voice plans. The shared voice plans allow issuing max five SIM cards. The monthly charges range from 528 yen to 6,578 yen.
Using a dedicated app makes it easy to switch between high-speed communications, enabling customers to save data capacity efficiently.
Furthermore, in addition to online, procedures such as fault repair and cancellation are handled at more than 200 AEON stores throughout Japan. Therefore, when you return to your home country, you can quickly complete the cancellation procedure.
| Features |
|
|---|---|
| Data-only plan |
|
| Data+Voice call plan |
|
| Initial Cost | ¥3,300 |
| Minimum usage period | None |
| Cancellation Penalty Fee | None |
| Carryover data | Available to carryover to the next month |
| Optional services |
|
| Special offer | When you switch to Aeon Mobile's voice SIM card through Mobile Number Portability (MNP) from another carrier and pay your monthly fees with an Aeon card, you will receive 1,000 WAON points as a gift. Furthermore, purchasing a specified mobile phone model, you will receive 3,000 to 8,000 WAON points as a gift. (*Offer valid until 8:59 AM Japan Time on April 1, 2025.) |
- As of February. 2025 (contents may have changed).
Mineo has a high level of user satisfaction, winning first place for two consecutive years in the Low-Cost SIM Satisfaction Survey: Overall Customer Satisfaction conducted by a Japanese research company. It uses major mobile carrier lines such as SoftBank, au, and Docomo. Thereby, it provides fast and stable communication speeds. The company offers some unique services. For example, Eco Course discounts the price by not using the service during a busy time. Trial 200MB Course allows users to try the service before the subscription. These services are only available at mineo. In addition, users can carry the remaining data over the next month; or give it to a friend as a gift. You do not have to worry about wasting the data. As applying by the 25th of each month, you can change the data allowance for free.
| Features |
|
|---|---|
| Data-only plan |
|
| Data+Voice call plan |
|
| Mysoku Plan (unlimited data allowance instead of limited speed from 12-1 pm, Mon-Fri) |
|
| Initial Cost |
|
| Minimum usage period | None |
| Cancellation Penalty Fee | None (*MNP transfer cancellation will cost ¥3,300) |
| Carryover data | Available to carryover to the next month |
| Optional services |
|
| Special offer |
|
- As of February. 2025 (contents may have changed).
HIS Mobile is a low-cost SIM card company provided by a joint venture between Japan Communication Inc., which operates b-mobile, and H.I.S., a travel agency. A data-only SIM card costs from 198 yen per month. SIM cards with voice calls are available from 990 yen per month. Thus, it is recommendable for foreigners who value low rates. You can set the data communication capacity limit between 100MB and 30GB. If you tend to overuse it, you should set the upper limit to tightly control the monthly fees. Be careful that HIS Mobile does not support carryover data to the next month, and you cannot purchase additional data.
| Features |
|
|---|---|
| Data-only plan |
|
| Data+Voice call plan |
|
| Initial Cost | ¥3,300 |
| Minimum usage period | None |
| Cancellation Penalty Fee | None |
| Carryover data | Available to carryover to the next month |
| Optional services |
|
- As of February. 2025 (contents may have changed).
