Prices dated 29 Aug 2026. Recheck checkout. I earn a commission if you buy Airalo through the Travelpayouts link. I do not invent an airport booth yen price.
When the counter is the product
The airport counter is a battery with a SIM in it. You sign, you charge it, you drop it in a box on the way home. That is a real product. It is not the default if your phone already has an EID.
- The phone has no EID. Dial
*#06#. No EID means no eSIM, full stop. - Three or four people sharing one radio and you do not want four checkouts.
- You want a laptop online without burning the phone as a hotspot all day.
When the eSIM is the product
One or two phones, eSIM-capable, trip about a week. You install at home. You do not stand in a line with a suitcase.
- Ubigi 10GB / 7 days: $14 on their Japan card that day. Networks listed: KDDI and NTT Docomo. Data sharing allowed on their plan cards.
- Airalo 7-day 10GB: $17. SoftBank on their Japan page.
- Holafly 7-day unlimited lists hotspot as 1GB per day. That is not a family plan.
Two adults: two eSIMs, or one pocket Wi-Fi. Holafly’s daily hotspot cap is the usual way a couple discovers they bought the wrong shape of “unlimited”.
Buy Airalo (tracked)
Comparison notes: https://before-you-land.surge.sh/en/japan/pocket-wifi/
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