How to Buy a SIM Card in Japan in 2026
Many visitors plan to pick up a prepaid SIM card at a Japanese convenience store, and in 2026 that plan often fails. Physical SIMs have become scarce on 7-Eleven and FamilyMart shelves, stocked mainly in tourist areas, and the card you find may need a second purchase before it carries any data. This guide explains how convenience-store SIMs work, the new identity rules, what the airport counters charge in yen, and our Japan eSIMs, which run on three networks and start working when you land. Our plans for the country are on the Japan eSIM page.
7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson
As more travellers switch to eSIM, convenience stores carry fewer physical cards. You are most likely to find them in city centres, big stations and tourist districts, and least likely in residential or rural shops. How they work depends on the chain:
- At 7-Eleven and FamilyMart you buy the card, then buy the data plan over Wi-Fi, usually with a credit card, before it works.
- Lawson's IIJ SIM is ready to use once you set the APN on your phone.
They can be cheaper than the airport, but do not make a convenience store your only plan for arrival. If one is out of stock, the electronics chains BIC Camera and Yodobashi Camera carry a much wider range of tourist SIMs in Tokyo and Osaka.
The 2026 identity rules
Japan tightened its SIM rules in 2026, and the sources disagree on when the change took effect. Sakura Mobile says the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has required a passport or residence card for every SIM and eSIM purchase, data-only plans included, since April 1, 2026. Other guides read the record differently: the amendment to the mobile phone misuse law passed the Diet on 22 May 2026 and takes effect on a date set by Cabinet Order within a year. In practice the answer is the same: carry your passport to any SIM counter in Japan. A data-only eSIM bought from an overseas seller before you fly is not a Japanese SIM contract, so it involves no counter at all.
Airport counters and vending machines
Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka and Naha all have SIM counters, and several have vending machines in the arrivals area for late flights. Most counters close between 9 and 11pm. One guide puts airport prices at about ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 for roughly 5 GB over 7 to 10 days, and ¥4,000 to ¥6,000 for unlimited or large plans over 15 to 30 days; JAL ABC's 5GB, 30-day physical SIM costs ¥3,000. Almost every tourist SIM is data-only. A voice SIM with a Japanese 070, 080 or 090 number needs ID and is sold by a few specialists such as Mobal.
Our eSIMs for Japan
Our Japan 5GB eSIM is $9 for ten days, the Japan 10GB eSIM $15 for 15 days and the Japan 15GB eSIM $22 for 30 days. All three use three Japanese networks, offer 5G where available and hotspot, and start on first use in Japan, so you can install one at home and switch it on at Narita or Kansai. They are data only. If you want a number for calls, the Orange World 20GB eSIM is $28 for 20GB over 30 days, with a French +33 number, 15 minutes of calls and 50 texts, in more than 90 countries including Japan. The Vodafone Travel VIP eSIM works in Japan only at $7.50 for each day used on top of its $32 price. The O2 SMS Only eSIM at $8 a month keeps verification texts arriving on a private UK number.
Side by side
| Option | Price | Data | Where | Passport |
|---|
| Airport SIM, small plan | About ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 | About 5 GB, 7 to 10 days | Airport counter or machine | Yes |
| Airport SIM, large plan | About ¥4,000 to ¥6,000 | Unlimited or large, 15 to 30 days | Airport counter | Yes |
| Convenience-store SIM | Card plus a data plan bought online | Depends on the plan | 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson in tourist areas | Expect to show it |
| Japan 10GB eSIM | $15 | 10GB, 15 days, three networks | Before you fly | No |
| Japan 15GB eSIM | $22 | 15GB, 30 days, three networks | Before you fly | No |
| Orange World 20GB eSIM | $28 | 20GB, 30 days, French +33 number | Before you fly | No |
If your phone has no eSIM
Older phones, and many bought in mainland China, have no eSIM. Your choices then are a physical SIM from an airport counter, an electronics store, or a provider that delivers to your hotel or an airport pick-up point, or a pocket Wi-Fi router. Whatever you buy, the phone must be unlocked: if it is tied to your home carrier, a Japanese SIM will not connect, and only your carrier can unlock it.
Our recommendation
For a typical two-week trip, install the Japan 10GB eSIM before you fly; for a month or heavy use, take the Japan 15GB eSIM. You skip the counter, the passport check and the hunt for a convenience store with stock. If you need a Japanese phone number, look at a voice SIM from a specialist and take your passport. Set-up steps are in our eSIM installation guide, and the plans for the country are on the Japan eSIM page.
