Japan eSIM with unlimited data: POVNOMAD vs Airalo vs Holafly

Last updated on 5 September 2026

POVNOMAD Unlimited Smart for Japan costs €5.90 for 3 days and €29.90 for 30 days. Airalo’s unlimited plan costs €10.50 and €61.50. Smart gives you 1 GB at full speed every day, then a steady 1 Mbit/s. Airalo throttles at 3 GB a day. Of the three providers, only POVNOMAD names Docomo as a network.

The comparison at a glance

All prices as of 5 September 2026, collected from povnomad.com and airalo.com (Japan product pages, EUR). “—” means Airalo lists no price for 21 days. Fair use: POVNOMAD states both figures on the product page, the daily high-speed allowance (1 GB on Smart, 2 GB on L) and the speed after that (a steady 1 Mbit/s). Airalo states its threshold of 3 GB per day and the drop to 1 Mbps on the Japan product page itself, and caps full speed there at 20 Mbps. Holafly names neither a threshold nor a speed for Japan. Holafly appears here without figures: its Japan product page and two Holafly guide pages lead to three different daily rates for Japan on 5 September 2026. Check Holafly prices directly at esim.holafly.com/de. Prices are subject to change.

One note on buying: purchases in the POVNOMAD app earn up to 10 percent of the amount paid as credits, redeemable on your next order. The web shop does not award credits. The prices in the table stay the same, the credits lower the bill on your next trip.

The network difference

Four operators run nationwide networks in Japan: NTT Docomo, KDDI under the au brand, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile. The POVNOMAD eSIM for Japan runs on NTT Docomo or KDDI/au in 4G and 5G. Airalo’s Japan product page reads: “Operates on the Softbank and KDDI networks in Japan.” Holafly names “KDDI / Softbank” on its Japan page (retrieved 5 September 2026).

Of the three providers, only POVNOMAD names Docomo. Travel blogs report that Docomo reaches furthest in the countryside and on Hokkaido, with KDDI behind it. Around Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka the choice matters less. Japan’s communications ministry MIC puts 5G population coverage at 98.4 per cent as of the end of the financial year on 31 March 2025, ranging from 88 to 99.9 per cent across the prefectures.

Each provider defines “unlimited” its own way. POVNOMAD puts a number on both halves of the rule, 1 GB at full speed per day on Unlimited Smart and a steady 1 Mbit/s after that. Airalo prints the rule for Japan on the product page: “Full speed for the first 3 GB of data each day (up to 20 Mbps) — after that, lower speed (1 Mbps …)”. So Airalo’s daily threshold sits three times higher, and full speed there stops at 20 Mbps. POVNOMAD names no such ceiling for Japan. Holafly gives neither a threshold nor a speed for Japan.

Search for a Japan eSIM and the name Ubigi comes up fast. Ubigi, a Japanese provider from the NTT group, uses Docomo, and its prices sit on cellulardata.ubigi.com.

Data packages instead of unlimited

Plenty of Japan trips work without unlimited data. Save your maps offline, use hotel Wi-Fi in the evening, and a fixed package costs you less.

Prices as of 5 September 2026, povnomad.com/en/produkt/japan-esim/. Hotspot comes with every POVNOMAD eSIM for Japan, and validity starts with the first connection to the network.

The daily rate does not drop with every longer tier. Two steps break the pattern. Ten days cost €11.90, one euro more than seven days, and 21 days cost €22.90, three euros more than 15 days. If your trip falls between two tiers, the longer one often works out cheaper. For short trips with heavy use, POVNOMAD also sells Unlimited L with 2 GB of high-speed data per day: €7.90 for 3 days, €11.90 for 5 days and €15.90 for 7 days. From 15 days on, Smart or a data package serves you better, because L costs €62.90 over 30 days and lands level with Airalo’s unlimited plan and its 3 GB a day. The unlimited plans overview explains the tiers.

Which plan for which trip

Five to seven days in Tokyo fit Unlimited Smart for 5 days (€7.90) or for 7 days (€10.90). You walk through Shinjuku with Google Maps open, point a translation app at the izakaya menu, check the transfer time to Shibuya in a train app and send voice notes in the evening. Maps, translation, train apps and messengers together usually stay under 1 GB on a day like that, so the 3 GB other providers sell would sit unused. Upload video every day or stream on the move and you do use Airalo’s 3 GB, which makes it the right pick for that job.

A rail-pass loop through Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima often runs 14 to 21 days. Unlimited Smart over 15 days (€19.90) covers a fortnight, and the 21-day tier (€22.90) covers three weeks. Airalo lists no price for 21 days. Navigation keeps running on the Shinkansen, and it drops for a moment in the long mountain tunnels on any network. Once the high-speed gigabyte is gone in the evening, maps, messengers and email carry on at 1 Mbit/s.

For Hokkaido, Okinawa or a full month, Unlimited Smart over 30 days costs €29.90. If you sit on Wi-Fi most of the day and need the eSIM for getting around, 20 GB for 30 days (€14.90) covers you. One note before you pack: reports say Japan has required an ID check since April 2026 for SIM cards bought inside Japan. Install a travel eSIM bought online before you leave home.

Many travellers add South Korea to a Japan trip. That destination has its own profile, the South Korea eSIM with Unlimited Smart from €5.90. If China follows on the itinerary, provider prices for it sit in the China eSIM comparison.

Roaming from your home contract

Japan sits outside EU roaming, so a European domestic allowance does not apply there and your operator charges a separate add-on. Most sell a monthly world package with a few gigabytes, or day and week passes capped at a few hundred megabytes. Compare that allowance against €10.90 for seven days of Unlimited Smart, €19.90 for 15 days, or €14.90 for 20 GB over 30 days.

Frequently asked questions

All prices as of 5 September 2026, sources: povnomad.com, airalo.com, esim.holafly.com. Prices are subject to change.