Japan Prep Guide
Japan eSIM With a Phone Number: Who Needs One and What It Costs
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For a normal trip
A data-only eSIM, installed before you fly
- About $18 for 10 GB from Saily or Airalo
- Keep your home SIM on for texts and bank codes
- LINE and the GO taxi app work without a +81 number
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Most Japan travel eSIMs are data-only: you get mobile internet but no Japanese (+81) number. Visitors can get a real Japanese number, but it costs at least twice as much, and Japanese law requires a passport check first. Most people never miss it.
The honest answer: for a normal trip, buy a data-only eSIM and keep your home SIM switched on for texts. LINE, the GO taxi app, restaurant bookings and your bank's codes all work that way.
- Data-only eSIM: about $18 for 10 GB from Saily or Airalo, installed before you fly.
- When a Japanese number is worth it: stays of a month or more, or a Japanese site or app that will only text a +81 number.
- Options with a number: Mobal (¥4,950 plus a monthly plan from ¥1,650) and Sakura Mobile's Travel Voice + Data eSIM (¥12,155 for 10 days). Both check your passport.
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Who actually needs a Japanese phone number?
Fewer people than SIM sellers suggest. Here's how the usual reasons hold up for a visitor:
| What you want to do | Japanese number needed? | What works instead |
|---|---|---|
| Use LINE | No | LINE's help center says people living outside Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand sign up with an Apple or Google account, not a phone number |
| Call a taxi with the GO app | No | GO accepts non-Japanese mobile numbers; the sign-up code goes to your home line |
| Book restaurants online | Usually no | TableCheck and similar sites confirm by email; text alerts are optional |
| Hotels and tours | No | Email and booking apps |
| Japanese-only ticketing sites and apps | Sometimes | Check first; Mobal (which sells numbers) says many Japanese apps, event-ticket sites included, only text +81 numbers |
| Stay a month or more (work, study, renting) | Often | A voice plan |
Restaurants that only take bookings by phone are the gray area, since they may want a local number to call back. For everything else on a one- or two-week trip, your home number does the job.
Japan travel SIM comparison: data-only, Japanese number or your home number
| Data-only eSIM | eSIM or SIM with a Japanese number | Your home number | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Mobile data only | Japanese mobile number, calls, texts and data | Your usual number, by roaming or Wi-Fi calling |
| Bank texts from home | Yes, on your home line (dual-SIM phones) | Only if your home line stays on too | Yes |
| Codes from +81-only services | No | Yes | No |
| ID check | Usually none (Saily, Airalo) | Passport, at a counter in Japan or uploaded before posting | None |
| Setup | Install at home by app or QR code | Pickup counter in Japan, or delivery by post | Nothing new |
| Typical cost | About $18–19 for 10 GB / 30 days | Mobal ¥4,950 + plan; Sakura ¥12,155 for 10 days | Your carrier's roaming fees |
| Best for | Most visitors | Long stays, +81-only services | Staying reachable on your own number |
Data is the cheap part. On October 30, 2026, Saily listed 10 GB for 30 days at US$17.99 and Yesim at US$19.20; our Japan eSIM comparison covers networks and unlimited plans, and how much data you need helps you pick a size.
One rule change is coming. Japan's communications ministry says data SIM contracts will also need ID checks from April 2027, and that short-stay visitors can be covered. It doesn't yet spell out how that applies to travel eSIMs bought from overseas companies.
Japan SIM and eSIM options that include a phone number
Mobal SIM card and eSIM
Mobal sells Voice+Data SIM cards and eSIMs to visitors, with a real 070, 080 or 090 number on the Docomo network. You pay ¥4,950 up front, then a monthly plan from ¥1,650 for 1 GB (¥3,630 for 10 GB). The first month is charged only for the days you use, but plans bill per calendar month, so a trip that runs into a second month pays that month too. There's no contract, incoming calls and texts are free, and domestic calls cost ¥44 a minute.
The catch is the ID check. You either show your passport at a pickup counter in Japan (Narita, Haneda and Kansai airports are on Mobal's list) or upload it and have the SIM posted. Even the voice eSIM isn't emailed: Mobal posts an access code to the address on your ID, or you collect it at a pickup point. On Android, calls need VoLTE support and Android 12 or later. Details are on Mobal's Japan eSIM page (opens in a new tab) (not a partner of ours).
Sakura Mobile Travel Voice + Data eSIM
Sakura Mobile now sells a prepaid Voice + Data eSIM for visitors staying up to 90 days. It comes with a Japanese number for calls and SMS, up to 3 GB of high-speed data a day on au's 5G network, and a block of domestic call time: 120 minutes on the 7- and 10-day plans, 240 on the 14- and 30-day plans. For November 1–10, its site quoted ¥12,155 including tax, against ¥5,610 for its data-only 3 GB-a-day eSIM.
Japanese law requires an in-person ID check before the line starts, at selected airport counters or Sakura's Shinjuku office, and the eSIM can't be activated before you arrive. See Sakura Mobile's eSIM page (opens in a new tab).
IIJ, BIC SIM and most other tourist SIMs: data only
Most other visitor SIMs can't make calls or send texts, including IIJ's Japan Travel SIM sold at BIC Camera; IIJ says so plainly. Saily now offers a phone-number add-on with a calls-and-texts plan, but it's a U.S. number, not a Japanese one.
How to get SMS codes from home while using a data eSIM
- Before you fly, check how your bank and key apps send codes. If they offer an authenticator app or passkeys, switching takes texts out of the picture.
- Install the travel eSIM and keep your home SIM in the phone. Set the eSIM as your mobile data line.
- Leave your home line on for calls and texts, with data roaming off. Texts usually arrive as normal, as long as your plan allows international roaming. Some carriers charge for incoming calls or texts abroad, so check your rates.
- Use Wi-Fi calling if your carrier allows it abroad. AT&T, for example, says Wi-Fi calls to U.S. numbers carry no extra charge, while calls to non-U.S. numbers, including the country you're in, are billed as international.
- Keep using iMessage, FaceTime and WhatsApp on your usual number over the eSIM's data.
Our eSIM setup guide shows the exact iPhone and Android settings. The only real trap is an older phone with a single SIM slot and no eSIM: a physical data SIM replaces your home SIM, and texts stop until you swap back.
Compare Japan eSIM plans on Saily (opens in a new tab)
Prefer another brand? See Airalo's Japan plans (opens in a new tab) or check Yesim's Japan eSIMs (opens in a new tab). Their Japan plans are data-only too.
Questions about Japanese phone numbers
Can a tourist get a Japanese phone number?
Yes. Mobal and Sakura Mobile both sell voice plans to short-term visitors after a passport check. Expect to pay at least twice what a data-only eSIM costs, and often much more.
Do I need a Japanese number for LINE?
Not if you live outside Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan or Thailand. LINE's help center says phone-number sign-up for everyone else ended with LINE version 13.11.0; you create the account with Apple or Google sign-in instead. In those five places, LINE doesn't accept 050 or virtual numbers.
Can I use the GO taxi app with my home number?
Yes. GO accepts non-Japanese mobile numbers and international cards. The sign-up code arrives by text, so keep your home line on. GO says it's ending coupon offers for accounts verified with non-Japanese numbers.
Is a Japanese number worth it for a two-week trip?
Rarely. Mobal starts at ¥4,950 plus at least part of a monthly plan, and Sakura's 10-day voice eSIM costs more than twice its 3 GB-a-day data eSIM. Pay for one only if a service you can't skip won't accept your home number.
What we'd do for a two-week trip
Install a 10 GB data eSIM at home, keep your home number on for texts, and use LINE or WhatsApp for calls. Add a Mobal or Sakura voice line only if you're staying long enough for a local number to matter.
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