Using a phone in Japan

[BeaLola]

My DB is going to Japan - he uses Vodaphone monthly (150gb global roam) and has and whilst away (4 weeks) wants to use his phone as normal - reading news, articles , texts (unlikely to download)

He is less techy than me ( !)

What is easiest /best thing for him to do

(I have no idea as I only go away on Europe and get free roaming plus don't spend so long on my phone reading news etc)

My friend is in Japan atm. She’s keeping in touch and sending me photos.
I know she bought an eSIM.

https://www.thetopesims.com/best-esim-for-japan?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22585256609&gbraid=0AAAAA-hGpAVjXufG_TwdzoolQS2Xe15JD&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiqH179WyjwMVUpRQBh0E1iYdEAAYAyAAEgJN3PD_BwE

Not sure - but watching this space as we are doing Japan next year so interested as well. I know my FIL in China used to get the news from BBC censured so it was like a grey rectangle where the pics were and the text wax also censured. By he didn’t have vpn so not sure if you can counteract that.

We bought Holafly eSIMs when we went somewhere our roaming didn’t cover - worked really well.

E-Sim. Not massively cheap but cheaper than roaming charges.

Another vote for an eSim, if his phone supports it. If it doesn't then a pocket wifi is a good idea.

We used Ubigi in Japan and other places to. It’s an esim. It’s easy to do and easy to top up.
The prices were one of the cheapest at the time but don’t know if that is still true.
if he does want to try Ubigi if you get a referral code you get a discount as does the person giving it. The person giving the referral code gets 50% of the next plan they use and the person using the code gets 20% off.
We went as a family so each person gave the next person a referral code. It worked well!

Censored in Japan sounds unlikely…are you thinking of china? There could be rights issues that caused some greying out.

You can rent a portable wifi in Japan from the airport …it’s very good. And very cheap. Then you put it in an envelope at the end and hand it in.

Yes as it says is my post I’m talking about China.

We did the same. It worked really well all the trip, from Kagoshima to Hakodate.

BBC Sounds is no longer available abroad btw. You can listen online as things are broadcast though.

For Japan your best option is pocket wifi/esim. This is an example of the types but check out others:

https://tokyocheapo.com/business/internet/rent-wifi-router-japan/

Contracts designed for visitors will usually let you pick them up at the airport and provide a returns envelope so you can pop it in a postbox on the day or day before you return. They are generally good value and work pretty much everywhere (including in the mountains IME).

Aside from the phone he will need cash. It’s used to top up the travel card.

I use Airalo eSIM in Japan, easy and you can use your usual number.

I’d got for Ubigi, they are especially strong in Japan. Have you checked out roamcompare, they help to estimate your data needs and show you the best deal, might be worth a look!

Pocket WiFi router as people have said - was more reliable than an esim when we went. Worked everywhere and easy to pop in the envelope and send off on the day we left.

As mentioned above, he'll need way more cash than he thinks - its a bizarrely cash reliant system given how hyper-tech they are in other areas!

Hope he enjoys it - AMAZING country.

You can buy SIMs for £15 each for two weeks. They’re available in many shops including at the airport.
There is no censorship of content in Japan!

Japan also has virtual cards you can load up with cash for use in the metro and shops. The one I used was Suica.

I barely use cash in Japan.

eSIM is definitely easiest and cheapest. I think it cost me about £11 for a 10G, 30 day plan. My network would have charged me £98 to use my data allowance there for two weeks. I use Saily, who are reputable and pretty cheap, but there’s loads of providers. If I had a phone that wouldn’t take an eSIM then I’d go for a pocket WiFi.

He’ll need cash in Japan but I just withdraw it from an ATM there. If he has an iPhone, I also strongly recommend adding Suica or another IC card to Apple Wallet. It’s very easy and saves him the job of getting a physical card on arrival. https://support.apple.com/en-gb/108772

How long ago did you go? I went a couple of years ago and used very little cash, a lot less than when I’d been previously. I used Apple Pay and my post office card and had no issues.

@WhatAboutTheOtherOne October '23 - loads of restaurants we went to in Tokyo and Kyoto didn't accept cards - we were forever looking for cashpoints 🤣 Okinawa was less cash reliant.

Maybe we had a randomly unusual experience because of the odd restaurants my husband insisted on dragging us to...🤷🏼‍♀️

I was there this April and whilst we mostly used card, I still ran into places that required cash. In contrast, when I went to Europe this summer, I never once needed cash and never had to even take my physical card out of my wallet in any of the three countries we visited. I just used tap to pay on my phone everywhere. In Japan, many smaller shops, stalls, cafes etc were cash only. A lot of temples also only took cash for their entrance fees and the machines that you use to charge a Suica card are cash only. Some of places that surprised me more were restaurants (even some bigger restaurants in touristy areas and some chains) that took cash or paypay but not credit card, IC card or apple pay.

You don’t need stacks of cash, but I wouldn’t walk around in Japan with no cash at all in my wallet, whereas I do that most days at home or elsewhere in Europe.

Thank you everyone for all responses - I have passed them on

Super grateful to you all