Can I get home internet in Japan without a Japanese credit card?

Not with GMO fibre, which accepts domestically issued credit cards only and explicitly refuses debit cards. A home router or a mobile plan is the realistic route in your first year.

Does a new residence card work for online sign-up?

If your residence card was issued on or after 14 June 2026 it is a second-generation card and cannot be used for ahamo online identity verification. You choose identity verification on delivery instead.

Do I need my landlord’s permission for internet in Japan?

For fibre yes, because an engineer visit and cabling work are involved. A home router needs no permission because it plugs into a power socket.

Home internet in Japan when you've just arrived

¥4,290cheapest fibre, per month

36 mobefore install is free

0debit cards accepted

The card rule

GMO's fibre service — the cheapest monthly rate here — accepts domestically issued credit cards only, and states plainly that debit cards cannot be used.

Why this stops people

A Japanese credit card is hard to get in your first year, because approval leans on a payment history you don't have yet. A Japanese debit card, which you can open almost immediately, is refused. So the cheapest option is unavailable to exactly the people who most need a cheap option.

The residence card change

If your residence card or special permanent resident certificate was issued on or after 14 June 2026, it is a second-generation card and cannot currently be used for ahamo's online identity check. The application doesn't fail — you pick identity verification on delivery (配達時に本人確認) instead, which means being home when the courier arrives.

This catches recent arrivals specifically, because a recently issued card is what a recent arrival has. What the June 2026 change broke, and the workaround.

The three options

GMO Tokutoku BB Home Wi-Fi

Home router Best if you just arrived

¥5,082 / month — more than fibre, and a price revision is announced but unpublished

No engineer visit, so no landlord permission
Ships same day, works the day it arrives
Not tied to the registered address, so it survives a move
Costs ¥792 a month more than fibre in an apartment
Router is ¥33,264 over 36 months — leaving early leaves you the remaining instalments
¥3,300 administration fee, no cancellation fee

GMO Tokutoku BB Hikari (GMO Hikari Access)

Fibre Blocked for many arrivals

¥4,290 / month, apartment — ¥5,390 for a house

Cheapest monthly rate, and the fastest connection
Domestic credit card only — debit cards refused
Engineer visit and landlord permission required
Installation ¥25,300–¥26,400, only waived if you stay 36 months

ahamo

Mobile data Check your card date

¥2,970 / month, 30GB — ¥4,950 for 110GB

Nothing to install, no landlord involved
Cheapest of the three outright
Second-generation residence cards fail online verification
Anyone who has ever held a Docomo plan is excluded
Online only — no shop support, application mainly in Japanese

If you only need data now

A phone plan or a prepaid SIM covers you while a home connection is arranged, and prepaid asks for no credit check at all — useful given the card requirement above.

What we'd actually do

Arrived in the last few months: take the home router. Not because it is the best internet — fibre is better internet — but because it is the one you can complete without a credit card, a landlord conversation, or a three-year commitment.

Japanese credit card and a lease past three years: fibre, and GMO Tokutoku BB Hikari (GMO Hikari Access) at ¥4,290 is the cheapest here. Both conditions matter — without the card you cannot pay, and without the three years the installation fee stops being free.

How we choose

We rank by what a recent arrival can actually complete, not by what pays us most. The fibre product pays us the most and we have put it second, because most of this audience cannot pay for it. Every figure is checked against the provider's own page, and anything unconfirmed says checking rather than a number we would have to correct later.

Last reviewed 2026-09-16. Sources: GMO fibre pricing, GMO home Wi-Fi, ahamo.

This page contains advertising links. If you sign up through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which option we rank first.